We can’t keep good news quiet.

When I hear good news about anything, I am immediately compelled to share it. There is a powerful, joy-inducing element in good news. When your team wins the championship, it must be shared and celebrated! When the lab results reveal total healing, we ask others to share in our joy! The gospel good news of our Lord Jesus Christ is the best news ever. Why do we find it so difficult to share?

Paul could write, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them (my fellow countrymen) is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Paul had a passion for souls, and it showed. In other words, he really did believe the good news, and he could not keep it to himself.

What is it that hinders our gospel witness?  

1) We do not understand the gospel. We cannot share something that we do not possess. We must grasp the gospel in order to proclaim it. I am stunned that so many Christians cannot recall a basic gospel outline. We cannot share what we do not understand. Study the gospel. Delight in the good news and you will be compelled to share it.

2) We don’t want to be hypocrites. We realize, much to our shame, that our lives are not 100% consistent with the gospel. We do not always act as Christians. Therefore, we tend to hide our convictions so as not to be exposed as two-faced.

3) We won’t want to risk our friendships, jobs, or social standing by taking a much-maligned, minority opinion. To speak truth is to rock the boat, to stir up commotion, and to disturb the comfortable status quo. So, we coast in neutral, avoiding conflict. We go with the flow and refuse to swim against the tide.

I think if we had some measure of Paul’s zeal for the lost, all of these hinderances could be swiftly overcome. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2-3). With a touch of that zeal, we would learn the depth and power of the gospel and continually delight our souls in it! We would recognize our inconsistencies with the truth of the gospel and make steady, lasting change. We would realize that peace outside of the gospel is truly impossible. The status quo is not to be rested in but overcome and transformed by the joy of the gospel. The good news makes all things better!

I have good news for you. Jesus has conquered, and his kingdom is coming. He invites all to join him in the freedom offered in the gospel.