We are all commanded to share the gospel message with the world. Jesus told His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15), and while there are men and women who do not yet know God, that command applies to us.
To obey, we might invite someone to worship or have a Bible study, we try to live in a way that draws people closer to God, or we may financially support a missionary who will preach God’s word to people we will likely never meet.
In 1 John 1, John, who was perhaps the closest disciple of Jesus, said, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also” (1 John 1:3). Notice that John was not satisfied with sharing the good news; John proclaimed the good news. John did this because he understood who Jesus was, he believed without question that Jesus rose from the grave, and he wanted others to experience fellowship with God (1 John 1:1-4).
We might ask ourselves if there is any difference between John and us. Do we understand that Jesus died as the sinless Son of God? Do we believe that Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven? Do we genuinely want others to experience the fellowship, or sharing, with God that we all know? If we answer yes to these questions, why don’t we proclaim the gospel like John?
If the church today or individual Christians proclaimed instead of shared, how different might the world be?
Matt Langfield