“Proclaim the Gospel!”
What comes to mind when you read this?
Do you imagine someone on the street corner with a megaphone? A preacher in the pulpit? A big tent revival? Do you see a one-on-one conversation where a friend takes the time to share the gospel with their friend who is lost?
I’ve often heard people share that they do not have the gift of evangelism, with the assumption that “proclaiming the gospel” is something left for those who are the professionals or are gifted in some form or another. We each have the responsibility to proclaim the gospel, but we must first ask what the “gospel” is that we are proclaiming?
“God loves you” is part of the gospel but is it the full gospel?
“God wants to save you from your sins” is part of the gospel but is it the full gospel?
“God wants to be with you for all eternity” is part of the gospel but is it the full gospel?
What is the gospel? How you understand the answer to this question is of upmost importance. It shapes how you read the Bible, how you interact with the church, and how you engage the world around you.
The Gospel is the Good News proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Lord and has returned to sit on his throne. God’s everlasting Kingdom breaking in to the here and now is the Good News proclaimed in Jesus’s ministry. This is the message Jesus sends the twelve out with in Luke 9, the message of John the Baptizer in Matthew 3, and the authority in which Jesus sends out the disciples in the great commission in Matthew 28. There are several other references to look to but my main point is that the Gospel writers were telling the story, in different ways, of how God has returned his presence back to his people through Jesus Christ.
When you read through the Gospels, pay attention to the stories Jesus tells and the way he treats people. The message of the Gospel is that this world is going to be turned upside down when Christ takes his place on his throne. How does he take his place on the throne? Through the cross.
Have you ever wondered why the gospel accounts are so long if they are only about Jesus dying so that we don’t to? If Jesus was merely a sacrifice for our sins, couldn’t he have died when Herod killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem? The Gospels are painting a picture of the kind of King we follow so we know what kind of citizens we are to be of his Kingdom.
Revelation 21:5 shows Jesus standing up on his throne, declaring that he is making all things new. The surrounding imagery is that there will be no more pain, suffering, sorrow, or death. All these things will be destroyed in the reclaiming of the creation God made good. There is much more to say about all of this but I wanted to prime the pump.
What does it mean to “proclaim the gospel” to the broken world around us?
What does it mean to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord in a world of political tension?
What does it mean to proclaim that Christ is making all things new in a world of disaster?
What does it mean to proclaim the death of death in a world of suffering?