What is more important – truth or relationship? Word or deed? Preaching or serving?
There is zero tension and conflict between sharing the truth and sharing your life. We are called to build relationships, love people, share the Gospel, serve others, share our lives, and speak truth. All these need to happen together!
This was Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy’s heart for the church in Thessalonica. They wrote in the first letter to the Thessalonians, “our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance” (1:5). They later write that “we were emboldened by our God to speak the gospel of God” (2:2). Then, a few sentences later they expound on their ministry and say:
“We were gentle among you, as a nurse nurses her own children. We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become so dear to us.” (2:7-8)
Driven by the Spirit’s work in their life, these Christian leaders considered the believers in the church very dear to them. And so they were gentle, affectionate, and devoted to them like a mother (or nurse) cares for her children. Later they add they also served them like a father with his children:
“As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (2:11-12).
This calling is not just true for leaders – all Christians “have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel” (2:4). That means we are to share the gospel and our own lives. Consider how you can live out this calling in these four ways:
1- Speaking the gospel and sharing our lives must go together. We can’t effectively do one without the other! If the gospel has truly taken root in our hearts and transformed our lives, then we will both speak and serve. To share the gospel is to share our lives, and to share our lives is to share the gospel.
2- We must believe, experience, and live the gospel for ourselves in order to share it with others. God’s love for us drives our love for others. We shouldn’t just be repeating something we’ve heard. We need to receive and meditate on Christ’s love, forgiveness, victory, peace, and hope every day of our lives! We want to be sharing a living truth that has filled our souls and drives our lives.
3- We’re talking about both evangelism and discipleship. The gospel is not just for unbelievers. The good news of what Christ has accomplished in his death and resurrection is the center of what we share with the lost and with fellow believers. The gospel is not just the way you become a Christian – only to then try to follow God on your own. Faith in Christ is the way you live every day as a Christian. We need a Savior to bring us the grace of God the first day we believe and every day after. The work of Christ is what even the most mature believer needs.
“The means by which sinners are evangelized – the gospel word and the gospel community – are the means by which sinners are discipled. We continue to ‘evangelize’ one another as Christians because it continues to be the gospel message with which we exhort and encourage one another. The good news that gives life is the good news that transforms.” – Total Church, by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
4- Sharing the gospel and your life is best done in community. We can’t divorce gospel-truth from the gospel-community. The leaders writing to the Thessalonians show us this when they write, “we shared our lives.” The most effective way to communicate the gospel is in the context of relationships – then people don’t just hear the gospel from us, they see the gospel in us. People are often drawn to Christian community even before they are drawn to the Christian message.
So, receive God’s grace, grow in God’s truth, build community with fellow Christians…and then share the gospel and share your life in the church and in your neighborhood!
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