Our Archbishop, Peter Jensen, suggested last week two reasons why we don’t tell our friends and neighbours about Jesus. Both reasons flowed out of the Book of Jonah. The first was fear. He admitted to fear and said it was really common.
What is it that Christians fear when they tell people about Jesus? Some fear rejection. Rejection of our ideas, ideas that are very precious to us, often hurts us. Some of our friends ridicule the Lord Jesus and his gospel of God's love. It is to be feared.
Some fear embarrassment. Many of us are sensitive and somewhat fragile. Being embarrassed by a friend’s reaction to our gospel message can easily embarrass us.
Peter suggested the solution to these kinds of fear is to have faith in God. The gospel of God is both true and powerful. And it will often provoke a negative response even if presented gently and with great love. But it is the truth. And it is powerful.
I find it helpful to remember that every Christian I know became a Christian because someone told them the gospel. God works through his people telling others the gospel. God saves people through them hearing the gospel.
Faith in God means trusting in God's ways – telling others the gospel. It means trusting in God's love and protection no matter what. I am yet to meet a Christian who really died of embarrassment or fear from telling someone the gospel. (Although they might have wished they were dead!)
The second reason Peter suggested why we don’t tell our friends and neighbours about Jesus is much more subtle. Most humans are, by nature, self righteous. We see our self-righteousness most often when driving the car. We criticise others for doing what we often do.
Even though we know that we are saved by grace, that we contribute nothing towards our salvation, we still think that certain others don’t deserve God's grace. Perhaps they’ve hurt us. Perhaps they’re simply unsavoury people. Perhaps it’s the outworking of deeply entrenched racism. But, we act as if some people just don’t deserve God's grace.
Although it is subtle, this is a very powerful reason why sometimes we don’t tell others the gospel. We need to continually hold up God's word as a mirror to reveal our hearts to us. As recipients of the grace of God, we need to guard our hearts and actively reject such unworthy motivation.
God loves all people. It is God's declared will that all should be saved. We must never act contrary to God's will.
So, what are you afraid of when telling others the gospel? Do you need to trust God more?
Do you need to repent of an ungodly attitude that secretly thinks some people just don’t deserve to be saved? Or even wished that they not be saved?
We are complex people living in a complicated world. So we need to keep focusing on those things that matter most. We need to get rid of the things that don’t matter all that much and focus on the things that matter most. When we get to heaven, people won’t thank us for spending more time on our hobbies or favourite things. They will thank us for telling them the gospel!
Neil Macken
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