Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Why Preach?

This question was posed to me. Why preach. If God elects some and not others, and *appears* to not care, why should we?

I found several articles, but believe that this one states it quite well.



The Sovereignty of Grace by Arthur C. Custance, Ph.D.

Part Four: Evangelism and Election

Introduction

Three questions commonly arise in the minds of all those who earnestly desire to see their unsaved friends and relatives brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us examine these three questions and see if there are satisfactory answers to be found in Scripture itself.

The first question is: Why Preach at All! If Election guarantees the salvation of all that are predestined to be saved, why should we be bothered with evangelism, personal or missionary? What possible difference can it make whether we speak to men or not?

Assuming that we do feel a call to evangelize, the second question is: What to Preach? Since Limited Atonement seems clearly to be the intention of God in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ so that Christ died effectively only for the elect, what kind of message do we have for the unsaved individual? Since we have no way of knowing in advance whether he is among the elect or not, we have no way of knowing whether Christ died for him in particular. Can we then with sincerity say to such a one, "God loves you" for "Christ died for you"? If we cannot be personal in this way, what form is our presentation to take? What actual message do we have for the individual!

The third question is: Should Election Be Preached ? Since many are called but only a few are chosen to be saved, is it wise to emphasize the sovereignty of the grace of God which to the non-elect might seem cause for despair! Should we not rather keep quiet on the matter of God's elective purposes? Is Predestination a proper subject for public discussion?

Chapter 15

Why Preach?


It is important to bear in mind that we are not called to personal evangelism or to the mission field simply because we want to share with others our sense of gratitude to the Lord for what He has done for us personally in saving us. This would make all personal evangelism and all missionary activity dependent upon our own feelings; and human feelings do not have the staying power to provide a solid foundation for any venture that involves both courage and sustained self-sacrifice, the rewards of which may never be seen on this side of the grave. When, as almost inevitably happens at times, we reach a low in our spiritual life, we also lose much of our sense of thankfulness. Gratitude is not strong enough to inspire us to any kind of sustained missionary activity.

The call to personal evangelism and to all missionary activity rests upon the fact that we are commanded to go.
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt. 28:18-20)
We are not invited to preach the Gospel only at certain times which seem propitious or in certain places which look more promising, though there is no doubt that we are called to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16). We are encouraged to be always ready to sow the seed. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that, or whether both alike shall be good" (Eccles. 11:6). In writing to Timothy Paul said, "Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season" (2 Tim. 4:2). The Greek behind this exhortation is interesting. To "be instant" is a translation of a Greek word which has a number of meanings all tending in the same direction. These are "to stand by," "to be at hand," "to be pressing," "to be urgent," "to be earnest." The ideas of eagerness, seriousness, constancy, and preparedness are all wrapped up in the Greek verb ephistemi . The Greek which lies behind the words "in season, out of season" is perhaps more literally rendered "timely" and "untimely" (eukairos and akairos). In spite of our reasonings which would justify delay, the occasion being inappropriate, it is doubtful if the Holy Spirit could have used any two other words which would more dearly set forth the principle that we are not to be guided by our feelings as to the appropriateness or otherwise of the moment. There are undoubtedly times when we should remain silent, even as the Lord Jesus upon certain occasions did not allow men to give their testimony (e.g., Mark 7:36). The secret must surely be that we are to commune with the Lord continuously, seeking his instructions moment by moment so that we shall neither default nor presume.

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