Our gospel is hid! This is the unfortunate plight which has befallen the human race. In Adam all died. By the disobedience of the first Adam we lost our spiritual eyesight, yet by the obedience of the last Adam, many have been made righteous. By God’s grace, our eyesight has been restored.
Since it is our blessed privilege to be able to see by faith what others have not seen, it is incumbent upon us to seek by the help of God to point others to this spiritual illumination. Otherwise, they will be destined to eternal darkness.
As recipients of God’s salvation, our part in His plan of redemption is to “gossip” the gospel to every nation, tongue and people. This command necessitates a universal vision with concurrent local action. How can we effectively carry this out? “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? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things” (Romans 10:14-15)!
We must continually keep before us the primacy of preaching the Word. In 1 Corinthians 1:21-23 we see the divine pattern in action. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” We acknowledge that preaching is simply a means to an end to reach souls. Oftentimes, however, the preaching of the gospel is the final yet critical link in a chain of events leading to the repentance and salvation of a precious soul.
There are many other methods that God employs in this great work. Personal work, witnessing, literature distribution, Sunday School work, cottage meetings, open air preaching and booths at local fairs are only some of the means He uses. None of these methods should be minimized, and a wide cross section of use can ensure that the gospel is covered from many different angles.
Another primary consideration is the fact that no matter how theologically correct our presentation of the gospel is, our gospel is still hid to them that are lost It is by the Spirit of God alone that the hidden truth can be revealed. “It is the Spirit which quickeneth… the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). So whether we give out a tract or preach from the platform, we must rely solely on the Spirit of God to reveal divine truth. In our quest to obey His Word, “Quench not the Spirit,” we must actively get the Word out to unbelievers, being conscious at the same time to act in full fellowship with divine testimonies locally and with our brethren.
The quality of materials used in proclamation of the gospel by the evangelist is paramount to the effectiveness of the work of the Holy Spirit as He continues His mysterious; work of revelation. There is no doubt that in the past, the Spirit has used a kaleidoscope of Scriptures to bring life to the dead. So we must be continually open to His guidance with respect to materials used. The use of well known verses, frequently quoted, have resulted in blessing in salvation for many. We should never be ashamed to employ these old yet ever new Scriptures, that His eternal purposes may be fulfilled.
