Our Gospel Motivation
5494. It’s the population of Kununurra in the Census. 5494 souls who need the forgiveness of sin that Jesus brings. 5494. It’s the number of people God has put in our sphere to proclaim the gospel of Christ to. 5494. It’s a BHAG – a Big Hairy Audacious Goal for our church to tell that many people about Jesus. But one person at a time, under God, it’s a goal we can work towards. It’s a goal Jesus gives us, in the great commission, ‘Go, makes disciples of all nations’, or in Acts, ‘be my witnesses to… the Ends of the Earth.’
Maybe the weight of that goal feels heavy, unattainable. We’ve tried that but it didn’t work, we’re a bit tired, people are less interested now than they were before, or the cynical side of us comes out and we think, the minister is going to bang on about this again is he – I’ll just smile and nod. But this cannot be our attitude because people are lost, without a shepherd – in desperate need of the forgiveness Jesus brings. However, if we’re going to change our attitude, if we’re going to increase our zeal for Jesus’ mission, it’s going to start not with fear, or doubt, or guilt that we’re not doing enough. To be effective at proclaiming Christ in the East Kimberley we have to begin with our convictions about God himself and our convictions about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is where Paul started. In 2 Corinthians he doesn’t write I was compelled to tell you the gospel because my minister said so in a sermon, nor does he write, I knew I’d feel guilty if I didn’t tell you the gospel – but I didn’t really want to. No! Paul knows the God whom he serves and the gospel which has captivated his heart and mind. We see this in 2 Corinthians 5.
First Paul knows God
Paul says in v11, ‘therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others’. Paul knows the God who he serves, he fears him. It’s a reverent fear, not a scared fear. Paul has this reverent fear because he knows the goodness and the grace of God in the gospel of Christ. Paul himself knows the reality of what he has been saved from. The word ‘therefore’ in v11 points us back to verse 10, where it is made clear everyone will have to stand before judgement seat of Christ. Paul knows that he will be declared not guilty on the day of this judgement because of Christ, he knows it’s available to all who place their faith in Jesus, so he persuades others.
Second Paul knows the gospel
Paul writes v14-15, ‘for love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefor all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised’. Why does Paul proclaim the gospel, it’s because he knows Jesus’ love in his death and resurrection. He knows that Jesus died for Him, He knows that the death and resurrection means that all humanity has a choice to make, a decision to live for Jesus because in his love he died for them, or to continue to reject him.
Notice Paul’s motivations for sharing the gospel. He fears God and he knows the gospel. If we’re going to have a heart for sharing the gospel, if we’re going to share the gospel with 5494 people in Kununurra. We need to ourselves fear God, knowing that through Christ he will save us from a guilty verdict at the coming judgement. And because we know this reality – that judgement is coming, we will want to persuade others.
We also need to know with conviction the love of Christ who died, so that not only we will live for him, but so that we are convinced that everyone should live for him.
These things happen only as we come face to face with our own reality before God, have our own experience of Christ’s love through the gospel, where he died and was raised so that we would live for him. We need to prayerfully ask God to change our hearts by His Spirit through his Word so that we would fear him, so that Christ’s love would control us, so that we will seek to persuade others – or as we often talk about, so that we would ‘share the gospel’. Guilt is not a good starting place for evangelism, but a healthy fear of God and knowledge of the love of Christ is.
Heavenly Father,
You are God of this universe, my creator, please work in my heart by your Spirit so that I will fear you. Remind me of the reality of the judgement of Christ and make it my heart’s desire to want to persuade people of the truth of the gospel. I pray that Christ’s love will control me, so that I will live for him, and please make it my desire to see the all the people in Kununurra live for Jesus, who died for them.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen
Rev. Daniel Faricy