Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves Leads to Confidence in Evangelism
The gospel is the center of our Christian faith. It was what helped us come to knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I do not think I need to expand on that. While it sounds like an obvious statement, do we make it a central part of our walk with Christ?
Jerry Bridges, in his book Respectable Sins, talks about how preaching the gospel to ourselves daily is a crucial weapon in our battle with sin in our lives. It is important to be reminded of what Christ accomplished on the cross for us. It reassures us of his forgiveness, but it also reminds us of the price he had to pay. However, Bridges says that it is something Christians often overlook.
Bridges states that when we accept Christ, it seems to get lost in our minds. It becomes one of our “default settings” as Bridges states. We seem to come to the false reality that we can live the Christian life on our own, without the help of the Holy Spirit.
While Bridges was speaking in the context of dealing with sin, it could not be more true. Immediately when we get saved, we seem to forget the idea that Christ bought the entire price of our sin on the cross. We lose sight of the gospel message that brought us to new life. That leads us to believe that we can live the Christian life devoid of Christ’s intercession. It does not only apply to dealing with sin. It can include a variety of topics within Christianity, such walking in confidence as a child of God, or the other topic I wanted to address — evangelizing to unbelievers.
Evangelism is such a crucial part of Christianity. Those were Jesus’ last words to his disciples. First in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Secondly in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus desires his people to go out and share with outsiders about the good news.
However, to perform this difficult task, we must know the gospel inside and out. We have to walk in confidence that we are a child of God and know that we were bought by a price through Christ. Otherwise, we are going to grow distraught and irritated when people start asking us questions. The love we hope to show outsiders will come up empty-handed.
Christianity Today recently wrote an article that talked about the desperate need of preaching the gospel with our words. David Jones, author of the article and Vice President of Next Generation Alliance (a worldwide evangelism organization), said Christians are starting to believe the lie that the gospel can be spread without words. Jones added, “We see it today in the number of interviews, speeches, and books implying the gospel does not require words. Advocates of this belief will often quote Saint Francis of Assisi, who allegedly said, ‘Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.’”
Jones emphasizes that we are called to share that gospel through social interaction. We must use our words to share the gospel with unbelievers. What good is the gospel without using the power of words? So many people throughout America and the world need to hear it without their realization. Their eternal destination depends on our ability to share them the beautiful news of a Savior.
This does not mean their salvation is contingent on us, for it is God who saves. However, we must make an effort to make the choice of accepting Christ.
We must learn to preach the gospel to ourselves. It establishes of who we are in Christ and helps us walk confidently amidst the hurricane that is life. In turn, that must be used to tell the good news to outsiders. We must eagerly desire to bring others into the kingdom and show them the love of Jesus. May we all yearn for those left outside. Jesus is calling.
Read David Jones’ article, “Preaching the Gospel with Words: Why There’s No Other Way” here
