Speak Up, Speak Out!
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” Romans 10:14-15
Dear Friends,
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he longs for his fellow Israelites to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Yet he laments how can they be saved unless someone preaches the Good News, the Gospel, to them.
Recently, I heard of a man in California who killed his wife and children and then himself after being laid off from work. I was so intensely disturbed by this report that I had to raise this issue.
We, as the church, recipients of the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, have a responsibility, a duty, a commandment from the Lord Himself, to go into the world and preach the Gospel. Each time I hear terrible news as described above, I wonder if we are doing enough in our evangelistic efforts.
This man had no hope. He could not call on the One he did not believe in. And how could he have called on the One if he had never been told. Did anyone ever tell him about Christ?
This is a sobering subject, but one that must be addressed. The church is failing in the world as we go through our usual routine. We must be ever aware of those around us who do not know Christ or whose faith is weak so that they can be strengthen in the hope that comes only through Christ Jesus.
And this pronouncement must be verbal. Many suggest that our testimony is in our actions. True, our actions can be a testimony to our faith, but faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. As Christians we must tell people about Christ, otherwise when they see the good we do, they will simply attribute it to our being “good people.”
Your testimony is not your life. Your testimony is what Christ has done in your life. Tell someone about how Christ has rescued you and in the process, by the Spirit they may be rescued.
In Christ,
David
