USA (MNN) — Last month, The Barna Group’s new study showed seven out of 10 Americans have a positive view of Jesus Christ. However, only around five out of 10 Americans have a positive view of Christianity. And a little less than three out of 10 view Evangelical Christians positively.
Now, the study doesn’t examine what Americans understand about Jesus and His teachings. But there is at least one takeaway: The Church in the US has our work cut out for us to better represent Christ’s truth and love.
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Ron Hutchcraft of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says, “You look at 2 Corinthians 5:20 which says, ‘We are Christ’s ambassadors,’ as though God was making His appeal through us.
“What is an ambassador? It’s somebody who is assigned to a specific location by the highest authority there is to be the voice of that authority of the person who appointed them and deliver His messages and represent Him to other people.”
Living as an ambassador for Christ expressing His truth and love doesn’t mean everyone will like you. Some people may even walk away with a very negative view of you.
After all, Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
There may be only so much committed Christians and Evangelicals can do prevent the world having a negative view of them. But we are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see the Great Commission)!
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For non-believers who are genuinely interested in the message of Jesus, how well or poorly we live out Christ’s message of repentance, salvation, and grace could make an eternal difference in their life.
Maybe your neighbors are all about Christ’s love but don’t know His truth. Tell them!
Maybe they’ve heard biblical truth but haven’t felt Christ’s love. Show them!
Hutchcraft says, “We were positioned by God as His personal voice – to be that at Acme Tool & Die, or George Washington Middle School, or on a soccer team, or at the Rotary, or at the PTA, or at the nursing home.”
Click here for Gospel sharing resources with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries.
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