How Can We Answer the Calling to Be 'Sent Out' and Share the Gospel?
Share
"The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad." Acts 15:3
This wrong view of traditions would continue to trouble the church, and it still does today. Let us rejoice in the good work God is doing in and around us and reject any teaching that adds requirements to the true freedom of the gospel.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe." Acts 15:7
"Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." Acts 15:10-11
One great joy in being sent is the beautiful simplicity of the gospel we preach and that it applies to everyone.
As we seek to send and be sent, it is easy to overcomplicate what Jesus taught and what it means. However, we find our freedom not in a complex faith but in returning time and time again to sit at his feet and learn from him. We share this beautifully simple message with a hurting and dying world. To be a follower of Christ, we must simply believe. We tell others what Jesus has done for us and who he claims to be in his word. That is enough.
Jesus taught us that if He sets us free, then we are free indeed (John 8:36). He teaches that his burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Jesus does not give us more rules to follow and more obstacles between God and us that we will never overcome. He offers us a freedom beyond our striving, found only when we rest in Him.
This is why Peter stands so strongly on his conviction that the gospel does not require extra rules, futile attempts at 'doing better,' or a heavy burden to carry. Peter accurately points out that no one has been able to keep up with the law of Moses.
Not even Moses.
This is because we were never designed to. The law was given to show us what God desires and point us toward the only one who could ever live up to it – Jesus. We are clean only because we are cleansed by our faith in Him, not by our deeds. We preach a gospel as simple as accepting that Jesus did what we could never do. There is no extraordinary path leading to salvation; just believing Jesus is who he said he is and that he did what history proves he did.
As we fall short time and time again, we must return to rest in the grace of the one who never fell short and never will.
We are all called to send and be sent, each of us. Through our prayers and resources, we support those who are vocationally sharing the gospel, and in our personal circles, we share the gospel as we have opportunity. A life devoted to sending and being sent is a joyful life as we watch God move in ways we could have never have planned or imagined on our own.
Jason Soroski is a homeschool dad and member of the worship team at matthias lot church in St. Charles, MO. He spends his free time hanging out with his family, exploring new places, and writing about the experiences. Connect on Facebook or at JasonSoroski.net.