Why Don't We Share the Gospel?

The study guide I am using for Ephesians contains the following question:

• The New Testament repeatedly calls the message of God’s offer of grace to sinners through the substitutionary death of Christ the “gospel” or “good news”. When we hear good news, we want to share it spontaneously with everyone we meet. For example, think of getting a raise, finding out you’re going to have a baby, and so forth. Yet many believers in Christ are reluctant to communicate their faith with others. They seem complacent about this staggering promise of salvation from sin and death through Christ. Why is this so?

Thinking about this, I came up with three reasons.

Firstly: Weak Faith

…or, a lack of appreciation, understanding and love for Christ and all that He accomplished for us.

When we barely understand the gospel ourselves we have little to tell anyone else. When we don’t see the exceeding sinfulness of our sin, the rightness of God in condemning us, the personal cost He paid to redeem us, and the pure grace of God in saving us, our weak faith is unprepared to give an account for itself to others.

A man might discover the world’s largest raw diamond in his garden, but only know it as rough piece of glass. He might keep it in his shed with other odds and ends, or, if he really likes it, place it on a bookshelf in his living room. However, when upon the urging of a friend he takes it to a jeweler, the man finds, to his amazement, that the piece of glass is the most valuable stone in the world. He now has quite a different view of the stone, and treats it quite differently. He finds a secure way of protecting it from theft, but also makes sure it is very visible. When people visit his home; there it is, the very centerpiece of the home, secure in its nicely lit and unbreakable glass display case. It is also the centerpiece of conversation as owner and visitor alike discuss the wonders of its beauty; how the light refracts within the diamond, how it seems to transform the ordinary room into the finest art museum, how utterly unique and rare it must be , and how incalculable its value.

Of course this is an imperfect analogy – after all, the man would be justified in selling the diamond if he needed the money, but it serves to illustrate that we often have a very weak grasp of what salvation means. Sometimes we look at the people to whom we ought to be communicating the gospel and instead can only think about wanting the things that they have! What an imbalance! What can be more precious than the good news of salvation in Christ? This treasure is not subject to rust, moth, or theft. It is a gift of immense practical worth – not an ornament merely to be admired, but an ongoing catalyst of change that serves to make us more and more like our savior with each passing day. Even still, its full worth still lies ahead, for when we pass from this life we find that our salvation has brought with it riches beyond comprehension. The full measure of our inheritance awaits us in the heavenly presence of Jesus Himself, where we will at least see him face to face, gazing without obstruction upon His beauty and perfection. There we will lay down all our God-given honors at His feet and worship Him from hearts bursting with joy. There we will have glorified bodies, undying fellowship with one another, and we will know in full what we now only know in part.

However, the part many of us now comprehend is too small. We must pray with Paul, “That the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened, so that we will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe,” and that we, "May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (From Ephesians 1 and 3.)

Moreover, we must also apply ourselves to God’s Word which is able to “build us up,” to help us “grow in respect to salvation,” and to purify us. Our ability to stand strong in the faith and to increase our understanding of God is rooted in our study of His Word. Yes, we must pray; yes we must walk the walk; yes we must love God… but what of these things can be accomplished without knowing how we must pray, what the walk is, and who God is? Scripture is remarkable in that through it an infinite God communicates to finite minds. It is a power convertor of sorts, taking the current of a completely different frequency and making it usable to appliances that otherwise could not accept it. If we would immerse ourselves in God’s Word we would become filled with the joy of the gospel, for in Scripture are found all the realities of new life in Christ. We are better able to articulate the gospel as we read of it carefully, with our thinking caps on. If we find that our testimony is weak and not worthy of undue attention, we must recognize our miserly condition, repent of living like a pauper when we are made princes, and set ourselves to the grand task of growing up in the faith. "Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature." (1 Corinthians 14:20)

Secondly: Fear of man

For many people who are growing in their faith there is yet an additional hurdle to overcome when seeking to share the good news; the fear of man. Perhaps this is because we don’t want to look silly. Or perhaps we don’t want to suffer a negative reaction that might also hold future consequences. Or possibly we are simply of such a timid disposition that we cannot endure a direct conversation on the subject.

