6th OF 9 REASONS WHY MEN DON'T SHARE THE GOSPEL

6th OF 9 REASONS WHY MEN DON'T SHARE THE GOSPEL

Seeing it is a duty that the King has laid upon every man according to his ability to exhort and reprove in the Great Commission work (Matt. 28:19-20), and with all possible diligence to labor after the salvation of all about him, judge then whether this work be reasonably performed. Where shall we find the man almost among us, that sets himself to it with all his might, and that has set his heart upon the souls of his fellow man, that they may be saved? Let us here, therefore, question what may be the causes of the gross neglect of this duty, that the hindrances being discovered may more easily be overcome.

Another hindrance is, impatience, laziness, and the favoring of the flesh. It is an ungrateful work, and for the most part makes those our enemies that were our friends; and men cannot bear the reproaches and unthankful returns of sinners. It may be they are their chief friends, on whom is all their dependence, so that it may be their undoing to displease them. Christ and His Spirit do the saving. We are the preachers of the message He gave us. Besides, it is a work that seldom succeeded at the first, except it be followed on with wisdom and unwearied activity. You must be a great while teaching a just saved person, before he will be brought to know the very fundamentals; and a great while persuading an obstinate sinner, before he will come to a full resolution of his salvation. Now, this is a tedious course to the flesh, and few will bear it. Not considering what patience God used towards us when we were in our sins, and how long he followed us with the persistence of his Spirit, holding out Christ and life, and beseeching us to accept them. Woe to us if God had been as impatient with us as we are with others! If Christ be not weary, nor give over inviting them, we have little reason to be weary of preaching the message. See 2 Tim. 2:24, 25.