How often do we shy away from speaking up for God? That may be such a difficult question and we probably shy away from answering it when asked. Most likely, in this past week or month, we have neglected opportunities to spread the truth of Jesus. Now let me ask you a second question: do you love your neighbor enough to spread the hope of the gospel? This is another very tough question to ask, but let us be truthful with ourselves. We have not done a sufficient job. We often push away those who are difficult to work with or be around and we count them as a loss for our mission field and just move on with no second thoughts. How sad is that? We make the choice that people are not good enough to hear about God’s word just because they are different from us and we bypass them entirely.
We are called to be better than that.
God has commanded us to love our neighbor and spread the gospel and the hope of Jesus. Romans 1:16–17 says this, “for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” If God has delivered us a perfect plan of salvation, who are we to make a judgment on those around us? We have been commanded by Jesus to “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” (Mt 28:17–19). As Christians, we should be using every opportunity to spread the love of Jesus to every single person. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says that “we were bought with a price, So glorify God with our bodies.”
If your neighbor can be saved with the same blood that saved you, why wouldn’t you want to share the hope found with Jesus with them? I believe this comes down to the heart of believers. Do we truly love enough to want to save the person who treats us poorly? Do we love enough to reach out to the person who laughed at our faith in God? Do we love enough to spread the gospel to every person we meet? If we are not doing everything we can to spread the gospel, we are neglecting our love for the lost.
There is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15:10), so think of the joy in heaven if we dedicate ourselves to helping people find Hope in Jesus and the gospel. Let us make a change and begin to truly love the lost and spread the hope of Jesus with every person we meet.
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the people” (Psalm 96:3).
Christian Cherry
Need suggestions or help to spread the gospel? Check out our “Who Is My Neighbor” ministry and get started reaching out to your neighbor with the gospel message today!
Christian Cherry is the 2024-2025 youth intern for Dalraida church of Christ and is currently a Bible major student at Faulkner University.
Dalraida church of Christ is a congregation of Christians that meet in the mid-town area of Montgomery, Alabama. Our goal and purpose is to seek and follow God and His Word in everything that we do in life.