Why Should I Share the Gospel?
The Greatest News Worth Sharing: Understanding the Gospel's Power
There's something about witnessing a game-winning shot that stirs the soul. The clock winds down, the ball leaves the shooter's hands, and in that suspended moment, everything hangs in the balance. When it swishes through the net at the buzzer, the crowd erupts. It's the stuff of dreams—the kind of moment that motivates young athletes to run outside and practice their own shots, imagining themselves in that victorious position.
But what if I told you there's news infinitely more thrilling, more life-changing, and more worthy of sharing than any sports highlight? What if the greatest story ever told is one we've heard so often that we've become numb to its revolutionary power?
Rediscovering What Matters Most
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church with unmistakable clarity: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Notice those three words: "of first importance." In a life filled with countless priorities, commitments, and concerns, Paul identifies the single most crucial message humanity needs to hear. Not second or third importance—first. Above everything else, this message takes precedence.
Why? Because the gospel isn't just good news; it's the best news. It's the news we need most desperately, whether we realize it or not.
What Exactly Is the Gospel?
The word "gospel" means "good news," but what makes it good? At its core, the gospel is the stunning announcement that sinful humanity has been redeemed—bought back—through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Notice what this definition emphasizes: the gospel focuses on Jesus, not on us. It's not about what we've accomplished or how religious we've become. It's entirely about what Christ has done.
Many of us have grown up hearing about the gospel, attending church services, and participating in religious activities. Yet if we're honest, our understanding of the gospel can become deficient over time. We know it intellectually, but have we truly grasped its weight and wonder?
Historical Truth We Can Trust
When we read about Jesus in the Gospels, we're not reading mythology or wishful thinking. These are eyewitness accounts, penned by people who saw, heard, and touched the living Christ.
The apostle John wrote with remarkable directness: "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, and what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life... what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you" (1 John 1:1, 3).
This wasn't secondhand information or religious speculation. These writers witnessed Jesus' ministry, watched him die on a Roman cross, and encountered him alive three days later. They staked their lives—and ultimately gave their lives—on the truth of what they proclaimed.
The gospel stands on the solid ground of historical reality. This matters immensely in our post-truth culture where feelings often trump facts. Christianity makes historical claims that can be investigated, examined, and verified.
A Theological Necessity
But the gospel isn't just historically true; it's theologically necessary. Romans 8:3 explains why: "For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."
Here's the uncomfortable truth we must face: we cannot save ourselves. No amount of good works, religious activity, or moral improvement can bridge the gap between us and a holy God. The law—God's perfect standard—reveals our inability to measure up. We fall short. Every single one of us.
This is where the concept of "penal substitutionary atonement" becomes crucial. While the phrase sounds academic, it describes the heart of Christianity: Jesus took the punishment we deserved. He substituted himself in our place. He paid the price we could never pay.
Think about it this way: We have offended an infinitely holy God—not accidentally, but intentionally. We've made deliberate choices that violate God's perfect standard. Because God is just, our sin demands punishment. We owe a debt we cannot possibly repay.
But God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh and carried the sin of the world to the cross. The perfect sacrifice paid for imperfect people. God satisfied his own justice through Jesus, offering us forgiveness we could never earn.
First John 4:10 captures this beautifully: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Some find this message too harsh, too bloody, too focused on sacrifice and punishment. But to soften the gospel's sharp edges is to deny its power. If we weren't truly lost, we wouldn't need to be found. If we weren't truly guilty, we wouldn't need forgiveness. If we weren't truly condemned, we wouldn't need a Savior.
The Most Personal Question
Understanding the gospel intellectually is one thing; responding to it personally is another. At some point, each of us must answer the question Jesus posed to his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29).
Peter's response was immediate and profound: "You are the Christ."
This question demands a personal answer. There are no "shirt-tail relatives" in eternity—you can't ride into heaven on someone else's faith. It doesn't matter how strong your parents' faith was, how faithful your grandparents were, or how long you've attended church. What matters is your answer to Jesus' question.
Many people grow up in religious environments, hearing about Jesus regularly, perhaps even participating in devotions and church activities. But knowledge about Jesus differs profoundly from knowing Jesus. Hearing about the gospel is not the same as receiving it.
The gospel becomes real when we personally acknowledge our sin, recognize our inability to save ourselves, and trust completely in what Christ has done for us. It's the moment we stop trying to earn God's favor and instead receive his grace as a gift.
Why This Matters
When we truly grasp what the gospel is—historical truth, theological necessity, and personal reality—we begin to understand why sharing it matters so deeply.
The gospel literally determines our eternity. It hinges on what each person does with Jesus Christ. We either receive him or reject him. There is no neutral ground.
If we believe this message is true—that Jesus really died and rose again, that he really offers forgiveness and eternal life—how can we keep it to ourselves? If you discovered the cure for a deadly disease, would you hide it? If you found the exit in a burning building, would you keep quiet?
The gospel is the best news anyone will ever hear. It's the answer to humanity's deepest problem. It's the hope that transforms despair into joy, guilt into freedom, and death into life.
May we never take it for granted. May we never grow so familiar with it that we lose our wonder. And may we be motivated to share this incredible news with a world that desperately needs to hear it.
The question isn't whether the gospel is worth sharing. The question is: Who do you say Jesus is?
