Do your neighbors, co-workers, and friends know you are a Christian? Is your family aware that Jesus Christ is the most important thing in your life? Everywhere Paul traveled, the people knew he was a follower of Jesus. He wasn’t afraid to be bold in proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Against all odds, he stood firm in the faith (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
He made the underlying reason for his boldness known when he wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17). You know the question that’s coming… Are you ashamed to proclaim the gospel?
We’ve all been in situations where it’s uncomfortable to talk about Christ. Why is that? Are you ever uncomfortable to talk about your spouse, kids, hobbies, or achievements? Of course not. We have an innate desire to talk to others about those things that are the most important to us. Why, then, are we sometimes hesitant to proclaim the gospel? Those of other faiths and those having no faith at all are not ashamed to tell you why they believe what they do. They don’t even have the truth, but they’ll go on for hours about the lies they believe. So, what’s wrong with us?
We have the truth that leads to salvation and eternal life (John 14:6; 1 John 5:11-12). There is no other way to Heaven except through Christ (John 10:9; Acts 4:12). Every person we talk to is going to Hell unless they repent of their sins and believe in the saving power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Luke 13:3; Romans 10:9-10). We may be the only chance they will ever have to hear the good news of the gospel. We may be their only chance to learn how to escape God’s wrath on the day of judgement (John 3:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9).
There is no time to be timid about sharing our faith. You don’t have to put a megaphone to their ear or smack them in the head with a Bible (I’d advise against both of those methods), but you do have to open your mouth. Every Christian bears the responsibility of telling others about Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). Out of all the people in the world, God selected you to know Him (John 15:16; Ephesians 1:4-5). You could be one of those on the outside looking in, but God chose you and put someone in your path to tell you about His salvation. Where would you be without that person? Now, be that person for someone else!
We cannot live our lives afraid of what others might think of us. The truth of the gospel demands we be courageous, unafraid, and not ashamed (2 Timothy 1:7-8; Philippians 1:20). Not everyone who hears the truth will believe it. Some may discard it now but believe later. But how will anyone believe if someone does not tell them the good news (Romans 10:14-15)? We are the ambassadors of God, commissioned to tell others about Him (2 Corinthians 5:20). Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Get out there and tell somebody about the hope and life found only in Jesus.