Fear of Man
When Jesus was alive on earth, it was the fear of what others might think that prevented many from nailing their colours to his mast. The apostle John recorded,
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:42-43
Is this not true so often today? How many leading men in our society have had a Christian upbringing yet now are ashamed to talk about the Lord Jesus? It is even true for many clergy – they may occasionally mention God but seldom explain the necessity of everyone having a close personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
A leader from another church’s visited one of our church services. I went up to speak with her before the service began to make her feel welcome. I started by saying how good it was to see her with us. Her reply shocked me,
“The trouble with your church is that you talk too much about Jesus!”
I didn’t know what had initiated this outburst and wondered how best to reply. I had just been studying Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians, so I showed her the first ten verses of the opening chapter. The Lord Jesus is mentioned in every sentence. Paul was clearly concerned that the troubled church in Corinth should come back to being Christ-centred. We could have looked at other epistles. They are all full of Christ. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, summarises the gospel as,
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
Why have so many churches and Christian organisations drifted from this fundamental doctrine? Why have so many Christians stopped talking about the Lord Jesus with their friends and families? They may believe it quietly in their hearts but it is no longer on their lips.
Confess Jesus because he is the Lord God of this world
We have a tradition in our church that when adults are baptised they give a brief explanation for their decision. Some find this harder than others. One young lady was obviously finding this very hard indeed. She hesitantly began, looking to the floor.
“I find this so hard, but there is one thing I am not ashamed of – that is the Lord Jesus who came and died for me.”
I suspect the large crowd listening were more moved by her short explanation that any of the other more erudite explanations that day.
Most of us would find it very hard not to mention to friends and family if we received an invitation from the Queen to dine with her in Buckingham Palace. How much more significant it is to have accepted the invitation to be adopted into the family of the King of Kings.
A friend was recently a member of a high powered government delegation to China, accompanying the Prime Minister. At a dinner their extrovert Chinese host asked those on his table if they were members of the Communist Party. When no-one answered he opened his question wider to other similar groups, mentioning the Labour Party. Still there was no response, so the host asked if they were members of any society. My friend then publicly exclaimed,
“I belong to Jesus Christ. I am a Christian.”
The effect of this was to encourage another Chinese lady at the table to open her mouth.
“I am also a Christian.”
What can be better than to follow the glorious Lord of the universe and to be his representative?
Share the gospel using words
There is a dangerous phrase that has been wrongly attributed to St Francis of Assisi,
“Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”i
This suggests that to demonstrate the Gospel by example is better than to explain it verbally. Such an idea is contrary to Scripture. Jesus told his disciples,
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
The proclamation and practice of the gospel cannot be divided. Clearly Christians must live in a way befitting of Christ. However not to pass on the news about Jesus means that others cannot know who he is and or what his death has achieved on their behalf. The gospel cannot be preached without words. It is the story about Jesus, the one historical person who was God himself. St Paul wrote,
“How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? . . . “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Romans 10:14-15
St Francis himself was a passionate and animated preacher. He often preached five times a day so great was his concern to get the Christian message out. Researchers have found no evidence that he ever made such a misleading statement.
Confess Christ as it is the only way to grow as a Christian
Jesus himself said,
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33
What greater incentive can there be for going public in our commitment to Christ?
It is striking how a small vociferous group of people can change society. It was the small group who followed Lenin that introduced Communism into Russia and from there throughout the world. It was a small group of vociferous atheists who have introduced secularism into Britain and the west, whilst the churches slept. It was a small group of active homosexuals who are changing attitudes to homosexuality in the west. Yet if we Christians wake up and start again to acknowledge the Lord Jesus in all we do, there is no reason that we cannot change the world as the early apostles did.
It is vital that all Christians get over their embarrassment and learn to talk to others about Jesus. When first attached to a gynaecology firm as a medical student I found it extremely embarrassing to take a history from the ladies. How often I blushed and was tongue-tied. Yet because I had to learn the art, I slowly overcame the problems, so that now I am no longer coy, and subsequently I don’t think my patients feel so awkward either. It is just the same in talking about spiritual matters, where it is even more important that we learn to overcome being embarrassed. To be embarrassed about doing this is one thing, to be ashamed of Jesus and of the Bible is another. It has eternal consequences for us.
Jesus said,
“If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, the son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory.” Luke 9 v. 26
What an awful thought - to be publicly rejected by Jesus Christ himself because I have not courageously acknowledged that I love the Lord Jesus.
BVP
i http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/11/factchecker-misquoting-francis-of-assisi/
