Anytime I taste something particularly delicious, I offer a bite to my husband and watch with eager anticipation for his reaction. Many of us are ardent evangelists when it comes to our favorite recipes, restaurants, movies, places, and products. The more we enjoy something, the more we want others to experience it too.
But sometimes there’s a disconnect when it comes to God. Though we truly love him, we don’t always live to make him known.
Our relationship with God is meant to impact our homes, workplaces, and communities for his glory. As we behold his magnificence, we should want others to see it. As we experience his love, grace, and comfort, we should want others to receive it. As we’re anchored in his truth, we should want others to learn it.
The good news is too good to keep to ourselves, and we’re called to bear witness to it in both word and deed. When this is our mission, it will transform everything we do.
Proclaim the Gospel
Just like the disciples Jesus was speaking to, we have been commissioned and empowered to spread the hope of the gospel: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:18–20).
Gospel proclamation and discipleship aren’t just for pastors and preachers or for the eloquent and seminary-educated. The whole church is entrusted with this mission, and each of us plays an integral part. God worked through religious experts like Paul and through gruff fishermen like Peter. His fame spread through successful businesswomen like Lydia and through little children. The same is true today. Though God sometimes builds his kingdom through brilliant apologists and evangelists, he doesn’t depend on them. He can work through you and me too.
Gospel proclamation and discipleship aren’t just for pastors and preachers.
In his sovereignty, God has placed us in our families and neighborhoods and workplaces for a purpose. We are sent to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, who came to rescue sinners. Whether we live in the suburbs or the projects, we’re called to spread this message. When we go to work or grad school or tuck our children into bed, we’re called to spread this message. Spiritual need exists everywhere, so our mission does too.
While our actions are an intrinsic and irreplaceable aspect of our witness to others, preaching the gospel requires words. We’re not preaching the gospel with our lives if we’re not also preaching the gospel with our lips. Good works alone cannot impart the good news that Christ died to redeem sinners. Words must be spoken or else the gospel will not be spread:
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Rom. 10:13–14)
Demonstrate the Gospel
However, if we preach what is true about God without representing what is true about God, why would anyone listen to us? As God’s beloved children, we are called to be imitators of him. It is vital to faithful mission.
God cares about human suffering. He carefully knits every human being into existence and treasures every unborn child (Ps. 139:13–14). He is a father to the fatherless and a protector of widows (Ps. 68:5). He watches over the sojourner—to use modern terms, the immigrant, migrant, asylum seeker, and refugee (Ps. 146:9). He hears the cry of the poor (Ps. 102:17), and his fury rises at their abuse (Prov. 17:5). His compassion stretches to those who face hunger and persecution and to those degraded because of their disability or ethnicity (Ps. 146:7–8). And we’re called to imitate him.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to live differently from the surrounding culture, to reflect the nature of God and the ethics of his kingdom. Though the modern church isn’t called to specific Israelite practices like gleaning or celebrating the year of jubilee, it’s important to understand that the moral responsibility to demonstrate mercy and justice was not uniquely assigned to the Israelites.
In the New Testament, Jesus also emphasizes this crucial aspect of faith. In a sobering account of the final judgment, he depicts how acts of mercy such as feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, and clothing the naked will distinguish between those who are his people and those who aren’t (Matt. 25:31–46). This distinction doesn’t mean that our works earn our place in the kingdom. Rather, they show that the King already reigns over our hearts.
When the gospel transforms us, it changes how we treat others. God cares for those who suffer. If we are born of him, we will too.
When the gospel transforms us, it changes how we treat others.
Jesus did more than provide us with instructions and warnings. He demonstrated consistent compassion toward the needy. He showed tenderness to women, children, and the disabled—those marginalized by society and deemed “less than.” He healed the sick, cast out demons, touched the unclean, and fed the hungry. Jesus doesn’t just have power to multiply bread and fish; he has compassion for the hungry. He doesn’t just have power to heal; he has compassion for the hurting.
To be truly gospel-centered, we must be gospel-transformed. We must preach the good news and be devoted to good works for the glory of his name.
The Gospel Coalition