The Gospel Works: Exposing 3 Myths That Limit Your Effectiveness

The purpose of this article is to debunk three myths about the effectiveness of the gospel. I’m sure the people behind these myths are trying to reconcile inconsistencies and obvious differences between churches that are more successful than others. While it is true that some regions are not as receptive and may be nuanced with various cultural and demonic barriers that complicate the preaching and/or sharing of the gospel, it doesn’t change the fact that the gospel works!  

Paul emphasized the effectiveness of the gospel in many places in his writings, but I like how he made this point abundantly clear in his letter to the Colossians.

We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth. (Colossians 1:3–6, emphasis added).

In his salutation, Paul expressed how thankful he was for the thriving church in Colossae. Apparently he hadn’t visited there, because he stated he had recently heard about their faith. In other words, he was celebrating the fact that the gospel worked with or without his preaching. Paul was exposing a myth.

Myth #1: Only certain people have results preaching the gospel. We might think, Whenever Paul preached there were results, but I’m not sure about others. I have witnessed mentors of mine who could push back spiritual resistance and have amazing results. I understand the feeling and ideas behind this myth. As a young minister, I would preach in certain churches with little results and then watch weeks later as these mentors preached in the same pulpits with life-changing, far-reaching effectiveness. In retrospect, I realized their effectiveness was not an indictment of me or my ministry; it was a testimony that even in places I thought were hard, the gospel still works. Thus, the effectiveness of the gospel is not personality based; it is principle based. If we operate on the principle of the gospel, it will work. Paul was celebrating the fact that his disciple Epaphras (verse 7) was using the same authority, faith, and anointing of the Holy Spirit and having amazing results.

In his letter, Paul exposed another myth.

Myth #2: The gospel only works in certain places. Paul celebrated the fact that the gospel had come to the now-established church in Colossae, but he wanted them to know that the gospel would work anywhere and everywhere. He told them, “The word of truth came to you in the same way it comes to all the world.” (See verse 6.) What a remarkable statement! Paul proclaimed that the world had already heard the gospel! The Great Commission was being fulfilled. Everything Jesus said would happen was happening.

It is one thing to see a thriving church in one region or city of the world. It is quite another when there is a sense that thriving churches are everywhere. This can be understood from a business standpoint. There was a time when Starbucks was only known in the Seattle area, then it seemed almost overnight that Starbucks stores were opening up everywhere to the point that you expected to find them even when you were traveling overseas. For a while, I collected Starbucks mugs from all over the world.

Paul was, in essence, describing the gospel in the same way when he said, “Don’t limit this gospel to your locale. God is working all over the world.” Explaining this fact to these saints bolstered their faith and helped them see they were a part of a far broader enterprise than they realized. Such knowledge increases vision and empowers the church to be even more fruitful in the Kingdom.

In our recent Prayer Nation Conference (July 3–5), we were amazed at the reach of the gospel through Prayer Nation. At least forty-five states and more than forty-three countries and territories were represented from every continent. It was a tremendous reminder that God is working all over the world!

The final myth Paul addressed is found in a discussion about the response to the gospel.

Myth #3: You can’t expect the same results everywhere. It is one thing to say the gospel has been preached everywhere. It is something else to say the gospel has been received and obeyed everywhere. But remarkably, that is what Paul was saying when he wrote to the Colossians, “which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you” (verse 6, emphasis added).

The same way the gospel brought forth fruit in you is the same way the gospel bears fruit in all the world! What an encouragement for all of us! Simply put, the gospel works everywhere, with everyone, at any time. Paul’s letter to the Colossians is a part of the canon of Scripture, meaning God wanted saints of every background and generation to read this same letter and be encouraged. If it worked then and there for the first-century church, it will work here and now for us in the twenty-first-century church. Let the gospel work through you!