Christian, do you shrink from proclaiming the gospel to the lost for fear of being rejected? Are you ashamed of the gospel, even though it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe (Rom. 1:16)?
There is no reason for such shame or concern. If the lost reject the gospel, it is not you they are rejecting, it is the Lord they are denying, just as the world rejected Him when He walked the earth physically (Jn. 1:10-11). We know the gospel is truth and truly good news, but the world cannot accept it. For “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).
No one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him (Jn. 6:44), and no one will receive the gospel unless God first opens the heart (Acts 16:14). Jesus sheep will come to Him when they hear the call (Jn. 10:25-29). It is for this reason that Jesus gave us the great commission, to go make disciples of all the nations (Mt. 28:18-20), and this begins with preaching the gospel.
No hook is necessary. No fancy argument. Just the truth of the gospel which Paul summarized succinctly in 1 Cor. 15:3-5:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”
What more is there to say? The gospel is simple and straightforward. In preaching it as such, salvation rests not upon our eloquence of speech, but on God’s power (1 Cor. 2:4-5). And this is truly from where it comes, because “by grace you have been saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). It does not depend on him who wills or him who runs, but on God who shows mercy (Rom. 9:16).
But this is how God chooses to save, according to His will, to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:4-6). This message will be foolishness to the world, but it is by this message that God saves those who believe (1 Cor. 1:21).
If you bring the gospel to someone, and that person rejects it, know that you have planted a seed but then, as Jesus instructed those He sent out, “shake the dust off your feet” (Mt. 10:14). It is not for you to convince - the Holy Spirit must convict. That is His job, and we would do well not to seek to supplant Him in this role.
So, believer, what will you do? Will you hesitate to speak the gospel, trembling despite the spirit of power and love that God has given us (2 Tim. 1:7)? Or will you proclaim boldly the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jud. 1:3) as we have been called to do?
Do not forget, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). The message of salvation is simple:
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10).
The Word of God is powerful.