Share It or Proclaim It

 

It was a believer’s funeral. The Pastor who was speaking explained that the woman who had passed away had received Jesus in her heart a few years earlier. He said that she would, therefore, spend eternity with Christ in Heaven. His final words in the eulogy were, “Does that work for you?”

The church member sitting next to me leaned over to exclaim how she loved it when he shared the Gospel like that.

Had he shared the gospel? Paul told the Ephesian elders that he “did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). It seemed that this pastor had forgotten a large portion of the gospel because he never suggested that there was sin, or death (ours or Christ’s) and that there is a work of our God necessary for salvation to occur.

This was a long time ago but this month, observing as Pride month was in full swing (and seemed to be as focused on transgenderism as it was on homosexuality), there were noticeable differences in the way Christians addressed people that disagree with us.

The Bible (specifically, Paul) talks about sharing the gospel and the blessings that come with it:

• “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:23 (ESV)
• “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become dear to us.” 1Thessalonians 2:8  (ESV)

But, in other places Christ and Paul talk about “proclaiming” the truth or proclaiming Christ.

• “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15
•  “… and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6:19
• “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Colossians 1:28

In many instances today evangelists do not have the advantage Paul had of revisiting his audience day after day as he stayed in their city, even as he went house to house. Now, many are at an abortion mills or a “gay pride” events and have one opportunity to proclaim the Word of God.

The thing that the two terms “share” and “proclaim” have in common is that there is someone on the receiving end. Other people benefit when we do either of these!

Another thing that they have in common is that our faithfulness to speak the truth is our major concern when we evangelize by “sharing” or “proclaiming” Christ. God does the work of changing hearts. And, as with Christ, we can expect that some will mock, some will want to hear more at another time, and some will hear the truth and it will set them free (Acts 17:32-34).

The pastor at that funeral did not proclaim Christ; in fact he shared only a part of the gospel (eternity in Heaven).

The Apostle Paul, as he was leaving the Ephesian elders said to them, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27).

As we go about, deliberately to abortion mills or matter-of-factly over the fence with our neighbors or casually at the water cooler with our co-workers, our times are screaming for the whole counsel of God to be spoken. Whether we “share” it or “proclaim” it does not matter. What matters is that we are faithful to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) to someone — anyone — who will listen, regardless of our fears or their response.