What now? Having paid the penalty for sin on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus appeared to the disciples and gave them their “marching orders:” “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (Matthew 28:19). He said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). And the last thing Jesus said to the disciples was “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
“Going” and “telling”is the task of every person who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. “Evangelism,”sharing the “good news”of salvation through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, is the calling of all of us who are filled with His Spirit. With the Apostle Paul we proclaim, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
Yet it seems that many in the church, while claiming to believe in Jesus Christ, are not equipped to share the Gospel with others, to TELL the good news to those who have not yet confessed Jesus Christ as Savior. In Romans 10:13, Paul quotes the prophet, Joel, and declares, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,”but then he goes on to say,
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”(Romans 10:14-15). We who believe have HOPE through faith in Jesus Christ that every person needs in order to live in this world! So Peter writes, “ … in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense (to testify) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15).
This series of seven messages will remind you of things you already know or teach you the Gospel for the first time. It will give you an outline to remember when sharing the Gospel with others, preparing and equipping you for those moments when God wants to use you to tell someone else about Him and the one way of salvation through faith in Jesus. “GO, and TELL!”is God’s command to all who know Him and who trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and life. May God use His Word to speak to all who hear in order that we will live as ambassadors of His kingdom, sent from the Father in the power of the Spirit to “GO, and TELL!”