How should I respond when friends reject the Gospel? (part one) :: Deeper Devotion

Sharing the gospel with my friends has always been a difficult thing to do. I’m often scared of what they will think about my faith. What if they laugh at me? What if they act like I’m stupid for believing in Jesus? What if they ask me questions that I don’t know how to answer? While all of these questions are understandable, not one of them is acceptable if you truly believe in the sovereign nature of Jesus Christ.

How have I come to this conclusion? I found the answer in Matthew 11:25-30. In short, I have learned that if we believe in the sovereign nature of Jesus Christ, we are always able to do two things… regardless of whether our friends accept the gospel or not. These two things, to praise God and to proclaim the gospel, will be the subject of my second and third posts in this series. The remainder of this post will seek to clarify and establish the sovereign nature of Jesus Christ.

So what do I mean by the term sovereign nature? In its simplest form, to say that Jesus is sovereign is to say that He is free to exercise His rule (as “sovereign” or “king”) over His creation. It is this truth that gives us the certainty to praise God and to continue to share the gospel in the mist of family and friends that refuse to accept it. Even Jesus hinges His response to such unrepentful people on His sovereign nature. It’s right there in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to who the Son wills to reveal Him.” Jesus is able to praise the Father and to continue to share the gospel in the face of rejection because He is confident in His sovereign nature. All things have been handed over to Him. He is free to exercise His rule over creation. This sovereignty allows Him (and us) to praise God and to continue to share the gospel in the mist of people who refuse to listen.

Are you confident in the sovereign nature of Jesus? If so, I encourage you to check back shortly as we examine how that confidence enables us to respond when faced with an unrepentful heart.

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