How To Spread The Good News Of The Gospel

When we spread the good news of the Gospel, we can expect to face opposition. The apostle Paul was no exception. He boldly preached the Gospel to the Thessalonians in spite of suffering and mistreatment. First Thessalonians 2:1-8 is a model for all Christians to follow, especially when they are called to spread the Good News of the Gospel. In particular, we are to pay attention to the example Paul set for us. His bold preaching was direct and to the point. He did not use words that would please his audience. He did not resort to manipulation. He did not try to “tickle the ears” of his listeners. He did not try to use his ministry for financial gain. Unlike some preachers. Paul was honest, and honesty is refreshingly simple. No ulterior motives or hidden meanings. No need to manipulate people. No matter how much opposition he encountered, he never took his eyes off of his calling to bring people to Jesus.

If we want to build the Christian community, we must proclaim the Gospel boldly. In the words of Dr. Michael Youssef, who is the president of Leading the Way Ministries, we must “passionately proclaim uncompromising truth.” We must be fearless when we speak out against things such as social injustice, lax morals or the abuse of power within the Christian community.

Paul was entrusted by God to speak not to please man, but to please God. Paul was entrusted with the Gospel, just like God entrusts all of his people with the Gospel. The Gospel has been safeguarded throughout the nations. It is the responsibility of each generation to safeguard the Gospel for generations to come.

Paul and his fellow missionaries could have made demands as apostles. In particular, they could have asked to be paid for their preaching, but they didn’t. Paul made his living as a tentmaker everywhere he went to preach. This supported the claim that the motives of Paul and his colleagues were pure. Lay ministers such as me do not get paid for leading worship services unless they take services in a parish other than their home parish. In my case, I was paid for leading worship services at the United Churches in Liverpool and Bridgewater this past summer. The love of God speaks to the insecurity and the need that is at the centre of greed and as we focus on God’s gift of grace, and we remember that in Jesus we have been given abundant, eternal life, there becomes less and less we have to have, less and less we want.

The Christian church does have some ministers with large egos who have to put their pictures on all their books, parade their degrees after their names, or have the best parking places and the nicest offices. They are no better than the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. True preachers can’t separate their preaching from their daily lives. They must literally “practice what they preach.” If only all preachers-indeed-if only all Christians-served one another as Paul served his fellow Christians. He served his fellow Christians in the following ways:

1. He served with boldness, truth and honesty, seeking to please God and not men.

2. He served without flattery, covetousness, or seeking glory from men.

3. He served with labour night and day, seeking to be devout, just, and blameless.

4. He served with the gentleness and affection of a nursing mother and the guidance and encouragement of a caring father.

Paul was an effective witness because of what he did. He lived out his faith in his relationship with God. The only way we can be effective witnesses is to live our faith in our relationship with God and with each other.

Those of us who provide spiritual leadership have to provide tender loving care to our flocks. We have to provide the spiritual nourishment that people need just like a mother cherishes and nurses her children.

Those of us who preach the Gospel must have courage. Courage is often associated with bravery, but courage can take many different forms. Courage is related to confidence, but in this case confidence is less about being right than it is about being comfortable. It means remaining non-defensive when we are challenged, to listen respectfully to others recognizing that God may be speaking to us through them. While we must have the courage to share the Gospel, we must also be vulnerable. We must share what we know and how we strive to live what we know and how we have failed and doubted along our Christian journey.

Evangelism must always be focused on leading people to Christ because it is a matter of their spiritual life and death. Evangelism must be done with a sense of urgency. We must not allow our daily routines to distract us from our Christian duty. We must preach the truth boldly without using tricks or manipulation. We must please God regardless of whether or not there is any growth in the number of Christian followers.