What Is The Point Of Spreading The Gospel?

It is one of the conundrums of the Christian faith. We are suppose to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul is clear about this.

Romans 10:14-15 New American Standard Bible

14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Nevertheless, Jesus says no one can come to Him unless the Father makes it possible.

John 6:44 New American Standard Bible

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day

When we tell people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God may make our efforts fruitful, but there is no guarantee. God is the one that changes hearts to believe, not any of us. Still, it makes one wonder. Why would we refuse God, refuse His Gospel? Why is it that the Father must draw us to Jesus, His Son?

Proverbs 21:24 provides a clue.

Proverbs 21:24 New American Standard Bible

24 “Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names,

One who acts with insolent pride.

Is the answer pride? Must each of us acquire a bit of humility to receive the grace of God?

James 4:6 New American Standard Bible

6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

When we hear the Gospel, is not our natural inclination to scoff? Don’t we each have our preconceived notions? Do we really want to hear anything else?

Consider how Paul warned those who heard him.

Acts 13:40-41 New American Standard Bible

40 Therefore, see that the thing spoken of in the Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴¹ ‘Look, you scoffers, and be astonished, and perish;

For I am accomplishing a work in your days,

A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”

A couple decades ago I found myself commuting in heavy traffic to work. Frustrated by the delays of stop and go traffic — fearing I would give in to road rage — I looked for relief, something to distract my mind. Eventually I hit upon audio books, listening to classic literature I otherwise never would have bothered with. Surprised that I enjoyed this literature, I decided to listen to the Bible. After all, what is more classic?

The Bible fascinated me. So, I completed my journey through it. After I had finish it I found myself contemplating what I had heard during a long, solitary walk. Then, to my surprise I reached a conclusion I never would have expected. A lifelong scoffer, I admitted to myself that I believed that ancient piece of literature was true, true and the Word of God. Therefore, I decided I had better try to do what the Bible said I should do.

How had I reached this point? It is tempting to believe that the logic of Bible convinced me, but I doubt that is all there was to it. Over the years I had undergone of series of difficulties, and I was not as cocky as I once had been. Was I humble? It probably would be more correct to say I had been humbled, and I was prepared to accept the fact God is God, and I am not.

Many people pray for a revival. I have wondered what a revival would look like, and it occurs to me that people tend to turn to God in hard times. Hardly an original thought, but thanks in large part to the Biden administration we seem to be headed for hard times.

• Trillions of dollars in new government spending threatens to inflate our currency.
• We have a border crisis. That means hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, powerful drugs, terrorists, and human traffickers surging into our country.
• Because we have a weak leader in the White House, our enemies are active. China is harassing Taiwan. Hackers, apparently based in Russia, shut down one of our oil pipelines. Israel is under a rocket assault from Gaza. Who can guess what is next?
• Our nation is culturally divided. Perhaps half of the population still looks towards traditional values. In the name of “tolerance”, ironically, the other half (which controls the public schools, the mass media, Big Tech, and the government) promotes racism and wants to force everyone to adopt its Pagan beliefs. The cancel culture is the current manifestation of their bullying, but no one knows how far this bullying will go.
• The crime rate is increasing in our big cities. Nevertheless, the people who run those cities want to defund the police.
• And so forth.

If hard times are ahead, will they break us or improve us? If Christians bravely spread the Gospel, perhaps they will improve us. Let us hope and pray that if we must experience hard times most people learn enough humility to ask for and listen to the Word of God.

Additional References

• Victor Davis Hanson: Biden flirting with disaster – here’s where division at home, weakness abroad will lead | Fox News
• Based on Biden’s performance so far, there’s trouble ahead for Democrats (nypost.com)
• Should Christians stockpile food/supplies in preparation for a possible future disaster? | GotQuestions.org
• Chicken wing shortage: Restuarants struggling with higher prices | khou.com