Bring Someone to Christ

Introduction

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Were I to take as much time as I’d like to take to welcome so many people who have been special to me through the years that are presently in this audience, we would not have time for the really important matter for which we have come together, and that is the distribution of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I will retard an overwhelming compulsion almost to uh take a few minutes and talk about Brother Earl Robertson, how long I’ve known him. I knew Brother Robertson under the old law, and so it’s been a good while. And and some of the other brethren in the audience, uh my preaching brethren are you know where when preachers come, uh what people say is if there are some preachers in the audience, you always know you have a sympathetic ear.

I am not that naive. They’re critical ears, and we both know it. But I do appreciate my preaching brethren and what they mean to the cause of Jesus Christ. There is no kind of way and no room for any kind of envy or jealousy between preachers, and uh I just appreciate them coming so much. I was in a meeting at a place one time, and we had about ten or twelve preachers in the audience, and the young preacher who was the regular preacher there was introducing me, and he was welcoming everybody, and he said, Boy, we have a lot of preachers here tonight. He said, in fact, I think there are more preachers here than there are Christians. He didn’t understand why he’s what he said, and and the audience, of course, just exploded.

And uh I I just have to tell you, too, that I’m so proud to see Brother Heinley. He amazes me. And I’m glad we can be together again. He’s a great man, a man of God, and a man who deserves our accolades. And my friends, the Harkwriters, David Harkrider was a good man, ladies and gentlemen. David Harkrider was a good gospel preacher. But most of all, David Harkrider was a good Christian. And he was uh he was a friend of mine. I’m saddened by his passing, and I offer my sincere condolences to his people. I shall read tonight from the first chapter of the book of Romans with your kind permission, and it reads thusly. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holin, by the resurrection from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making requests, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established, that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me.

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposely come unto you, but was let hitherto, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith unto faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifested into them, for God hath showed it unto them.

1. Everybody Is Obligated to Preach the Gospel

It has been predetermined by the leadership of this congregation that we spend some time talking about preaching the gospel. The big word we use for that is evangelism. I just like the idea of just preaching the gospel. And I believe that we need to understand at the very outset that everybody by his calling is in some way or the other obligated to preach the gospel. It is not reserved for those of us who have enough ham in us to want to preach publicly. It is for everybody. Acts the eighth chapter. As many as were scattered abroad, went everywhere preaching the word. Who was that? The elders and the apostles, right? No, sir. That was all the people that were scattered abroad. In the Great Commission recorded by Matthew, he said, Go ye therefore, said Jesus, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

2. We Are Responsible for Planting the Seed

What did he just command? Go teach people about Jesus. Mark’s gospel says that Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Who does that leave out? They didn’t preach the gospel in the 200 AD section, did they? They certainly did not. Well, how is it going to be preached to all the people? All the people for all time. Well, it’s got to be the people that lived in the 200s and the 300s and the 400s and on down the line. Because the gospel message is to be proliferated in every generation. We plant the seed. And may I suggest to you, we are not I wish I could get this across to people. We are not responsible for the number of people that obey the gospel.

3. God’s Plan of Salvation: The Ground and Man’s Part

We are responsible for planting the seed. Paul said, I planted, Apollos watered, but God giveth the increase. And so we need to understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the God is the duty, is the privilege, should be the passion of every person who ever obeyed the gospel. And it is if there is really in you that wonderful thing about Jesus. I tell you, folks, it does not start with preaching the church of Christ. It starts with preaching Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, verse 14. And grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. God’s plan of salvation is separated into two distinct ways. First of all, there is the ground of salvation.

That is God’s provision, God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s eternal purpose, Jesus Christ, Christ’s blood, Christ’s church. All of those things are provisions by God. But there is a conditional part to salvation, and that is man’s part. Man must hear the gospel and believe it. He must repent of his sins and be baptized in order to be saved. But that isn’t the end of matters. He must continue in this marvelous new relationship that he has formed, not only by being a better person as he goes along, creating thereby what we call the new man, but he must also be obligated in his own mind to present that information to everyone with whom he has an opportunity. And he must be very careful that he never loses that.

4. The Gospel Is God’s Good News

It’s interesting to me what the gospel is. Our English word gospel, I’m sure most of you are familiar with, comes from two old English words, good, G-O-D, and spell, S-P-E-L. And that word good is good, and sometimes it’s translated God because God is the personification of good. And then spell is sayings. These are God’s sayings, and we have translated it, God’s good news. And that’s where we get our word evangelism. It’s good news, and we present that good news to as many as we have the opportunity to do so. Let me ask you a question. What if by some turn of events and some process of serendipity, you invented the means for curing cancer? What would you do with that? If all of a sudden you took something to a doctor and said, look what this has done for me.

And all of a sudden you were cured, and he went in under the microscope and found out what it was. Do you think anybody would hear about it? Would that be good news? Listen to me, people. I’m telling you some news that relates to eternity. We have something in our possession that cures cancer and heart trouble and diabetes and every other thing. But most of all, we have in our possession what cures sin, which caused the whole mess in the first place. And so don’t you think that we would want people to have that? I’m convinced that we just get so wrapped up in ourselves that we reduce our Christianity to a matter of time and place and person. And the time is Sunday morning at 9 30 or 10 o’clock, and the person is Joshua Creel, and the rest of it is just the same way.

5. Religion Is a Way of Living Life

Time and place and person. That’s what we get here, and that’s our religion. That cannot be, folks. That cannot be. Religion is a way of living life. Christianity is a way of deporting yourself so that you not only bring questions from everybody else, but you broadcast information in order to generate questions from everybody else. That’s how we are light. That’s how we are sought. You know, you’re not going to get a lot of credit for that. I’m amazed sometimes at preachers who try to make a reputation for themselves. Listen, it’s not about me. It’s about what I’m telling people. It’s not about you, it’s about what you’re telling people. You’re telling them good news. Here’s what I’m telling you that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, and that he left us a message that, if obeyed, will result in the forgiveness of the most heinous thing that man can have, and that is.