We preach Jesus Christ is Lord

“God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up. But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly, showing everyone who we are. Then they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are in God’s sight.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2 NCV)

Why do people not respond to the Good News about Jesus? That is a question many have asked for centuries but possibly more so in the last few decades. You would think with all the information we now have at our fingertips (literally, through our keyboards and the internet), that people could research and see what the truth really is. But perhaps that is the problem – how do we know what we see on the internet is actually factual and reliable?

Perhaps the problem isn’t having access to information but Christians not engaging with people. I’ve been told that the way to see more growth is to get on the Internet – the thought seems to be put the information out there and then I don’t have to do anything. But that is not what we find in scripture! Throughout the book of Acts we consistently see that it is Christians talking to other people and telling them about Jesus that leads to someone becoming a Christ-follower.

Notice what Paul wrote: God in his mercy has given us work to do. That work is teaching others about Jesus, to “teach the truth plainly”. That is what it is about. We don’t use ‘trickery’ nor do we change the message to make it more palatable to those who listen. Paul wrote the letters to Corinth from Ephesus which was a centre for the mystical arts in the Roman Empire. He had to deal with those who claimed a power which they really didn’t have (read Acts 19:11-20). When we present the Good News of Jesus in as plain and simple way as we can people can then see what kind of people we are. Perhaps they will then listen.

“If the Good News that we preach is hidden, it is hidden only to those who are lost. The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God. We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your servants for Jesus. God once said, ‘Let the light shine out of the darkness!’ This is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

What is our message to be? – that Jesus is Lord. This is Good News! This Jesus is “exactly like God” – he is deity. The devil doesn’t want people to hear that. The devil wants confusion in other messages that are presented, whether it is the form of not needing a God (that evolution can answer all questions) or in the form of alternative ‘faith’s’. The devil does all he can to make sure that people cannot see the light of the Good News.

This is where we come in, as followers of Jesus. We need to proclaim that “Jesus Christ is Lord”. We need to let our lights shine (Matthew 5:16) so that people can see the light of Jesus. The message isn’t about us – we are simply servants, the ones who tell the Good News about our Master. We are here to help show the light of Jesus.

We have work to do. The real question is: are we doing it?

Image by RDNE Stock project from pexels.com. Free for use.

Readings for next week: 1 Corinthians 16; 2 Corinthians 1-8