In His Service,
There's something about witnessing a game-winning shot that stirs the soul. The clock winds down, the ball leaves the shooter's hands, and in that suspended moment, everything hangs in the balance. When it swishes through the net at the buzzer, the crowd erupts. It's the stuff of dreams—the kind of moment that motivates young athletes to run outside and practice their own shots, imagining themselves in that victorious position.
But what if I told you there's news infinitely more thrilling, more life-changing, and more worthy of sharing than any sports highlight? What if the greatest story ever told is one we've heard so often that we've become numb to its revolutionary power?
Rediscovering What Matters Most
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church with unmistakable clarity: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Notice those three words: "of first importance." In a life filled with countless priorities, commitments, and concerns, Paul identifies the single most crucial message humanity needs to hear. Not second or third importance—first. Above everything else, this message takes precedence.
Why? Because the gospel isn't just good news; it's the best news. It's the news we need most desperately, whether we realize it or not.
What Exactly Is the Gospel?
The word "gospel" means "good news," but what makes it good? At its core, the gospel is the stunning announcement that sinful humanity has been redeemed—bought back—through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Notice what this definition emphasizes: the gospel focuses on Jesus, not on us. It's not about what we've accomplished or how religious we've become. It's entirely about what Christ has done.
Many of us have grown up hearing about the gospel, attending church services, and participating in religious activities. Yet if we're honest, our understanding of the gospel can become deficient over time. We know it intellectually, but have we truly grasped its weight and wonder?
Historical Truth We Can Trust
When we read about Jesus in the Gospels, we're not reading mythology or wishful thinking. These are eyewitness accounts, penned by people who saw, heard, and touched the living Christ.
The apostle John wrote with remarkable directness: "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, and what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life... what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you" (1 John 1:1, 3).
This wasn't secondhand information or religious speculation. These writers witnessed Jesus' ministry, watched him die on a Roman cross, and encountered him alive three days later. They staked their lives—and ultimately gave their lives—on the truth of what they proclaimed.
The gospel stands on the solid ground of historical reality. This matters immensely in our post-truth culture where feelings often trump facts. Christianity makes historical claims that can be investigated, examined, and verified.
A Theological Necessity
But the gospel isn't just historically true; it's theologically necessary. Romans 8:3 explains why: "For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."
Here's the uncomfortable truth we must face: we cannot save ourselves. No amount of good works, religious activity, or moral improvement can bridge the gap between us and a holy God. The law—God's perfect standard—reveals our inability to measure up. We fall short. Every single one of us.
This is where the concept of "penal substitutionary atonement" becomes crucial. While the phrase sounds academic, it describes the heart of Christianity: Jesus took the punishment we deserved. He substituted himself in our place. He paid the price we could never pay.
Think about it this way: We have offended an infinitely holy God—not accidentally, but intentionally. We've made deliberate choices that violate God's perfect standard. Because God is just, our sin demands punishment. We owe a debt we cannot possibly repay.
But God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh and carried the sin of the world to the cross. The perfect sacrifice paid for imperfect people. God satisfied his own justice through Jesus, offering us forgiveness we could never earn.
First John 4:10 captures this beautifully: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Some find this message too harsh, too bloody, too focused on sacrifice and punishment. But to soften the gospel's sharp edges is to deny its power. If we weren't truly lost, we wouldn't need to be found. If we weren't truly guilty, we wouldn't need forgiveness. If we weren't truly condemned, we wouldn't need a Savior.
The Most Personal Question
Understanding the gospel intellectually is one thing; responding to it personally is another. At some point, each of us must answer the question Jesus posed to his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29).
Peter's response was immediate and profound: "You are the Christ."
This question demands a personal answer. There are no "shirt-tail relatives" in eternity—you can't ride into heaven on someone else's faith. It doesn't matter how strong your parents' faith was, how faithful your grandparents were, or how long you've attended church. What matters is your answer to Jesus' question.
Many people grow up in religious environments, hearing about Jesus regularly, perhaps even participating in devotions and church activities. But knowledge about Jesus differs profoundly from knowing Jesus. Hearing about the gospel is not the same as receiving it.
The gospel becomes real when we personally acknowledge our sin, recognize our inability to save ourselves, and trust completely in what Christ has done for us. It's the moment we stop trying to earn God's favor and instead receive his grace as a gift.
Why This Matters
When we truly grasp what the gospel is—historical truth, theological necessity, and personal reality—we begin to understand why sharing it matters so deeply.
The gospel literally determines our eternity. It hinges on what each person does with Jesus Christ. We either receive him or reject him. There is no neutral ground.
If we believe this message is true—that Jesus really died and rose again, that he really offers forgiveness and eternal life—how can we keep it to ourselves? If you discovered the cure for a deadly disease, would you hide it? If you found the exit in a burning building, would you keep quiet?
The gospel is the best news anyone will ever hear. It's the answer to humanity's deepest problem. It's the hope that transforms despair into joy, guilt into freedom, and death into life.
May we never take it for granted. May we never grow so familiar with it that we lose our wonder. And may we be motivated to share this incredible news with a world that desperately needs to hear it.
The question isn't whether the gospel is worth sharing. The question is: Who do you say Jesus is?
In His Service,
Pastor Kirk Flaa
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