Called to Preach?
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere...
The first thing the believer must acknowledge and submit to in the journey of faith is the Lordship of Christ.
It is the consciousness of Galatians 2:20,
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
The believer must live to serve and represent his Lord, to know and to make him known, and to listen to and to obey his Lord. This is what it means to be a messenger and ambassador of Christ. This is what the apostles meant when they introduced themselves as servants and bond servants of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”
This mandate is commonly referred to as the Great Commission.
In these verses, Jesus recruits every believer to the most important task at hand, making disciples of all nations and, in other words, preaching the gospel. The process of preaching the gospel is known as evangelism, derived from the Greek word “euangelion” which means gospel or good news.
What Does It Mean to Preach the Gospel?
To preach the gospel is to proclaim the good news that salvation is available to all men through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To preach the gospel is to help a sinner see and acknowledge the helplessness and hopelessness of man whilst pointing to Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.
To preach the gospel is to explain the origin of sin, the consequences of sin, and the brutality of death, whilst emphasizing the free gift of eternal life, the inexplicable love of God, and the wonders of his grace.
To preach the gospel is to clarify that sinners are damned. Jesus is the one who saves a man from damnation.
John 3:16 & 18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Are We All Called to be Evangelists?
The simple answer to whether or not we’re all called to be evangelists is clearly stated in 2nd Corinthians 5:18
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
From this scripture, we see that the ministry of reconciling sinners back to God is not reserved for a select few. It belongs to every believer. God first reconciled us to Himself, and then He entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation—the simple, weighty task of getting other people reconciled with God.
While there are those specifically called to the ministry gift of an evangelist, every believer carries the responsibility of sharing the good news. And we must be honest about what that means. Preaching the gospel is not a side project. It is not something we fit in when life slows down or when the moment feels right. It is a core pillar of our faith. If the will of God, as recorded in 1 Timothy 2:4, is for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, then indifference toward lost souls is simply not an option for us.
How Do We Preach the Gospel?
We don’t believe the gospel because we finally understand it; we believe the gospel because we encounter a love so extravagant we cannot help but bask in it. In all honesty, the gospel makes no sense. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul establishes the fact that the gospel is counter-culture. For a world that is driven by intelligence, how can something as ridiculous as the gospel lead to salvation?
1st Corinthians 1:18-20
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
We do not rely on eloquence or human wisdom to preach the gospel, because the gospel is not a human message. It is supernatural. It is a supernatural message, uttered by supernatural men, enabled by a supernatural God. What we carry is beyond us, and that is precisely the point.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
The gospel is not philosophy. It’s not anthropology. It’s not science. It’s not biology. It’s Romans 1:16, “…the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes…” Therefore, the only way to preach the gospel is by absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit of God.
Why Must We Preach the Gospel?
We must preach the gospel because it is the only way the good news spreads.
Paul puts it plainly in Romans 10:14–15
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
The chain is unbroken. Sending leads to preaching. Preaching leads to hearing. Hearing leads to believing. And believing leads to salvation.
And in 1 Corinthians 1:21, he goes further: it pleased God, through what the world calls the foolishness of preaching, to save those who believe. The world looks at preaching and sees weakness. God looks at preaching and sees His chosen strategy.
If the gospel is God’s strategy for salvation, and preaching is the only means by which lost souls can hear it, then we have no choice but to preach.
Action Point
Every person who pledges allegiance to the risen Jesus is commissioned to preach and teach the gospel in His name. This is not merely an inheritance to be received. It is a partnership with the risen King to claim more territories in His name.
In our subsequent articles, we will be writing on practical steps for how and where to preach and how to do a proper follow-up, depending on your context.