“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.“-John 6:37
Considering all that has been said previously about the Doctrine of Election, one may ask, “If God has already predestined who would be saved, then why should we share the Gospel?” This is a valid question and one that needs to be answered. Simply stated, we should share the Gospel because the Scripture commands us to. The Lord Jesus commands in the Great Commission, “Go, make disciples of all nations…(Matt 28:18-20). First, the Scripture commands us to share the Gospel, and secondly, we do not know who the elect are. Charles Spurgeon said that if you could pull up someone’s shirttail and see an “E” stamped on their back, he could know the elect and limit his work to them. Obviously, we have no such stamp; therefore, we are compelled to obey the Scripture.
Thirdly, we must understand that the sharing of the Gospel is the instrument through which God brings His elect to Himself. Let me give you an example of this. In Acts 18 we read of Paul in Corinth. Only a few people had been converted while the Jews blasphemed against Paul and his message of Jesus being the Christ. Paul shook the dust from his garments and said, “Your blood be upon your own head.” The Lord appeared to Paul in a vision and said these words: “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” Did you see that? The Lord tells Paul to continue to preach the Gospel because the Lord had many people in that city, but only a few were converted up to that point! The Lord needed Paul to continue to preach the Gospel because that is the means that God brings His people to Himself, and when His people hear the message of the Gospel, they respond. Remember Acts 2 when Peter delivered his first sermon? The Scripture says that the people were pierced to the heart and said, “What must we do?”
One thing to point out is that Peter’s sermon was very confrontational in the sense that he made it clear, “This Jesus whom you crucified…” The sermon was not very “seeker-sensitive.” We do not hear of Peter having to have everyone raise their hands if they were unsaved or not right with God, and come up to the front to pray a prayer. We do not hear of Peter or anyone in the Scriptures of having to manipulate the people with music. We only read of Peter, Paul, and others sharing the Gospel with unwavering trust that God alone brings the increase and the people responding. The Scriptures says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
What we need to today is people who are willing to give a clear presentation of the Gospel without compromising any of the central truths contained in the Gospel such as repentance. John MacArthur stated, “You have no right not to say what God did say, and no right to say what God did not say.” Beloved, God requires of us, not to make His message more palatable, but to be faithful in proclaiming the Gospel and trust that God will bring whom He desires into His fold. Remember friends, God’s word will not return void, but will accomplish what He sends it forth to do.
Writer Bio
Joshua Banks is senior pastor and founder of Shepherd’s Rock Bible
Church in Kingsport, TN. He holds a Bachelors degree in Ministry from
Luther Rice University, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and a
Master of Divinity both from Liberty University. Joshua and his wife
Amanda, along with their 5 children, reside in Gate City, VA.
