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Communication - Sharing the Gospel
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Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 1:8
INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Church on Purpose, and we are taking several weeks to review together God’s purposes for the church. Why does the church exist? What is our purpose? What are we all doing here? We have tried to capture the answer to those questions in our church purpose statement, which highlights the four main purposes for the church that we find in the Bible.
Our four purposes are:
1) Celebration – Worshiping God,
2) Community – Loving our neighbor,
3) Communication – Sharing the gospel,
4) Cultivation – Growing in Christ-likeness.
The first two purposes come from the Great Commandment in Scripture: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and … love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) The second two come from the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
These four purposes are central to what God has called us to do as a church. In fact, if we did nothing else except for these four things, we would still be fulfilling God’s purposes. But if we leave even one of them out, we will no longer fulfill God’s purposes for us as a church. That’s how important they all are. This morning we will look at the third purpose, which is Communication, or Sharing the gospel.
I. Communicating the good news (Matthew 28:18-20)
Our third purpose is “Communication, or Sharing the gospel.” Sharing the gospel means, first of all, communicating the good news. That’s what the word gospel means. It literally means “good news!” We have a message to share with the world, and that message is good news. It is the most wonderful news in the whole world! God sent his Son into the world to die for your sins and bring you back to himself. Your sins can be forgiven, your slate wiped clean, you can begin again with God. That is awesome! That is great news! That is the message God has given us, and we must do everything we can to communicate that message to others.
Did you know that Jesus’ first and last commands to his disciples both have to do with sharing the gospel with others? When Jesus saw Andrew and Peter casting a net into the lake he told them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) That was his first command. After Jesus rose from the dead and was ready to go back to heaven, he gave the disciples his last command. It is called the Great Commission and we find it in Matthew 28: Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:18-19) What were Jesus’ first and last commands to his disciples? Go and share the gospel! Communicate the good news to others.
Jesus began the Great Commission by saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That is the basis for the Great Commission. All authority has been given to Christ. In Psalm 2 we read these prophetic words from God the Father to his Son: “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” (Psalm 2:7-8)
When Jesus completed his mission on earth by dying on the cross and rising to life again, the words of this Psalm were fulfilled. God gave Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus has authority everywhere. He is not just the savior of a few or the savior for a certain group of people. He is the savior of the whole world. That does not mean that the whole word will be saved, but rather those in the world who will be saved must come to God through Jesus.
In the Great Commission Jesus declares his authority over all things, and then he commands us to go and communicate the good news to others. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
This is not an option for us as believers. This is not an elective for us as a church. We must go and communicate the good news to others. Jesus’ first and last commands both had to do with sharing the gospel. All authority has been given to Jesus. Jesus commands us to go.
II. Telling about Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
So what do we tell people when we go and communicate the good news? Do we simply tell them that God loves them and that he wants to forgive them? Do we tell them what a difference God can make in their lives? Do we tell them that God has a purpose and a plan for their lives? Those are all good things to share. But that is not what we mean by communicating the good news. We can share all those things and more, but there are two specific things we must communicate if we are truly going to share the gospel with others. And that is, we must tell them about Christ’s death and resurrection.
The Bible tells us that the gospel has specific content. It is not just a general “good news that God loves you,” but there is specific content in the gospel to hold on to and believe. Look at 1 Corinthians 15. The apostle Paul writes: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
Paul is saying that the gospel or good news that he preached had specific content. He preached it, and the Corinthians received it and took their stand on it. Paul says that it is by this gospel that you are saved. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. If you change the content of the gospel, it no longer has saving power. It is no longer the gospel of Christ.
So what is the specific content of the gospel? What is the good news that we are supposed to be sharing with others? Paul tells us in the next couple verses: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
In other words, Christ’s death and resurrection are absolutely central to the gospel. This is what is of first importance. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Christ was raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Notice that Christ did not simply die. He died for our sins. That means that he took our place. Jesus never sinned. We were the ones who sinned. We were the ones who deserved God’s punishment. And Jesus took that punishment for us at the cross.
