Have you ever had something extraordinary happen to you but did not have anyone with whom to share it? Maybe you shared it with friends and family and could not contain it. You desired to share your news with strangers. When my first child was born, I wanted every person I came in contact with to know the good news that I had a baby girl.
There was once a farmer in a third-world country who had cataracts removed from his eyes at a Christian missionary clinic. After a few days had passed, the missionary doctor noticed that same farmer outside of his window pulling a long rope behind him. Holding onto the rope were dozens of blind people he rounded up to lead for miles to the missionary doctor who had worked a miracle on his eyes. That is how we, who have received salvation through Jesus Christ, should be. Our lives have been so changed that we want everyone to know so they can receive the same gift we did.
If the Gospel truly is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, we ought to proclaim it in every position we find ourselves. But why must we proclaim this news to others?
1. We have been commanded to.
Jesus has commanded us to preach the Gospel to all creatures. In all actuality, this must be the most significant reason. If Jesus commands it, that ought to be good enough for us. We need no other reason.
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." - Mark 16:15
2. Hell exists.
If hell did not exist, we would all have a legitimate reason to live this Christian life passively, as many often do. But God's Word tells us what is waiting for guilty sinners. It should frighten us how nonchalantly we walk through our daily lives past lost souls without their destination being heaven. How coldhearted would we have to be to not warn of its reality?
"But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." - Luke 12:5
3. We must love our neighbor as ourselves.
A firefighter saving people from a blazing structure may be scared and prefer to be somewhere else, but he disregards his worries and denies himself. In the Christian life, our thoughts are not on ourselves but on the destination of those without Him. So how can we say we genuinely love our neighbor without doing everything in our power to give them the truth of the Gospel?
"And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." - Jude 22-23
4. To stay silent would be a sin.
This may be difficult for us, but the apostles began to preach the Gospel as soon as possible. God has bestowed eternal life on dying humanity! The believers could not remain in the Upper Room because the love of God stirred them to reach the lost.
It was the average, everyday believer who went about preaching the Gospel in the book of Acts. They did not have the misunderstood notion that witnessing was the job of the "professional" Christians. Wherever they went, they told people about Jesus Christ. Everyone was a witness.
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17
5. It will deepen our walk with Him.
Nothing teaches a person how to fish like fishing. Witnessing to those who are lost will result in greater confidence in God.
"Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." - Philemon 5-6
The truth is, you have a mission field all around you. Every Christian ought to be prepared to make a defense for the hope that can be found in Christ when God gives the opportunity.
God still loves the world. If you doubt that, look to the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins, He has done it all, and He is willing to forgive all. This is the Gospel we preach everywhere, all the time, in every home, and to every nation.
The power of the Gospel is not dependent on our capacity to have compelling arguments. Nor does it depend on a winsome personality. The power of the Gospel lies with Jesus Christ. All we have to do is tell others, and He will do the rest.
What is next in 2023? The Lord is calling us to "be witnesses" for Him. To depend on the power of His Spirit. To commit to seeing the Gospel message spread to "our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria". That is our mission.