Without Christ, the world is lost. Paul spoke of those “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). The gospel is God’s power to save (Romans 1:16). But the gospel can’t save if it does not reach those who are lost (Romans 10:17). Consequently, Jesus commanded His disciples to teach His Word (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).
Knowing the value of souls, and knowing the destiny of the lost, we should possess a burning passion to reach others with the gospel. We acknowledge our duty to the lost in many of the hymns we sing. Songs like “Into Our Hands the Gospel Is Given,” “Throw Out the Lifeline,” “Lead Me to Some Soul Today,” “Rescue the Perishing,” “You Never Mentioned Him to Me,” and “Will You Not Tell It Today?” all impress that the need for evangelism is great and urgent (Jeremiah 20:7-9; Matthew 9:37-38; John 4:35).
The duty to “go … and preach” (Mark 16:15) is an individual one which pertains to every member of Christ’s body. No one person can designate another to obey this command for him. Other “laborers” besides full-time evangelists are badly needed. A “silent” Christian, or a Christian “undercover agent,” is a contradiction of terms (Matthew 5:13-16).
James P. Miller used to say, “The Lord’s church needs man-to-man teaching, rather than a zone defense.” The truth is, if we’re going to be like the early church, we have to get involved (Acts 2:46-47; 5:42; 8:4; 11:19; 20:20). The phenomenal growth of some of the cults attests to the effectiveness of one-on-one teaching as a method. The gospel spreads as the gospel is taught from person to person (2 Timothy 2:2). If our efforts are any indication, how many Christians will there be in the next generation?
Haggai asked the question, “Is the seed still in the barn?” (Haggai 2:19). Kingdom seed won’t do any good if it’s not sown. The bounty of the harvest will be in proportion to the plentifulness of the seed sown. There’s abiding joy found in evangelism (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). How can we not speak out? Peter and John said, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Will you say, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8)?
Kyle Campbell
