THE SACRED ACTIVITIES - THE GOSPEL

                        THE SACRED ACTIVITIES – THE GOSPEL


INDEX:
-THE GREAT COMMISSION
-THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL
-DOES EVERY CHRISTIAN HAVE TO PREACH?-WHAT IF I WANT TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS?
-THE GOSPEL DUTY
-CONCLUSION

“And He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation…’” Mark 16:15, “…and you shall be my witnesses …” Acts 1:8 NAS

"Brothers, I want to remind you of the Gospel(Good News) I preached to you, the Gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the Gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I (Paul) preached to you - believing anything else will not lead to anything.  Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures; that He was buried; and that He was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 The Jerusalem Bible.


THE GREAT COMMISSION

 Telling people about Jesus and the cross is perhaps one of the most peculiar Christian activity to any society anywhere, during any generation. It is so foreign to those who have never heard it that the apostle Paul described it in in this way, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

  This task, given to the Church by Jesus at His departure, is termed by the Church, ‘The Great Commission.’ The most wonderful aspect of this message is that the focus is not directly proclaiming how great God is, but what a wonderful thing HE HAS DONE FOR ALL PEOPLE, EVERYWHERE, FOR ALL TIME! He laid down His life, suffered, died, and rose again from the dead in payment for all our sins. Now in Christ Jesus, everyone can be forgiven and brought into a personal and intimate relationship with Him that will last for eternity. And that is just the beginning! What amazing, wonderful, and exciting news!!! To the Church, it is not only a command to preach and proclaim this news, but what a privilege! When the message is burning in our heart it is nigh impossible to contain it.  Often, the world calls what we do proselytizing, and if we are merely trying to convert someone to a religion or get them to our particular church organization, that may very well be. But if we are trying to reach everyone we can that they can meet Jesus, have their sins forgiven, go to heaven (regardless if they go to our church or not), that goes way beyond any religious exercise. We do not get 'points' for telling people about Jesus, but we do have the honor of doing so.

 THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL –

“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved...For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” John 3:16-17, Romans 6:23
SPECIFICALLY "Moreover, brothers, I declare unto you the Gospel...wherein you stand, by which also you are saved...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

 

 Having said all this it is needful to clarify a few things:

 - DOES EVERY CHRISTIAN HAVE TO PREACH?

 When Jesus was departing, those to whom He was speaking were the twelve (minus Judas). They were the apostles, or ambassadors of the Kingdom. Even amongst them they were given specific tasks. In Galatians 2:7, Paul explained how he was the apostle to the uncircumcision, and Peter was the apostle to the circumcision. Paul also said that he was under compulsion to preach the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16).

- “…and you will be My witnesses…”

 This word is not meaning preachers, but those that will testify, like as a witness in a court. The apostle Peter put it like this, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15  Now that takes the yoke of burden and guilt off if we do not feel that God is asking you in specific to preach; however, according to this verse, if and when the opportunity arises where we are being asked, He does expect us to testify on His behalf, and rightly so.

 - Does that mean that I will never have to testify unless someone asks?

Not so. “For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father Which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” John 12:49. It is the same with us, if the Holy Spirit is prompting you to speak to someone, then you tell them about Jesus. This is not a burdensome expectation, but an opportunity to help them get saved. That should be a deep desire in all our hearts. You may be fearful, and it may even cost, but is Jesus not worth it, and is not their eternal soul needing it, as was ours? Do not forget, that whatever the Lord asks us to do, He always gives us the grace to do it. “A man takes joy in giving an apt reply- and how good is a timely word!” Proverbs 15:23 NLT

WHAT IF I WANT TO PREACH AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS?

   By all means, tell them! That is the Holy Spirit in you putting that desire in your heart. It is definitely not the devil. Speaking from a personal experience, when I seriously committed my life to Jesus, I couldn’t stop telling everyone. I would talk to people on the streets, at the job (and only got reprimanded once, mainly because I always loved my work and I work hard like a fanatic, so they tolerated me), in stores, wherever and whenever I had an opportunity. I would pick up hitch-hikers and preach to them. I had so much fun, and I still enjoy telling people about Jesus. That is all that I wanted to do in my life, but I learned a couple of things. I did not particularly have the gift, and I finally realized that the Lord did not give me that particular calling. Years later, while holding a meeting in the prison, I brought in a guest speaker, a man who was a former inmate and I noticed something. When he shared not only his testimony, but then the Gospel, the Holy Spirit moved in such a powerful way that I could see the men drawn to the Lord and under such a strong but gentle conviction, that a good number surrendered their lives to Christ. I have never had that kind of response, nor have I laid out the Gospel so simply and clearly (you may have already noticed by the way I write). I do not recall if I was envious at all, but I was certainly impressed, and blessed. At that point I understood a little more clearly the workings of God. I was doing what He gave me to do, and I feel honored and satisfied with that, and he was doing what the Lord gave Him to do.

   When I finally realized that I was not called to the ministry full time (not having to take a secular job to support myself), I was at peace with that. I felt humbled, true, but I like to get out there amongst the people in the world and interact with them, and I can hardly get enough of it. When I was a little child I seriously wanted to be a priest, and live in a church. As I got older that dream went away. But as we delight ourselves in the Lord He gives us the desire of our hearts, and we do not even need to peruse them. He just brings them our way as we are occupying ourselves doing His will. I did get to live in a church, although maybe not as a priest, but as a layman helper, and for eight years. It was great! Thank You Lord Jesus! Then I had to move on, which was when I realized that God had not called me to full time ministry. In some ways I regret it, but in other ways I am glad, because I get to serve Him in ways that priests and ministers do not get to. Praise the Lord, and I also finally got married and had a family, which also is a wonderful blessing from God.

- THE GOSPEL DUTY
 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how  shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? For it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!'" Romans 10:13-15

    The Gospel work is extremely serious, to God, and for all people!

We must understand that this is not game and not an option for the Church, and it can be costly. First and foremost, look what it cost our Lord Jesus Christ. His Sacrifice is the Gift of all gifts for all people for all time! Furthermore, the call to preach the Gospel had cost untold thousands of missionaries everything, and even at the cost of their lives so that millions of people could be reconciled to God. I was just reading the account of Father Brébeuf, a missionary to New France, who was captured by the Iroquois during a raid and was tortured to death. As he was being tortured he preached the Gospel to them. I have little doubt that some of them made it to heaven because of his witness and faith.

JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS GOSPEL THAT THE LORD HIMSELF AND HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD MAKE SUCH SACRIFICES FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT EVEN BE INTERESTED? Let us see what God’s Word tells us.

 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

“For You are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with You.” Psalm 5:4

“As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no not one...For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’” Romans 3:10,23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“I (Jesus) said therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins.” John 8:24

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in the body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” 2 Corinthians 2:10

 There many more Scriptures, but summed up, God is Holy and will not dwell with sinners, yet He wants us to be reconciled to Him. We are all sinners and need to be saved. We cannot wash away any of our sins, but Jesus Christ, God’s Son, paid for them for us so that we can be forgiven, saved, and spend eternity with Him.

CONCLUSION
 – Preaching the Gospel is not a religious activity, but the only message by which anyone can be saved from their sins, and we, as His people have a responsibility to see it accomplished. The Gospel is God’s Gift of Love to the world, and we get to share it.