All too often the cry from hell is completely and totally ignored by those who should really know better. Unfortunately, apathy has gripped the Church to the point that professing evangelical Christians are anything but evangelical. The good news that should be being preached among the world has instead been kept from the world, leaving the world to be plundered and pillaged by the unmerciful wolves of the cults. I am extremely saddened that the men who do actually take Christ’s commission to go forth throughout the nations seriously, are the very ones who believe and fervently spread the heresies of the false religions. How convicting this should be to us who hold fast to the truth of God’s Word, that we of all people, who have been made alive by the Almighty, awoken from our spiritual deadness by hearing His glorious Word, are the very ones who do not go forth ourselves and share such eternally important truths. Instead of being fishers of men, who actively get in their boats and purposefully cast the nets in hopes of catching those whom Christ preordained, we sit. We quietly go about our business instead of that of the Fathers, waiting for lost souls to ask us questions. Why is it that we no longer have a heart for the lost? Shouldn’t we, of all people, who have been born again by the imperishable Word of God understand and know the importance of preaching to those who are perishing so that the Holy Spirit may convict them and bring them about to repentance and a saving faith?
“Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. And he said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘It shall be done to you according to your faith.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: ‘See that no one knows about this!’ But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”
Lastly, if you are still sitting there with your arms crossed thinking, “it says, ‘in your goings’”, know this, not every single Scholar is in agreement with that rendering, nor totally convinced of that interpretation. John MacArthur says it means, “having gone”…so according to him, going forth is just expected…and why wouldn’t the Almighty expect it from us, I mean, we have the audacity to go forth and tell people where to find a good mechanic, or a good deal on milk, or whatever mundane pointless and arbitrary good thing we may come across, yet we have the nerve to sit on the Gospel until someone approaches us? We really do go out of our way to inform others of all sorts of temporal things, so how is it that we neglect sharing with them the eternal good news of Christ? I beg you, think about it, repent, and go forth.