Why Preach The Gospel?
FIVE GOOD REASONS
We read
in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 10,
"For
we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ."
The Apostle Paul uses the word "we" 26 times in this Chapter and is
speaking only to real
Christians. We will someday have to stand before
our professed Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ to give an account of our
words, thoughts and deeds since we've been saved.
Paul says in I
Corinthians Chapter 9, Verse 16, "Woe is unto me
if I preach not the Gospel.”
Again in Romans Chapter 1, Verse 16
he declares, "For I am not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to
the
Jew first, and also to the Gentile."
Many
times, I've seen professing Christians speak fluently about the various
aspects of
our society and its many problems, yet they never seem to
have a word of testimony
for what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for
them. Remember that God's desire is to
see everyone saved. The Apostle
Peter tells us in II Peter 3:9 that the Lord "is not
willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." We also know
that the Apostle Paul says in I Timothy 2:4 that God "will have all
men to be saved,
and to come to the knowledge of the
truth."
If you
profess to be a "born again" Christian today, are you living a life which
glorifies
God and that is well-pleasing to your professed Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ? In this
same Chapter 5 and Verse 17 we're
told that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;
old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new." God has saved us for
a
purpose and that purpose is to live for the One Who died for us.
Remember, there are
no "still-born" in God's family!
REASON 2 – JUDGEMENT AWAITS THE SINNER
A second
reason for preaching the Gospel is found in Verse 11 of Chapter 5 where we
read,
"Knowing therefore the terror of
the Lord, we persuade men;" If there was no judgment
for sin; if there was no wrath of God; if there was no Lake of Fire
awaiting the Christ-rejecter,
I would not be preaching the Gospel for
even one minute. However, we read in Job 36:18,
"Because there is
wrath, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke: then a great ransom
cannot deliver thee." Did you notice that God says that no amount of
money can deliver an
unsaved person from His wrath, once they pass out
of time into eternity? Again we read a verse
which includes every
person on earth today, John Chapter 3 and Verse 36, "He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him."
If the
wages of sin was not spiritual death and eternal separation from God, then
the
Lord Jesus Christ would never have suffered, bled and died that
agonizing death on
Calvary's cross. People may allow the Devil to
blind their minds relative to the reality of Hell,
but their spiritual
blindness will in no way detract from the God-given fact that there is a
Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun. You can deny the veracity of God's
word; you can deny the
virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ; you can
deny the vicarious death of Jesus Christ at
Calvary and His subsequent
victorious resurrection from the grave; and you can deny the
verified
existence of a place called Hell BUT, 5 seconds after you pass out
of time into
eternity without Christ you'll change your mind, but it
will be too late then. Your day of salvation
shall have ceased to
exist and you'll be doomed and damned throughout the endless ages
of
all eternity. Remember, there are no "unbelievers" in Hell they all
believe NOW!
REASON 3 – WE ARE MOTIVATED BY THE LOVE OF
CHRIST
The
third reason for preaching the Gospel is found in Verse 14 of Chapter 5
where we read,
"For the love of Christ
constraineth us;" and if that fact doesn't motivate us to
preach
the Gospel to others, then nothing else will. I can honestly
say today that I love the
Lord Jesus Christ ! Why? - because He first
loved me; Why? because He died on the
cross for my sins; Why?
because He is going to return soon, perhaps today, to take every
true Christian to Heaven where we'll be with and like Him, forever
more.
In John Chapter 3, Verse 16 Jesus said, "For God so loved the
world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Yes,
even though God hates sin with an infinite hatred, nevertheless, He loves
the sinner with
an infinite love. In the book of Romans Chapter 5 and
Verses 8 and 9 we're told
that "God commendeth His love toward us in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more then,
being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through
Him."
I
believe that the best definition of "love" is found in I John 4:10 where
we read,
" Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved
us, and sent His Son to
be the propitiation for our sins." In verse 19
of that same I John 4 we read,
"We love Him because He first loved
us." Remember, if we don't accept the love of
God expressed in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must accept the only
alternative
the wrath of God! The choice is ours to make, and destiny
is
determined by decision!
REASON 4 – WE MUST TELL OTHERS ABOUT CHRIST
The
fourth reason for preaching the Gospel is found in Verses 18 and 19 of
Chapter 5
where we're told that since we Christians have been
reconciled to God through faith in
His Son, Jesus Christ, He has
"committed unto us the word and ministry of
reconcilation."
In other words, if we Christians
don't tell others about Jesus Christ, then who is going to
tell
them? What if someone hadn't told us about
the love of God expressed in the person
of His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ? Where would be headed today, or perhaps already there?
I,
personally, don't see how a true Christian can stand by and see their
unsaved family and
friends go out into eternity without having
witnessed and testified to the grace and love
of God which had reached
the Christian, and which could also save those same
unsaved
individuals whom they profess to love.
God
gives a very solemn warning in Ezekiel 33:8 and 9. He says "if thou dost
not warn
the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will
I require at thine hand.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from
it;
if he do not turn from his way,
that wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
but thou hast delivered thy
soul."
Remember
when we were saved, or "born again," God could very easily have
taken
us "Home" to Heaven but He left us here for a purpose. Remember
what
that purpose is!
REASON 5 – WE REPRESENT CHRIST IN HIS ABSENCE
Finally,
the fifth reason why we should preach the Gospel is found in II
Corinthians
Chapter 5 Verse 20 where we read, "we are ambassadors for Christ."
An
ambassador to the United States from a foreign country always speaks well
of
heir homeland and reigning monarch. So it should be with true
Christians, we should
speak well of Heaven and the One Who sits
enthroned at God's right hand, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christian friend,
our citizenship is in Heaven from whence also
we look for our Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, like all foreign ambassadors,
we are
temporary residents here on earth and it won't be long till our Monarch
calls
us away from this scene of sin and sorrow; from this scene
of chaos, confusion
and conflict; from this scene of departure,
declension and death. We'll soon be in
the presence of the One Whom
having not seen, nevertheless,
we love, our Lord Jesus
Christ.
If you
profess to be a true Christian today, when was the last time you witnessed
to
an unsaved loved one? Have you ever told them what Christ has
done for you and what
He can likewise do for them? When was the last
time you passed out a Gospel tract?
Soul searching, is it not? It is
easy for us to criticize the cultists who knock on our doors
from
time to time but they could teach us something about zeal. We're the ones
who
should be knocking on doors to tell the unsaved of their need of
Christ as their
own and personal Saviour.
In
Matthew Chapter 10 and Verses 32 and 33, Jesus said, " Whosoever,
therefore,
shall confess Me before men, him shall I confess also
before My Father, which
is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me
before men, him will I also deny before
My Father which is in Heaven.
"Perhaps the reader of these words is a professing
Christian who was
once noted for their spiritual boldness in witnessing for
their
professed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but today you are
silent. For various reasons,
known but to you, God and the Devil,
you're no longer a faithful testimony to
God's love, mercy and grace
expressed in His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember
what the Lord said in Revelation Chapter 2 and Verse 4,
"Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou
hast left thy first love."