A DIFFERENT KIND OF SHARING
HOW FAR WOULD you go for the things that matter? Consider these scenarios: people who helped total strangers during
devastating disasters; employees who agreed to cut their working hours rather
than see co-workers lose their jobs; teachers and medical practitioners who
chose to go to far-flung areas to aid the poor and the downtrodden; and
philanthropists who donated millions of dollars to improve global health and
education.
Indeed, varied
are the ways to share one’s wealth or possessions, time, experience,
aspiration, talent or expertise with someone else. Yet, there is another kind
of sharing that is more profound and noble, for it enables others to attain
eternal life and salvation on our Lord Jesus Christ’s return—sharing the Good
News of salvation.
Thus, members
of the Church of Christ make it a point to help in sharing their faith to
all. Such endeavor matters much; it is never in vain in the sight of our Lord
god.
Moreover, it
does not only manifest our concern and compassion for our fellowmen but it also
allows us to fulfill our spiritual obligation.
FULFILLING OUR CALLING
In His pronouncement, our Lord Jesus Christ likens the
members of His Church to the branches of the vine. He expects every branch to bear fruit; thus,
he warns that the branches that do not bear fruit will be taken away (John
15:16, 2). And so, we, members of the
Church of Christ in these last days, should fulfill the sacred purpose of our
calling: to bear fruit. One way of bearing fruit is to share our
faith to others and to win them over to become members of the Church.
Moreover, to
illustrate our mission to convert people into the Church, Christ likens us to
lights of the world that should shine brightly in the dark (Matt.
5:14-15). Hence, members of the Church
who do not fulfill their mission to bear fruit are likened to lamps that are
put under a basket, unable to shine or give light.
In another
illustration, we are compared to the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13). Among other purposes, salt is used as a
preservative; it is used to prevent decay.
And because people of the world suffer from decay—that is, moral and
spiritual decay—due to widespread wickedness, our task as the “salt of the
earth” is to preserve people to a life of righteousness by convincing them to
join the true Church. Not accomplishing
such duty is tantamount to the salt losing its flavor, so to speak, thus Christ
declared: “… it is then good for nothing
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matt. 5:13, New King James
Version).
Clearly,
Christ does not count worthy any member of His Church who dodges his
responsibility to share his faith.
Therefore, we should take seriously our role as God’s instruments in
presenting or making known the message of salvation to the world. And it is God himself who wants all men to be
saved:
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Tim.
2:3-4, Ibid.)
SAVING SOULS
Fulfilling our mission to win people over the Church is
no ordinary undertaking because in so doing, we are saving souls, pulling them
out of the fire:
“But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,[a] hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23,
Ibid.)
Hence, by
taking part in the mission to spread the gospel of salvation, we manifest our
love and concern for our fellowmen.
However, Apostle Paul clarified that not everyone has the authority to
preach the gospel, for it is the ministers and evangelical workers who are
given the gift to preach (Rom. 12:5-6; II Tim. 4:1-2). Even so, as “lights of the world,” we should
illuminate others who are still in the dark on the true knowledge that leads to
salvation (Matt. 5:14, 16). We should
make good use of every opportunity to win many people over to the true Church.
We all know
that judgment Day is swiftly drawing near because the signs about this
appointed day given by our Lord Jesus Christ have been fulfilled (Matt. 24:3,
33, 6-8.) And because on that day “the
heavens and the earth … are reserved for the fire until the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men” and “both the earth and the works that are in it will
be burned up” (II Pet. 3:7, 10, NKJV), the task of snatching or rescuing as many
souls as possible from the fire on Judgment Day is made more urgent and
immediate. Time is really of the
essence. Thus, before time runs out we
should do everything we can to accomplish this great missions of ours. Indeed, what we do will surely help people
turn from God’s wrath to His mercy.
PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS
During our Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, He
showed His compassion to a possessed man—healing him and telling him to go home
to his friends and to make known to them the great things that the Lord had
done for him (Mark 5:18-19).
As members of
the Church of Christ, didn’t we also receive God’s compassion? Apostle Paul explains:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Rom.
5:8-9, NKJV)
While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. But
His death benefited His Church only; and “Christ is himself the Savior of the
Church, his body” (Eph. 5:25, 23, Today’s English Version). And so, we were justified through the blood
of Christ when God called us to become parts of Christ’s body or members of the
Church of Christ—the Church which He redeemed with His blood:
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts
20:28, Lamsa Translation)
Thus, God
delivered us from condemnation and brought us to salvation. Because of this, we will be saved from His
wrath. Because we have been redeemed, we
should proclaim it to others. Truly, a
gift as precious as salvation is worth sharing.
We should proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation to all, more so to
our friends and loved-ones who belong to other religions. Such a great and wonderful blessing should
not be kept to ourselves:
“I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.” (Ps. 40:9-10, NKJV)
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.” (Ps. 40:9-10, NKJV)
PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL
We can utilize the various ways that the bible teaches in
winning souls over to the Church.
Indeed, these are opportunities to show our care and concern to our fellowmen.
We can invite
people to listen to Christ’s teachings as what the Samaritan woman did. Upon meeting Christ and knowing whom she was
talking to, she went back to her town and invited the people to listen to what
our Lord Jesus Christ had to say. The
Samaritan woman’s efforts proved to be fruitful as many of them believed in
Jesus (John 4:28-30, 39, TEV).
Also, we can
fulfill our obligation to share our faith with others not only through the
spoken word but also through the written word (Acts 17:11-12; I Pet. 5:12)
Therefore, let
us invite people to listen to the words of God, which are taught during our
instructions in biblical doctrines, grand evangelical missions (GEMs), and
congregational worship services. We can
also use the mass media in order to communicate God’s words to all and
sundry. Let us take part in the
distribution of our pamphlets, religious tracts, and magazine, Pasugo: God’s Message. Let us encourage nonmembers to watch and
listen to our religious programs on TV and radio. Needless to say, since there are various
means by which we can spread our faith, everyone of us can take part in sharing
God’s message of salvation to all people.
NEVER IN VAIN
The time and efforts that faithful members of the Church
of Christ sacrifice and share for the service of God—one of which is our
mission of winning souls back to God—will never be wasted:
“… Keep busy
always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the
Lord’s service is ever useless.” (I Cor. 15:58, TEV)
Each one of us
who diligently takes part in the spreading of our faith is truly
fortunate. In fact, by actively sharing
our faith, we “will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in
Christ” (Philem. 1:6, New International Version); hence we would understand
that in sharing our faith, the reward is well worth the struggle and
sacrifice. Apostle Paul guaranteed that
we will attain salvation for the names of those who help in our missionary
works are recorded in the Book of Life:
“And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.” (Phil. 4:3,
NKJV) *
Brother ROLAND A. AGUIRRE
PASUGO GOD’S MESSAGE
FEBRUARY 2009
VOLUME 61
NUMBER 2
PAGES 16-18
FEBRUARY 2009
VOLUME 61
NUMBER 2
PAGES 16-18