But Paul says even more. Christ not only died for our sins. He died for our sins “according to the Scriptures.” This was not some strange accident or twist of fate. This was God’s plan all along. The Old Testament Scriptures foretold what Christ would do for us. We read in Isaiah 53: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)
So that’s the first thing we must share when communicating the good news to others. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, according to God’s plan. But then we must also share about Christ’s resurrection. Yes, Jesus died for our sins, but he also rose again! That’s the really good news part! Jesus is alive! He has conquered sin and death and the grave. When you put your faith in Christ, your sins are forgiven, and you are given the free gift of eternal life. We do not serve the memory of a religious leader who died many years ago. We serve the risen Christ who gives us life and relationship with God every day.
So yes, we can tell people about God and the church and all sorts of things relating to Christ. But if we are truly going to communicate the good news, we must tell them about Christ’s death and resurrection. That is what is of first importance. Paul said, “[It is] by this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word … preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
III. Sharing with our local community and the whole world (Acts 1:8)
So with whom do we share this amazing news of Jesus’ death and resurrection? The answer is: with anyone who does not know it! Now I love hearing the gospel over and over again. I never get tired thinking about what Jesus has done for me. In fact we should all reflect on Christ and the gospel every day. The gospel is the very basis of our Christian walk and faith.
But if we only share the gospel with ourselves, if we only share the gospel within the church, then something is terribly wrong with that picture. It’s like a group of cancer patients finding a cure and then keeping it to themselves. That would not only be incredibly selfish, it would be morally wrong. And we are dealing with something far more serious than cancer. Cancer affects a certain percentage of the population. Sin affects us all. Cancer can kill your body. Sin left undealt with will kill your body and your soul. We have a responsibility to share the good news with those who have not heard it.
Before Jesus returned to heaven he told his disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) If you look at those place names on a map, you will see a progression. Jerusalem is at the center. That’s where the gospel started. Next, the gospel was to go out to the surrounding areas of Judea and Samaria. And then finally the gospel was to go out to the rest of the world, to the very ends of the earth. So there was both a local component to sharing the gospel as well as a worldwide thrust.
The same two-fold responsibility rests on us as believers today. We should be sharing the gospel locally within our own neighborhoods and communities, and we should also be involved in the worldwide spread of the gospel, especially among people who have no Christian witness and who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. We need to be doing both. Both are an essential part of sharing the gospel with the world.
Now you would think that as Christians who have been given the good news of the gospel, we would all be sharing the gospel with people around us all the time. But sadly, that is not the case. So why is that? Why don’t we share the gospel more frequently?
Hugh Chapman, pastor at All Souls Church in England (where John Stott used to pastor), recently answered this question at a conference. Let me tell you up front, you are not going to like his answer. That doesn’t mean that it is not a good answer or that it isn’t true. It just means you aren’t going to like it. Palmer said that we don’t tell people the gospel for one of two reasons – either because we don’t believe the gospel or because we don’t love them. Palmer said he still struggles with evangelism and is looking for a third option, but he can’t find one. (http://adrianwarnock.com/2008/04/nwa08-hugh-palmer-on-treasuring-christ.htm) The reason we do not share the gospel with people is either because deep down in our hearts we don’t really believe it, or we do not love people enough to tell them.
That’s a tough answer to swallow, but I believe he is right. We sometimes offer other reasons, or perhaps excuses, but it all comes back to these two. If we really believe the gospel and we really love the people around us, then we will tell them what God has done for them through Christ. And if we really believe that Jesus is the savior for the whole world, then we will be committed to world missions – praying for missions, giving to missions, being willing to go with the gospel ourselves should God call.
CONCLUSION: Worship, love, share, grow. Those are the four purposes. And we need to be doing all four if we are going to fulfill God’s purposes for us as a church. This third area of sharing the gospel is one where we all need to grow. Will you commit yourself before God to sharing the gospel with those around you?
You might ask, “What do I tell them?” Tell them God loves them so much that he gave his only Son for them. Tell them Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the grave. Tell them Jesus is alive today and offers them forgiveness for their sins and the free gift of eternal life. That’s all. I can do that. And so can you.
© Ray Fowler
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