The Believer’s Duty To Christ ( 1)
THE greatest assignment for all true believers, the one issue that compelled the Lord Jesus Christ to face shameful death by crucifixion, was to reconcile fallen, sinful and rebellious humanity to the Almighty God. Today, the Lord wants believers to reach out to precious souls with the gospel and bring them to God’s Kingdom.
“Andrew… first findeth his own brother Simon… And he brought him to Jesus,” the Saviour, and eventually to salvation and service. The Lord wants us to bring people to the Saviour, not just physically, but to have faith in Him. He wants us to bring them to real conversion and Christian experiences, so that, they will abide in Him and be brought to His service.
But before we can bring others to Him, the Lord expects us to first find the Saviour ourselves. Saved by grace, our sins cleansed, pardoned and forgiven, we must reach out to sinners and tell them about the Saviour. Andrew spoke convincingly and persuasively such that Peter followed him to Christ without argument. When we preach with courage and confidence, the people will see the transformation in our lives and follow us to Christ. Our aim should not only be to bring them to church while they remain unsaved. We should bring them to conversion and let them have personal encounter with Christ.
Andrew did not stand between Peter and Christ by making himself the person Peter had to consult every time before he could see Jesus. Some people stand between the Saviour and converts. But Andrew was not an obstacle to the connection between Peter and Christ. This connection made Peter experience a change of name and a change of his nature. This assignment, which the Lord started with the disciples will continue until He returns to the earth.
We must not allow the chain to be broken. Andrew did his part; he brought Peter. Peter also did his part by bringing others. Those others did their parts and brought other people. We must do our own part by bringing sinners to the Saviour. As we reach out to them with the saving gospel, we must tell them that Christ died to take away eternal death from us. We must speak to compel them to come into the Kingdom, emphasising the danger of delay. As they yield, they will be saved.
The believer’s calling is to labour for the Lord. All the other things we do in life are to keep soul and body together for this purpose – to be watchmen, bring souls to Christ and make Him and His commission indispensable and non- exchangeable in our lives. We must use every available opportunity the society presents to interact with sinners and present the gospel to them.
Our responsibility is to “hear the word ( from the Lord), and give ( sinners) warning.” God has sent us forth with the word of salvation and repentance and we must not fear, shrink or turn back. We are not to look at people’s faces, language or disposition. Rather, we must “warn the wicked ( to turn) from his wicked way, to save his life.” If we fail to warn him, “the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will ( the Lord) require at thine hand.” But if we warn the sinner and he refuses to repent, and dies in his sins, “thou hast delivered thy soul.”
• Further reading ( King James Version): John 1: 40- 42; 1 Peter 3: 18; Hebrews 2: 9,10; Luke 14: 22, 23. Ezekiel 3: 17- 21; James 5: 19,20; Luke 19: 6- 10,13; 24: 45- 47; Acts 8: 4; 26: 16- 19. Matthew 28: 1,5- 8; Acts 1: 4, 5, 8, 14; 2: 1- 4, 16- 18; Joshua 2: 18,19; 6: 9, 10, 22- 24; John 4: 9, 28- 30, 39; Acts 8: 3, 4; 17: 2- 4. Joel 2: 28, 29; Acts 2: 16- 18, 38, 39; Psalms 144: 12; 71: 5,17; Exodus 2: 2- 10; 2 Kings 5: 1- 4; Jeremiah 1: 6- 9; 2 Timothy 1: 5; 3: 14, 15; Proverbs 22: 6.