Doing Your Part
Everyone who claims to be a Christian has a duty given them by God. That duty is to share the gospel message, and to help people find their way to heaven. The lack of knowledge is the reason many Christians will be destroyed on judgment day. In Hebrews 12:15 the Contemporary English Version reads: "Make sure that no one misses out on God's wonderful kindness. Don't let anyone become bitter and cause trouble for the rest of you". The first part of this verse is one that every Christian needs to take heed to. If our brethren are going to miss out of heaven, it better not be me that is responsible.
Paul felt this same thing about preaching the gospel when he said "woe is me if I preach not the gospel". Why did he feel this way? Because he knew that the gospel message was God's power of salvation (Romans 1:16). And Paul was running out of time, so he preached constantly because he knew God gave him the duty to preach to the Gentiles, and Paul was also very concerned with his Jewish brethren, that he wanted them to be saved also.
Oh that we who are Christians today would have the same goal. If we only had the desire to help everyone become a true Christian and live in such a way as to reach heaven when this life is over. That is why church is so important because we need the strength and encouragement of our brethren. No Christian would want to wish harm upon anybody, right? Jesus taught us even to love our enemies and those who use us in various ways. Remember that Jesus died for these people also.
So each Christian should feel that it is my job to teach others about heaven and how to get there. And if there is going to be ignorance on the part of Christians we know, it is not because I did not teach them or try to teach them.
It is quite obvious that many people are just not interested in the truth of the Bible. Many people have a great knowledge in what excites them. Look how people treat their hobbies. They immerse themselves into knowing as much as possible about their hobby. They read books, subscribe to magazines, and search the internet to acquire as much information as possible so that they will be knowledgeable. And these types of people want to share their knowledge with others so that others might begin to share in that same hobby.
Should this not be the case for Christians? I mean, learning all that we can about the Bible. Learning the true message from God, and sharing that message which is so much more important than any hobby ever was.
There are so many hobbies out there and many people are enthusiastic about their hobbies. Can you imagine how much the church would grow if we could shift the enthusiasm towards sharing the gospel message which will impact the soul in eternity. Hobbies will perish with all temporal things. The soul will last forever. If we do not share the gospel message with others, it is possible that God will consider us worthless for any good deed. Do not be guilty of depriving others of the gospel, and do not contribute to the ignorance of many souls. It is your duty to teach them. Whether they will listen is up to them and they will have to answer to God for their ignorance or rejection of His commandments.
In 2 Corinthians 5:19 we read; "What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world, and He has given us the work of sharing His message about peace"(CEV). God has done His part in providing for our salvation. Yet man also has a part in their own salvation. That includes obedience to God's commands, coupled with the faith in God to provide the blessings He has promised through Christ.
In 1 Peter 1:22 it reads: "You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart" (CEV).
By Carey Scott

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