Preaching the Gospel: A Compulsory Task
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November 16, 2008 |
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 "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).
Throughout His public ministry, Jesus visited many towns and villages and preached the Gospel. As He traveled mainly on foot with shabby sandals on and in a desert region marked by an arid climate, His feet were always covered in sands and dusts and they were sometimes swollen. To God, the feet of Jesus were the most beautiful of all things in this world because wherever Jesus took His steps, works of salvation transpired.
By the same token, God's children must preach the Gospel in season and out of season. 1 Corinthians 9:16 tells us, "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." If one is "under compulsion" to carry out a task, he must or is bound to undertake and finish the task. Why, then, is preaching the Gospel a compulsory task?
1. It is a great commandment issued by the Lord.
Carrying out a "commandment" is not optional; it is a task that must be carried out under any circumstances. After His resurrection, the Lord spoke of His disciples' becoming His witnesses. In Matthew 28:18-20, He told them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Prior to His ascension, Our Lord told His disciples, "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). Preaching of the Gospel is Our Lord's Grand Commission and His last will - a basic duty of all believers.
Anyone who receives the Holy Spirit and becomes a child of God through Jesus Christ must become a witness of Jesus Christ. Even in this world, dutiful children abide by the last will of their parents. Of course, Our Lord resurrected and ascended into heaven but as preaching of the Gospel is His last will, all those who are aware of His grace must preach the Good News even merely out of a sense of duty.
As He told His disciples of preaching of the Gospel, Our Lord promised them this: "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). His disciples and all those who believed in Him and received His Word of promise devoted themselves to prayer day in and day out following His ascension, and on the Pentecost they became filled with the Holy Spirit. Having been transformed into new beings, they boldly testified to Jesus' being the Christ and the Son of God and the fact that He rose from the dead in 3 days. After receiving the Holy Spirit, everything in an individual determinedly changes.
In Mark 16:20, we read, "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, the disciples boldly proclaimed the Gospel amidst the works of the Holy Spirit and many signs that affirmed their messages accompanied them. As Our Lord was with them, He added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Even in our times, when we obey and carry out the Grand Commission, the Holy Spirit is sure to aid us. He shows each individual an appropriate method of preaching the Gospel. The intercessory prayer for the people stricken by disease and domestic problems will be answered at the time of God's choosing and the target of evangelization will accept Jesus Christ.
2. Woe will be to those who do not preach the Gospel.
Preaching of the Gospel can save a life and if the target of evangelization does not accept the Gospel, he can end up in hell. If one has not preached the Gospel and if his friend or family member ended up in hell, God will hold the believer responsible. If people have been preached the Gospel but refused to believe in it, the believer will have done his duty as a messenger of the Good News (Ezekiel 33:1-6).
God deems one soul more precious than the whole universe and He desires all people to receive salvation. Even if they find themselves amidst sin and evil at present, God still wants them to repent and receive salvation, not arrive at death. Necessary then is a messenger who will deliver God's Word for such individuals to repent and He wants His children to fulfill this role. This is because people can hear God's Word only when it is preached to them, and they can receive salvation only upon hearing the Gospel and growing faith (Romans 10:14). If a person who could have been saved ends up in hell as he did not hear the Gospel, the responsibility is great for those who did not preach the Gospel to that person.
For that reason, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:14, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." Paul was driven by the mercy and love of Our Lord's forgiveness of his sins to preach the Gospel. When he thought of anyone who failed to receive salvation on account of not hearing the Gospel, he took it as his own fault. That is why he testified to Jesus Christ to all the Gentiles and with an earnest heart with which he desired to see even that last person receive salvation, he preached the Gospel without ceasing. No ordeals posed a problem for Paul. As his heart was filled with a desire to save all people, Paul gave thanks and sang songs of praise to God even when he was flogged and imprisoned while preaching the Gospel. Such praising of gratitude opened the doors of prison cells, evangelized the prison guards and his household, and led to a marvelous work of the establishment of a church.
The second half of Daniel 12:3 tells us, "Those who lead the many to righteousness [will shine] like the stars forever and ever," while Jesus tell us in Luke 15:7, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." From these 2 verses we can gather how pleased God is and how great a reward is for the salvation of souls.
3. Preaching of the Gospel will lead souls now on the path to hell on the path to heaven.
Hebrews 9:27 tells us, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Death is not the end; after death, there will be heaven or hell after the Judgment. People who believe in the Lord and have received the Holy Spirit will enjoy eternal life in heaven but those who do not believe in Him will fall into hell and be subject to punishment.
In Luke 16 we find a wealthy man and a poor man named Lazarus. In this world Lazarus was a beggar but he feared God and following his death, Lazarus went to heaven. The wealthy man, however, did not fear God in this life and following his death, he suffered in Hades. The torment in Hades was so great that the wealthy man hoped Lazarus would "dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame." From the time following Our Lord's Second Advent and the Millennium to the Judgment of the White Throne, all those who do not believe in the Lord will be subject to such torment; after the Judgment of the White Throne they will fall into hell and be subject to unimaginably greater anguish. There is no end to this anguish and it will last forever.
When one considers these facts, he will realize he has no other choice but to preach the Gospel. How could anyone who loves God and the Lord and believes in the existence of heaven, hell, and the Judgment not live by God's Word and not preach the Gospel? How could he not preach the Gospel to his parents, siblings, children, neighbors, friends, and relatives?
In Luke 16:27-28, the wealthy man says, "Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers--in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." The wealthy man suffering in Hades begs for the Gospel to be preached to his brothers so that they will not end up where he is.
We must testify to the existence of heaven and hell to many a soul and show them the evidence of the existence of God so that they will believe, possess faith, and receive salvation because of the evidence itself.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you knew in advance of an impending disaster that would transpire at a certain place at a certain time on a certain day, would you allow your family and friends to be there at that place at that hour on that day? You would do everything in your power to prevent them from being there.
At a time when the return of Our Lord is ever so near, may each of you become a blessed child of God leading many souls on the path of salvation, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
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