Friday, March 17, 2017

Propaganda or Good News

When the actor in the commercial tells us that the new Whizzbang mowers are 85% more efficient than any previous mower, that claim is likely to be taken as propaganda. When the neighbor tells us that he bought one of the new Whizzbang mowers and that that it works far better than any mower he used before, that is good news.

Sometimes we wonder why people are not interested in the gospel. Sometimes we wonder why so few receive it as good news. There are many reasons, but one reason is the source of the information.

When the preacher proclaims the gospel, his words are taken as propaganda by many listeners. Those who resist the message of Christ tend to assume that the preacher is just saying what he gets paid to say. But when ordinary Christians tell what a difference Christ has made in their lives, that sounds more like good news.

The ordinary Christian may not speak as well as the preacher. The ordinary Christian may not know as much Bible as the preacher. But the ordinary Christian is more likely to get a fair hearing for the gospel than the preacher. Coming from the mouth of a neighbor, a friend, a relative, the message is more likely to be received as good news – especially if a positive difference has been observed in the life of the person speaking.

As the song says, “If you cannot sing like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, and say ‘He died for all.’” In doing so, you will likely be a more effective evangelist than I would be. What does your neighbor think of the gospel? Does he receive it as propaganda or as good news? The answer depends to a large extent on where he hears the gospel. If he hears it from you, there is a much better chance that it will be heard as good news.

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