We Do Not Lose Heart
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
The past couple of weeks in our fellowship we have seen in the Scriptures that God through Christ has given us the job of reaching the lost with the message of the Gospel. In Revelation Chapter 1, we read that we who are in Christ are priests of the Kingdom. As priests, we pray for and serve those who don’t know God. We do what we can to stand in the gap on their behalf serving them so that hopefully, they will not reject Jesus but come and receive Him as their Savior.
We talked about being ambassadors for Christ as well. Being new creations in Christ, we are in a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God. We have the authority bestowed on us to go into this world so that we “may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.” We testify about the new life that God gives us in Christ, the excellencies of Christ, and the grace extended to us.
And as wonderful as we may imagine it to be, the hard reality is that it is often very hard work. Many times we are on the verge of losing heart because it seems those we are close to or sharing with will never come around and embrace the Lord. It feels as though every door gets shut in our face and every person turns a cold shoulder.
Because of that, some believe it’s not the message but maybe the method. And so people resort to different schemes or ministries that will bring people into the church buildings and make Jesus and the Bible seem more agreeable. The hope is to remove any of those hindrances that would keep people from hearing the gospel. And that is very admirable, but it can put a different look and feel on being a disciple of Jesus.
There are churches that look and sound like the world we live in and the gospel is changed into pop psychology with a spiritual twist. America’s largest megachurch is an example of one that exploded in attendance and popularity when the pastor stopped warning people of the judgment to come because of sin, stopped talking about hell because it was uncomfortable, and didn’t want to talk about relational issues because they are just so complicated, and rather would have people come and know that God just wants to bless them and give them their fullest life, even now if they just embrace positive thought and speak their new reality.
As you read this I hope you can tell that this is not the gospel at all but an attempt to gather people together under the banner of Jesus and help them feel nice about who they are and to live at peace with other people around them. But if it’s not the good news of Jesus, it’s not good news at all!
In our verses, Paul says we don’t change the truth and deceive people. We don’t revert to shameful ways. We are not to be like the old school car salesmen who used to do the old bait and switch, promising one thing and delivering another. Paul says we live contrary to that. We speak plainly about what God has said. We help people see their need for Christ for salvation. We live openly as new men and women demonstrating how God’s people are made new and what a true disciple looks like.
Paul says, “Even if the gospel is veiled,” meaning we do all we can to tell others about Jesus and show them with our lives what it looks like to be born again and yet they can’t see it or understand it, we know it is not our deficiency but a war with the enemy of God, Satan who actively keeps them blinded from seeing and understanding.
He does this in many ways, by pointing out our shortcomings, by raising up other worldviews to dominate their thinking, by enticing them with pleasures of the world and flesh, by raising up people who speak spiritually and even use the name of Jesus to deceive, by doing whatever he can to keep them in darkness and not see the light of Christ.
Satan blinds the mind and makes those who are precious to God, rebel against God. We, however, press on, calling people into true repentance and salvation. The number of people who need Christ can feel staggering, but remember this, it just took that one moment, that one conversation, that one act of love that helped you to see Jesus clearly. That one moment changed everything! So now you and I are able to be that one for so many others!
So, let us press on and tell the world that Jesus lives, and let’s start by doing it right here, where Jesus has placed us! What will your one moment with others look like today?
