The Gospel Must Be Preached

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”  12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 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? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”  17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Romans 10:8-17 NKJV

 

The Gospel came through Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus was the first to preach the Gospel. He preached it and He died and rose again to fulfill it.

 

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  Matthew 9:35 NKJV

 

The Gospel must be preached.

 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.  Luke 4:18-19 KJV

 

Jesus was anointed to PREACH the Gospel – and He faithfully fulfilled that call and commission. Now He, Himself, calls and commissions all believers – you and me – to pick up where He left off and PREACH the Gospel to EVERY creature.

 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  Mark 16:15-16 KJV

 

In order for the Gospel to be preached, a preacher is required.

 

Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to just sit back and do nothing while God does all the saving He wants to do. People are not predestined for salvation or not at the whim of God. God says that He is unwilling that any soul should perish. In other words, if it were all up to Him, alone, everyone would have no choice, but to get saved. The fact is that He created us with a free will to choose our own eternal destiny. People will have the opportunity to be saved once they hear the Gospel preached. That is why it is so vital that preachers preach the Gospel – with faith and boldness – so that all are able to hear. Not only five-fold preachers preaching, but every believer, everywhere. 

 

The preacher must be sent.

 

The preacher of the Gospel must be sent – by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sent, ideally, from both God and the Church – the body of Christ. Ministry is not something you do on your own – you must be anointed for the task and sent out with faith, prayer, and direction from the Holy Spirit.

 

And He sent them out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.  Luke 9:2 AMP

 

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”  John 4:34 NKJV

 

As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  John 17:18 NKJV

 

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  John 20:21-22 NKJV

 

The Gospel must be heard.

 

How can they call on Him if they don’t believe? How can they believe if they have not heard? Faith comes by hearing the word.

 

With many such parables [Jesus] spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear and to comprehend and understand.  Mark 4:33 AMP

 

The Gospel must be believed.

 

And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.  Acts 5:14 NKJV

 

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 NKJV

 

The Gospel must be obeyed.

 

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.  Hebrews 5:9 NKJV

 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  James 1:22 NKJV

 

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.  1 John 3:24 NKJV

 

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.  1 John 5:2 NKJV