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| THE COMMISSION |
| “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 What comes to your mind when you read this passage? Do you think of the primitive tribes in South America? The victims of the communist system in China? Or the war-ridden areas of Yugoslavia? Perhaps one of these peoples or places pop into your mind as somewhere that really needs the gospel preached. This is so true, but those distant locations are not the only ones that need to hear the message of salvation. There are people that we live and work around everyday that are lost, and when they die are bound for a Devil’s hell. We may know them in school, at work, or even at church. But these people are just as lost as those struggling under Communism or living by their wits in the Amazon. There is one critical difference however. These people are in “our world.” It is our direct responsibility to tell them of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. They need to know, and we are the ones that have opportunity to tell them. It is us, as individuals, that will be judged if they die without hearing about the gift of salvation. Not all Christians are called to missionaries in foreign lands. Some of us will live and die in the same country, perhaps even the same state we are born in. However our commission to “preach the gospel” is no less a command. In Ezekiel 3:5 God says, “For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel.” This chapter goes on to say “therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delievered they soul.” (v.17-19) Salvation is a precious gift. It is the most important discovery that anyone can experience in their lifetime. To help someone come to the knowledge of Jesus is the greatest accomplishment a Christian can have; to watch a friend or co-worker live and die a lost sinner is the greatest defeat. There is an old song that has ministered to me many times. I’ll end this week’s article by quoting some of the lines: When in a better land, before the bar we stand, How deeply grieved our souls may be, If any lost one there, should cry in deep despair, “You never mentioned Him to me” “You never mentioned Him to me, You helped not the Light to see, You met me day by day, And you knew I was astray, Yet you never mentioned Jesus to me.” |
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| by Cadi Nobles |