Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)
22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Yesterday I did something I have been praying about for some time. I was not a believer when I graduated from high school 35 years ago and over he years I have often prayed about how to share Christ with my graduating class of 1975. I knew that there would be some repercussions from sharing about Christ and I was somewhat concerned about that but as I have watched our culture continue to spiral out of moral truth I decided yesterday that the time was now.
I penned a letter that I sent to everyone by e-mail yesterday. It went out to about 200 of my former classmates. Today I received one letter back so far telling me that they were glad I had found religion but they found it offensive that I would use such an e-mail list to proselytize my classmates. At the end of the letter they did wish me a happy new year.
This response got me to thinking more about the necessity of the gospel. As I have been reading several biographies of those who have gone before us and those who have lost their lives for the sake of the gospel I was at once convicted and challenged to no longer be silent with the gospel.
I began to think what it would be like to stand next to our brothers and sisters across the history of the church at the end of time and hear them ask us what we had suffered for the cause of Christ. They may tell us of their scars and the life they had lived and the cost they paid and then it would be our turn and the question would come, “What scars do you have to show for your confession of Christ in your day?”
I thought for a moment and knew at once something was terribly wrong. What scars do I have to show for my walk with the Lord? Possibly a few that think I am crazy for believing in such "Nonsense." Every time I step onto an elevator I find myself grow timid, I step into a room of unbelievers and feel afraid because I do not want them to think I am a fool. My silence has been too deafening, my courage too lacking. I believe it is no longer time for us to be silent about the Gospel.
To be sure we must live lives that demonstrate the truth of the gospel. We should pray for our enemies and love those who despitefully use us, but we should not stop at that we must speak the gospel. There was an old preacher who was thought very wise when he said to his congregation, "Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words." When I first heard that I thought to myself, “What a nice statement.”
It sounded good in my ears and gave me a sense of rest. I no longer had to share the truths of the faith I just had to live a good moral life led by the Spirit. What a breath of fresh air, I thought.
I could not have been more wrong. The gospel is a matter of words, right words, and right doctrine. To only live a moral life is to reject the very gospel we seek to proclaim. The one who gave us the gospel speaks from His Word, Isaiah 40:9 (NIV)
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"
The salvation of those who will rust in Christ is dependent on preachers being sent. Romans 10:13-17 informs us that it is the preaching of the Word that is heard in the ear that produces faith in the redeemed. Words are absolutely essential to this ministry that God has called us to. Without words being spoken there will be no faith be exercised.
But we also must know this that when we begin to speak these words the enemy will do whatever he can to shut our mouths. Let us labor to be as the early disciples and say that we cannot help but speak of the things which we have seen and heard. O God may you open our mouths even more in these days so the dead can hear and live again.
Speaking up for the Gospel,
Pastor phil
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