We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. And, we have good reasons to do so, according to 2 Corinthians 4:5-6, other than commands in Scripture. Therein we find motivation that takes us beyond mere duty in our outreach efforts.
Find Motivation to Proclaim Jesus Because of His Transforming Power
Notice the personal nature of 2 Corinthians 4:6 which says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts …”. God has done a transforming work on our lives. We dwelt in the darkness of sin and eternal death until God broke through the darkness with His Light in Christ Jesus.
This is the same God whose first act in the creation of the world was to separate the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:3-5). Now He reaches down on the personal level into the lives of individual people and makes us new creations in Christ by taking us out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom of His Son who is Light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Pet. 2:9-10)
Belonging to Something Greater Than Ourselves Motivates
We now belong to something much greater than ourselves. As members of the kingdom of His Son who is light, as His people, we have a purpose to work in cooperation with the One who called us out of darkness. We’re His ambassadors, on mission with Him. What a privilege, not mere duty!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:17-20)
Motivated by Firsthand Experience
2 Corinthians 4:6 reflects the reality of 1 John 1:1-3. — “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. … We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard …”
When we’ve experienced God’s transforming power and love in our own lives and see what a difference it makes to the very core of our being, we have something worth sharing with others.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor. 5:14-15)
For Help with Proclaiming Jesus, Go To: Outreach Resources