I spent a lot of time at sea as a commercial fisherman in my younger years. When you are out there in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, the Dover Straits of England, you get to see all kinds of boats and ships designed for all sorts of jobs. But for us fishermen, our purpose was to catch fish. It would have been easy to waste time doing all kinds of things out at sea rather than the reason for the boat design. Now that God has called me to work on His net, I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I invested myself in doing things that wasted a lot of time, energy, and money. What I am called to do must be the main thing. What is the main thing the church of Jesus Christ is to be doing? Paul said that it is the gospel:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
The gospel of Jesus Christ, when it is presented correctly and believed, brings about a radical change in the very core being of the believer. Paul, in the passage above, called it the power of God. Without this encounter with Christ, there is no change within. Jesus said,
And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
Every effort of the church should be to preach the gospel to bring about this change in the hearts of people all over this world. Some people believe that if they work hard at reforming their lives and live like a Christian, that is being a Christian. Let me tell you something important: You cannot become a Christian by living the Christian life. To live the Christian life, you have to have the Spirit of Christ living in you. He is the only One who can live the Christian life. Here is how Merrill Tenney put it,
"Christianity is not a system of philosophy, nor a ritual, nor a code of laws; it is the impartation of divine vitality. Without the way there is no going, without the truth there is no knowing, without the life, there is no living."[1]
You must have Christ in you, living and seated on the throne room of the temple of your life. God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
We can help feed people, we can teach them to have better marriages, we can bring them into a community with others, but if we do not help them see that they need the main thing—to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20), all our efforts are for nothing. The main thing is to help each person we can to be born-again of the Spirit and to live the life of Christ. This sharing of the Gospel is not the job of the professionals or the gifted leaders; it is the job of all that name the name of Christ. I am convinced that if we can help each Christian to learn how to share the gospel, a revival will break out that will be worldwide in its scope.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).
As Christians, we should be ready and prepared at any time to share the essence of what the Gospel is, and how the person interested can know peace with God through what Christ has done for them. That is the main thing. Keith Thomas
[1] Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1948) Pages 215-216.
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