If you fear a negative reaction from your hearers, then your fears are well-founded. We are told that the world will hate us because we belong to Christ. Of course, this infers that the world must know we actually belong to Christ; there is no such thing as silent Christianity. Our lives and our words should work in unison to present hope to the world around us, as lights amidst a crooked and perverse generation. Such exposure will inevitable draw affliction: "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12) This is not New Testament promise we like to lay hold of, nonetheless it is a reality of New Testament living.

This is not to say that all such conversations will be hostile, but that we should not set out with any false assurance of peace, lest we crumble when resistance is encountered. All the apostles suffered severe persecution precisely because they lived and communicated their faith with boldness. What was their reaction to being flogged for preaching Christ? "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name." (Acts 5:41) May our attitudes be so radically changed that we join with Paul in praying, "that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." (Philippians 1:20).

These men were motivated by an overwhelming desire to see their fellow man spared from the wrath of God. Paul wrote, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” (2 Corinthians 5:11) He had been speaking of God’s final judgment upon man, and wanted as many as possible to hear the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ before that day. Fear of man is overcome by a healthy fear of God.

If you fear is appearing foolish before men, then I urge you to fall quickly to your knees. The wisdom and opinion of unsaved man is, in God’s sight, utter foolishness. Unregenerate thinking is degenerate thinking before Him. For us to fear that communicating the pure wisdom of God might put us in a bad light is to turn the whole thing upside down. The only wisdom that matters is Godly wisdom; if we are fools to them, then we are fools for Christ’s sake. We should not let concern over self-image cause us to exchange wisdom for foolishness, and cower before men.

If your natural shyness keeps you from giving the good news to others, then contemplate their certain fate if they do not hear it. Theirs’ is the same doom that you faced before God’s mercy was revealed to you. In Romans 10, Paul says that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. He therefore begs the question, “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” It is God that saves, and He saves those whom He has chosen, but He has chosen to introduce this salvation through the mouths of sanctified men and women. Think less of your inhibitions and more of what you have been spared from by the grace of God. How will you give account for yourself to God for your unwillingness to reach out to those around you who are walking the broad path towards their own destruction? Plead with God for the courage you need, then act; He will provide what you need – perhaps in full, more likely in measure. Also consider your love for Jesus; He who paid an infinitely dear price for your deliverance; He who loved you while you still reviled Him; He who has chosen to set His affection on you forever. Dwell on these things and your fears will diminish. Fear is soon overcome by a deep love for Christ.

Lastly: your own deadness

It is an unpleasant but necessary possibility to mention. Perhaps the reason you do not tell others about your faith in Christ is because you have none. Oh, you’ve heard the message, you know the right words, you can even imitate a Christian lifestyle to some extent, but you have not appropriated the new birth in any way. Examine your life in light of Scripture: are you willfully continuing in the practice of certain sins, are you lacking a practical love of the brethren, do you feel no gratitude toward God for His great mercy, do you have no compelling desire to know Christ above all else? Does the Holy Spirit testify with your spirit that you are indeed a child of the Most High God? "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) If you fail the test then you have good reason for not preaching the Gospel; you also have need of repentance and of coming to Christ in brokenness for salvation. "‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’" (Acts 2:21) Again, do not delay, do not wait for anything - act now!

Ambassadors for Christ

I am familiar with each one of these possible reasons for a weak or non-existent witness. I have personally been in each category at some point in time, so I speak with conviction not condescension. From what I see, the New Testament Church never questioned whether believers should share their faith with others, they simply did it because they knew what they had and, therefore, what others were missing. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20) Christians are citizens of the kingdom of God, and His representatives in this world. Paul is not making a request, he’s making a statement of fact. If we know Christ as our Savior, God as our Father, and the Holy Spirit as our indwelling helper, then we must reach out to those around us who are daily drawing nearer to their eternal grave. God help us – myself included – to “have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”