In Mark 16:15 the Lord Jesus gave this command: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation.”
First, we proclaim the gospel of Jesus because our Lord commanded us to. We’re blessed when we don’t resist or argue with the Lord’s command to us, but in faith respond, “Yes, Lord, I would take this command to heart and obey You. Make me a proclaimer of Your gospel to people.”
Now let’s look at two other important reasons why we must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. People need to hear the gospel
Romans 10:14 shows us how people can be saved: “How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe into Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without one who proclaims Him?”
We proclaim the gospel so people can hear and believe in the Savior who died for them and resurrected to be their life.
None of us was born a believer. Every one of us is a believer in Christ and enjoying God’s salvation only because someone proclaimed Him to us. We in turn owe it to our friends, relatives, and others God puts in our lives to tell them about the Savior.
The apostle Paul expressed this sense in Romans 1:14-15,
“I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish; so, for my part, I am ready to announce the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
We all know someone who needs salvation. Maybe it’s someone we work with, our neighbor, or a friend. People are hurting inside; they feel lost or empty. They long to know the purpose of their existence. We owe them the gospel. They need to hear about the loving Savior so they can believe in Him. This is why we must obey the Lord’s solemn command to us to proclaim the gospel to them.
2. We need to flow out
To be spiritually healthy, spending daily time with the Lord Jesus in the morning to feed on His Word is necessary. But sharing Christ with others is also just as necessary. When we don’t, we feel something’s amiss. This is because the Lord who lives in us wants us not only to receive and enjoy Him ourselves but also to flow Him out to others.
We can use a water hose to illustrate. A water hose gets filled at the spigot, and when it’s working properly, it flows water out the other end. But if there’s a cap on the end, the hose has a big problem: nothing can flow out, which also means more can’t flow in.
We certainly need to be at the “spigot” of Christ to receive more of Him through prayer and the Word of God so we can grow in Him. That’s our intake. But like the hose, we also need to have an outflow; sharing the Lord Jesus with others is that outflow. The Lord who lives in our spirit wants to flow out. He loves people and wants them to be saved. When we don’t tell others about Him, our outflow is blocked, which both deprives others of the gospel and affects our enjoyment of Christ.
The more we receive and enjoy the Lord, the more we spontaneously want to speak to people and tell them about the Christ we appreciate and enjoy. And on the other hand, as we tell people about Christ, we experience being filled with Him as the living water again.
