The Responsibility of Sharing the Good News

Christians have a responsibility, a responsibility to not just lead moral lives, but to spread the Gospel to all corners of the world, that was not a suggestion it was a command from Jesus Himself, as He said in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We are to obey Jesus and follow His commands.

John 14:15  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Christianity is a mission based religion, when one receives the Holy Spirit the first impulse one gets is to share the Good News. When I first accepted the forgiveness of Christ, I went out of my way to share the Gospel, sometimes with good results, sometimes with bad.

On the one hand, all of the people I assumed were my friends abandoned me because I was now a Christian. I was hated and despised by them and they wanted nothing to do with me or with God. And on the other hand, the Holy Spirit used me as a delivery vessel to bring the Good News to an ex-convict who had murdered his brother, a meth addict who needed that push to get cleaned up in a program and a crack addicted prostitute who had solicited me, but ended up accepting Jesus into her life. I have no idea what happened to them, but I trust that God has looked out for them.

When I think back to the times I have gone out spreading the Good News, I remember the good times like the ex-convict who repented right there on the sidewalk after I told him the Good News; and I remember the not so good, like when an angry drunk tried to urinate on me when I mentioned the name of Jesus.

I think it is fear of those not so good experiences that keep so many of us from spreading the Good News. We want to see people repent and accept Jesus into their lives, but we are also terrified of the social ostracism that can happen, or the potential violence. Jesus said we would be hated for His names sake.

John 15:18, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

Well let me tell you, it is not that bad. Sure, my willingness to share the Good News cost me my secular social life and I’ve been in hostile situations, but in the end it is all worth it. When the Holy Spirit uses you to bring someone to repentance, the feeling is like no other–like you have completed your life’s work to perfection; that is the only way I can explain it, those who have witnessed to those who have accepted Jesus know what I am speaking about.

It does not matter how you spread the Gospel, be it preaching on street corners, posting in comment sections all over the net, going door to door, putting up posters, building relationships … All that matters is getting out there and doing it, just let the Holy Spirit guide your hands and speak through your mouth, it is that simple, simply obey that missionary part of the Holy Spirit and God will do the rest.

How did you spread the Good News today?