The Duty to Evangelize
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February 28, 2016 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Apostle Paul said, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion." When someone is "under compulsion" to do something, he must do it; there is no way for him to avoid it. Preaching the gospel is something we must do. Let's look into the reasons why it is important to preach the gospel and evangelize people.
1. Evangelization is a great command of our Lord
Jesus was crucified without sins to fulfill His duty as the Savior and overcame death and resurrected.
And He encouraged His disciples, saying in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." In Mark 16:15-16, He also said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."
Before ascending to heaven, the resurrected Lord also said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
As stated, evangelism is the Lord's great command and His last word given to people on the earth.
In Acts 2, the Lord's disciples who witnessed the Lord's ascension got together and prayed, and at Pentecost they experienced the fiery works of the Holy Spirit and became filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter received the Holy Spirit and power and then he began preaching the gospel boldly. As a result, through him, around three thousand people repented a day and they received baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
Mark 16:20 says, "And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed." During the days of the early churches, through the Lord's disciples, signs and wonders were greatly manifested and the number of people who were saved increased. So, many churches were established, not only in Jerusalem, but also in Judea, Samaria, and even in Greece and Rome.
Today if we obey the Word of the Lord, receive the power, and pray to become His witness, we can then lead countless souls to the way of salvation. God will let you know the right way to evangelize people in the works of the Holy Spirit and answer your prayer for those who suffer from diseases and family problems. Then you will be able to bear abundant fruit.
2. Evangelism will become heavenly glory and rewards
God is love, so He cherishes a soul more than all things and sent His only begotten Son so that all people can be saved. He desires that even people living in sins and evil hear the gospel, repent, and reach salvation. That is why He gave the duty of evangelism to those who heard the gospel and received salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:21 reads, "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." As said, only when there are people who preach the gospel will others be able to listen to the Word, possess faith, and reach salvation (Romans 10:14).
Because Apostle Paul had received the wondrous grace and love of forgiveness of our Lord, he was burning with the desire to spread the gospel. Paul felt that if people could not receive salvation only because they couldn't hear the gospel, it was his fault. In an earnest desire to bring back even one more single soul to salvation, day after day Paul spread the gospel.
As his heart was filled only with the desire to bring salvation, Paul could praise and give thanks to God even when he was being beaten or while he was imprisoned. Then God did His work. He freed Paul from the prison, allowed for the jailer and all his household to be evangelized and for churches to be built even in Europe (Acts 16).
Whether or not people hear it, you must at least spread the gospel. If people do not receive the gospel even after you have preached it to them, the wages of sin will eventually come upon them and they will receive death. If people who could have received salvation ended up going to Hell only because you failed to spread the gospel to them, God will feel very disheartened. That is why Apostle Paul said, "…for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel."
God is pleased when we lead many people to the way of salvation and He will repay the effort with heavenly glory and rewards. Daniel 12:3 says, "…and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Luke 15:7 reads, "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."
3. Through evangelism many people will be led from Hell to Heaven
Hebrews 9:27 reads, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." If one dies, it is not the end! The judgment still awaits him/her. Anyone who hears the gospel and receives salvation will enjoy eternal life and blessings in Heaven as a child of God. All others will fall into Hell and receive eternal punishment.
Even though Lazarus was a poor man, he feared God and when he died, Lazarus was carried away by the angels to the Upper Grave. But the rich man did not fear God and when he died, he fell into the Lower Grave (Luke 16). The suffering and agony for the rich man was so great that he wished Lazarus to 'dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off his tongue.' The rich man will suffer in the Lower Grave until he enters Hell through the Great White Throne Judgment.
After the Judgment, he will suffer more forever in Hell. He asked earnestly of Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers on the earth so that they could repent and revere God. He thought they might repent if a person who experienced death like Lazarus went to them.
However, a person with a hardened heart will not accept the gospel even when someone who experienced death appears and preaches the gospel. This is because they do not want to acknowledge God (Romans 1:28).
God the Creator prepared Jesus Christ from everlasting to save all people. When the time came, He opened the way of salvation so that anyone can receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
If we believe in God the Creator, Jesus Christ, Heaven, Hell, and the Judgment, how could we not preach the gospel! Therefore, we should live by the Word of God and try hard to pray and preach the gospel so that many people including our brothers, sisters, children, neighbors, friends, and relatives will reach salvation.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do you diligently try to preach the gospel in season and out of season with the heart of God who desires all men to be saved? I pray in the name of the Lord that you will have fervor for souls' salvation in the works of the Holy Spirit and bear a lot of fruit.
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