The gospel allows us to know the God of the universe because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection—but it takes courage to explain. Specifically, courage to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins. The gospel must include the larger story of why we rebels need good news granted solely through Christ Jesus.

My dad left his girlfriend’s apartment, confused by the sudden breakup. She had a newfound faith. He thought Christians were deluded. Their Bible reading baffled him. A world-wide flood and Noah’s Ark? he scoffed. Yet when alone on a Halloween night in 1973, he ventured into the light of a church service and took a seat.

The following morning, my dad heard the Johnny Nash song, “I Can See Clearly Now.” He hummed along to the line, “Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind,” and credited God for lifting the cloud of unbelief—for setting his gaze on Christ.

Had the preacher spoken without highlighting the actual message of the gospel, my dad would not have this story to tell, as he often does.

I thought of his experience as I read through J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Packer writes, “There is no evangelism when this specific message is not declared” (45). To explain the “specific message”—the gospel in its entirety—courage must overcome timidity (Rom. 1:16; 2 Tim. 1:7).

In what sense? “The world is full of people who are unaware they stand under the wrath of God,” Packer writes (97). God, our Creator, is fully good, as is his creation, but our condition was altered after the fall. We are born rebels—condemned and separated from God. Yet in hopeless depravity we are met with good news (John 3:17). Good news for everyone—news too good not to share.

Jesus told his disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to prepare people for the good news (Luke 24:47). Perhaps it seemed too large a task as they pondered the risen Jesus and the hostile people who recently crucified him. Could they do what Jesus asked? They did. The book of Acts shows the Christian faith flourishing as disciples related the message Jesus commissioned.

The word “evangelism” in its Greek form derives from the term “to publish the good news.” Thus evangelism must entail the full story—creation, fall, redemption through Jesus’s life, death, resurrection—and the beautiful grace that allows us to respond to God who loves his creation.

If communicating the gospel appears daunting, remember that Christ commissions and accompanies us. Through Jesus’s work on the cross we are reconciled to God, not abandoned. We can talk about this with genuine care and love for people.

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