{"id":1620,"date":"2021-07-16T17:12:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T15:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mylampblog.com\/?p=1620"},"modified":"2021-07-16T17:16:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T15:16:10","slug":"how-to-share-the-gospel-despite-rejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/how-to-share-the-gospel-despite-rejection\/","title":{"rendered":"How to share the Gospel despite rejection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You may be familiar with people\u2019s rejection and their nasty comments when you share the Gospel. Yes, it hurts. We don\u2019t want other people to disapprove of us or even exclude us from a community. How should we share the Gospel despite rejection?<\/strong> Let\u2019s look at a few Bible passages first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. <\/em>James 1:2-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greek term \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2 that the NKJV translates \u201etrials\u201c can also mean \u201etesting\u201c or \u201etemptation\u201c. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, James considers it pure joy when we\u2019re confronted with trials. Peter writes about the same topic. We should rejoice when we get mocked because we belong to Christ (1. Peter 4:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus himself puts it similarly in the sermon on the mount. When we\u2019re persecuted because we follow him, the kingdom of heaven is ours (Matthew 5:10-11). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. <\/em>Matthew 5:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re in good company when we get rejected for living for Christ because the prophets got persecuted as well. In Switzerland, where I live, persecution isn\u2019t that big of a problem. The government lets us live our faith. But I\u2019m aware of many areas worldwide where Christians suffer greatly from persecution. Even if you\u2019re living in a country where you\u2019re pretty safe as a Christian, disapproval hurts. Unfortunately, many people are afraid to share the Gospel because they don\u2019t want to experience rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why should we rejoice when people despise us for following Jesus?<\/strong> James tells us that the testing of our faith produces patience (1:3). The goal is to become perfect (1:4) as Jesus himself wants us to be perfect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. <\/em>Matthew 5:48<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the temptation and trials are uncomfortable, they sanctify us. We grow in our faith to be able to live fully for God. Through testing, we get transformed into the image of Christ. That\u2019s why we can rejoice if others reject or disapprove of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While pursuing a degree after my apprenticeship (before I studied Theology) we had to give a presentation about a book. I chose the Bible of course, lol. I remember standing before the class announcing my subject. My classmates\u2019 body language revealed surprise and disapproval but also some curiosity. Anyway, I felt very exposed and uncomfortable when I introduced the Bible to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you know this phenomenon where we tend to make everything about ourselves? When two colleagues at work whisper to each other and maybe even look in your direction, you assume they talk about you. When you see an acquaintance in the supermarket and they don\u2019t greet you, you think they dislike you. We think it\u2019s about us while our colleagues at work talk about a secret project and the acquaintance in the supermarket probably just didn\u2019t see you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This phenomenon can easily be overserved when you talk about Jesus. When people disapprove of you for sharing the Gospel they actually reject God, not you. <\/strong>Their real problem is with God, and you just happen to represent him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a brief biblical example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Samuel 8, the Israelites go to Samuel to ask him for a king. He immediately inquires God about their request. Here\u2019s God\u2019s answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Lord told him: \u201cListen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.<\/em> 1. Samuel 8:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israelites don\u2019t reject Samuel but God as their king.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, people reject you for being a believer because they don\u2019t want to have anything to do with Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My former mentor once told me that when people disapprove of us we can shake it off and tell God in prayer: \u201eTheir rejection belongs to you, God.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can rejoice when you get tested because you can take a step back and know that their mean words don\u2019t target you.<\/strong> In the same way, as you make the whispering colleagues at work and the acquaintance in the supermarket about you, sharing the Gospel is not really about you. Likewise, when some of my classmates disapproved of my presentation, their rejection was actually aimed at God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s never about us. It\u2019s always about God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what it means for me to grow into the likeness of Christ in that context: To realize that it\u2019s not about me, my reputation, or my image. I\u2019m just a servant of God, hidden in Christ. My ego doesn\u2019t stand a chance if I want to live wholeheartedly for God. I\u2019m free and I can rejoice because I can take a step back and let Jesus handle people\u2019s disapproval.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why miracles are not enough for people to believe in God<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When God doesn’t answer your questions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 prayers for godly friendships<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2b50\ufe0f Do you want to know how to study the Bible for yourself? Get my free 19-page-long Bible Study Basics Guide by subscribing to my newsletter down below.\u00a0<\/p>\nShare This:<\/strong>
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You may be familiar with people\u2019s rejection and their nasty comments when you share the Gospel. Yes, it hurts. We don\u2019t want other people to disapprove of us or even exclude us from a community. How should we share the Gospel despite rejection? Let\u2019s look at a few Bible passages first: My brethren, count it all joy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es","de"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection.jpg",1280,960,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection-768x576.jpg",580,435,true],"large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection-1024x768.jpg",580,435,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection.jpg",1280,960,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection.jpg",1280,960,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection-1200x900.jpg",1200,900,true],"twentytwenty-fullscreen":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/How-to-share-the-Gospel-despite-rejection.jpg",1280,960,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

You may be familiar with people\u2019s rejection and their nasty comments when you share the Gospel. Yes, it hurts. We don\u2019t want other people to disapprove of us or even exclude us from a community. How should we share the Gospel despite rejection? Let\u2019s look at a few Bible passages first: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 The Greek term \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2 that the NKJV translates \u201etrials\u201c can also mean \u201etesting\u201c…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Uncategorized<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Madeleine","url":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/author\/mylampbloggmail-com\/"},"comments_num_v2":"1 comment","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1624,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions\/1624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}