Go:Sharing The Gospel

Go 2

Go: Sharing the Gospel

By Daniel Carandang

The movie Titanic is no doubt top-grosser material.  Jack and Rose were the ultimate power couple, with Jack’s swooning charm and Rose’s spunky attitude. The film serves as the home of a number of memorable scenes we often love to quote. Rose and Jack’s moment at the edge of the boat is an absolute heart-stopper but of course, the sinking of the ship also makes it to the list.

It’s a heart-wrenching sight: watching the people fall to their deaths, the waves of sea water engulfing them, ending lives at an instant. But probably the most heart-breaking scene would be that of Jack and Rose’s final moments together. Jack desperately clinging unto the big scrap of metal where Rose lays, both of them freezing from the cold. We all know how that ended.

Rose eventually lets go Jack as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. She lies there, in the middle of the sea filled with dead people.

You too are in a sea of dead people.

Spiritually dead people.

When we say spiritually dead, we mean that they are yet ignorant to the Truth that shall set them free. They are still bound to the ways of this world, unable to escape the ways of the enemy.

Sure, that sea is filled with strangers but people you know (or even love the most) may be stuck, bopping up and down in that sea. Classmates who remain clueless about Jesus and His saving grace. Family members who do not know that they are sinners who have offended the God of the universe.

When we see people drowning, the first things we automatically look for are lifesavers or lifejackets to rescue those who are in the water.

But how about those in the sea of spiritual death?

What is their lifesaver?

THE GOSPEL.

Sadly, though we would eagerly throw a lifejacket to people who are actually drowning, we don’t feel the same urgency to share people the gospel as they swim towards spiritual deadness.

The Gospel is the answer to their freedom. But us who know better are very hesitant to let them know about it.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17

The Gospel is not a stage 1 or an entry level to being a Christian. It’s not a simple doorway or the ABCs of Christianity.

The Gospel is the A to Z manual of a Christian.

It’s no secret that man’s status with God when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God switched to FRIENDSHIP OVER mode. We are separated from Him because He cannot stand sin due to His perfectness. We were doomed to rot in hell.

The Gospel serves as the good news of God’s remedy to such. It tells of how He chose to sacrifice His Son for the sake of people who are ungrateful and undeserving.

Paul said in the verse that WE SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED. If we are ashamed of the Gospel, it means that we do not understand the beauty of it, the need to share it.

In fact, he was the living proof of the Gospel’s changing power. From being a persecutor of the Christians, Paul encountered Jesus and his life turned a hundred and eighty degrees. As he shared in Romans 1:14-15, he knew that sharing was not a choice- it is an OBLIGATION and he is very eager to carry out the responsibility.

Great experiences are meant to be shared.

Whenever we have out of town trips or once in a lifetime adventures such as zip lines and mountain climbing, we can’t wait to post it online or tweet about it.

Being changed by the Gospel is also an experience we have to be eager to share with others. It has power we do not understand but can definitely save those who are called.

Unfortunately, we are ridiculed and persecuted when we do so. But that doesn’t mean we should stop or be discouraged!

If you seek genuine transformation for your family and friends, you can never find it in seminars, coaching, lessons, etc. The GOSPEL is the answer to genuine change.

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish  by faith. As Scripture say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Romans 1:17

The Gospel informs us how to create a right standing with God. Since we were separated from God, man thought that he could save himself by doing good works and religious rituals. He is ignorant to the fact that we cannot save ourselves.

We can only achieve the righteousness we are after by faith.

The Gospel is the only one that can deliver genuine transformation.

It is important that we share it.

You might say that FEAR is stopping you from doing so. You think that you are unworthy to share the Word or that you might be ridiculed for doing so.

In John 4, Jesus reveals Himself to a Samaritan Woman. The woman was already despised by the Jews for her standing as a Samaritan. It was also no secret to Jesus that she was no longer sexually pure, having had five partners and none of them were her husband. She was what we can call ‘someone very unworthy.’ She was dirty and probably unwanted.

But once she experienced Jesus, instead of becoming fearful of what the people would say, we find out in verse 28 that she actually ran back to the village, eager to share what she had encountered.

In verses 39-42, she comes back, not with one, but with the majority of the Samaritan population of the village. In the end, because of her eagerness to share, lives were changed and souls were saved.

Would you like the courage of the Samaritan woman?

Step up and share!

There’s a sea of helpless souls out there and some of them are people that we actually love. We have to step out of our comfort zones, swallows our fears and share to them the wonderful message of God. 

Written by: Ashley Petallano (c) 2013