“Why is it so difficult to share the gospel with others?” asked Ryan Ashlock, pastor of the Fletcher Seventh-day Adventist Church. Sharing the gospel often feels like hitting a brick wall, so how are we to fulfill our mission as Christians?
Ashlock drew from 2 Corinthians 3:13-4:7 to outline important principles for ministry. Ashlock stated that the gospel worker needs to understand why it is so difficult for people to see Christ. Paul addresses this very quandary in 2 Corinthians 3 and declares that the Old Testament without Jesus is like looking at a veiled face because the glory of the text, Jesus, is hidden. Paul says that in almost every place he ministered, there were riots and death threats, and explains in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that this was because of the people’s spiritual blindness. Sinful human beings cannot see the glory of God naturally because Satan will do whatever it takes to blind people to the gospel. Only Jesus can cure this spiritual blindness, which affects believers as well as non-believers.
Ashlock explained that another principle of sharing the gospel is being able to see Christ for ourselves. Jesus’ face, though no longer physically present on earth, can be seen through the Scriptures. When the veil of Scripture is lifted and Christ is beheld in its pages, the believer
can sense Jesus’ nearness. These principles are essential for sharing Christ with others. “We are but clay jars containing the excellence of Jesus,” said Ashlock.
Join us in Stuart Auditorium tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. as Tim Cove shares further principles for ministry.
—BENJAMIN LAWSON
photo by: Jessica Kovach