If the gospel is true, then we shouldn’t be somber or sorry to share it. We should announce the work of Jesus as the best news we could ever deliver to another person.
The Apostle Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthian church out of concern for their spiritual maturity. The people were confused about beliefs and compromised in behaviors.
Despite the numerous issues he addressed, Paul couldn’t neglect his goal for this church. They needed to sort out their problems to get to the mission.Â
16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
We must start looking at people strictly through a worldly perspective (5:16). The things of this life do not define them or us. And every person we encounter is a spiritual being that will live somewhere forever.
For those who have received the gospel, we boldly affirm that our past is gone, and Christ has given us a new start.
We once were enemies of God, but Jesus has reconciled us back. Since the gift of salvation does not include an immediate escape from this earth, He has left something for us to do. We have been reconciled to take up the ministry of reconciliation (5:18).Â
We often complicate this ministry Christ gave us, but we must keep it simple. Our job is to brag about how Christ saved us and can also save others. We don’t have to evangelize – we get to evangelize!
Our message is to tell others that God doesn’t have to “count their trespasses against them” (5:19). That’s the best news in the world! We are doing it wrong if our “gospel” presentations sound like bad news.
The good news is that Jesus was delighted to die for us so our sins could be forgiven. What’s so hard about shouting that from the rooftops?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
