1 Corinthians 9:16
“Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.”
It would be easy to dismiss Paul’s words as referring specifically to his calling as an apostle if not for Jesus’ command to ALL believers: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15, cf. Luke 14:23). Upon transformation by and in Christ, we become His ambassadors regardless of our occupation or station in life (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Satan’s primary goal is to silence that gospel,
and he’s doing a very good job at it these days.
There are many ways the gospel is silenced, kept from those who have “ears to hear” (Matthew 11:15). Here are a some:
· Illegality. There are dozens of countries where preaching the gospel or distributing Bibles is illegal. There is also an increasing number of countries targeting aspects of God’s word as “hate speech” and therefore open to prosecution, including Canada, Sweden, Finland, South Africa, and others. Yet our brothers and sisters abroad continue proclaiming the Good News.
· Distortion. One way to silence the biblical gospel is to eclipse it with a false gospel, as is the case with Mormonism, Americanized “Christianity” (i.e., focus on self-esteem, self-empowerment, self-enrichment), Christian Nationalism, etc. Satan doesn’t have to do much twisting these days to get people’s attention away from a biblical worldview.
· Fear and Weariness. Today, proclaiming the truth of the biblical gospel in love often solicits scorn, hatred, rejection, and violence, which can result in a sort of resignation: “I just want to live my life in peace.” Thankfully, Christians who faced the same or worse conditions before us bravely preached the gospel, resulting in someone surrendering their life to Christ, ultimately resulting in our own salvation. Do we really want to be the generation that gives up?
· Lack of Relationship with Christ. It’s one thing to resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit when called upon to share the Good News, it’s another not to possess that conviction. There are some who misuse John 7:13 to justify silence: “Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of Him.” This does not refer to Christ’s followers specifically but more generally to the people around Him at the time. Moreover, even if it did refer to His followers, it’s not a justification for silence but simply an observation that such fear existed. Being able to live one’s life without a modicum of biblical temperament is a red flag.
To deal effectively with such silencing of the gospel, God’s word instructs us regularly to look into the mirror of that word:
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5; cf. James 1:22-24)
The original Greek words for examine (peirazó) and test (dokimazo) are analogous to testing a diamond for authenticity. There are a lot of cubic zirconia “Christians” out there who, without such examination, believe themselves to be real. That’s tragic, not only for those who believe they have a saving relationship with Christ yet are unknown to Him (Matthew 7:21-23), but for the world around them who are negatively influenced by their beliefs and behavior.
So, what can we do to avoid being silenced?
First, understand the biblical gospel. It’s not a call to become religious. It’s not rooted in our efforts to be more righteous. It’s not putting Christian “apps” (e.g., doing Christian things, learning Christianese, etc.) on a corrupt “operating system” (i.e., our sinful nature). It’s not even measured by our ability to perfectly follow Christ. It’s a unilateral, love and grace-based path offered by God through His Son, Jesus Christ, that requires only that we completely trade our life (our “operating system”) for His. The result of this divine transformation is a new foundation, new trajectory, new thinking, and new hope.
Secondly, examine ourselves in light of God’s word. If we are truly saved, the Holy Spirit’s conviction will alert us to our need for course corrections, and God’s grace will enable us to follow that prescription. Romans 8:29 encourages us: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” True Christ-followers need not fear biblical examination—it’s God’s way of affirming our relationship with Him. Likewise, if in such an examination we discover we are not in a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ, God’s love and grace is equally expressed and available.
Thirdly, ask the Holy Spirit to help us determine when the enemy is trying to silence the gospel and how we can break that silence. For some it’s simply, “I once was blind and now I see”—i.e., not being afraid to tell our story. For others it might be deep-water apologetics to overcome intellectual obstacles to the gospel. Either way, a little courage on our part could eternally change a person’s life.
And let’s remember the words of Jesus:
“What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:27-28)
Pondering 