S28P7 – Our saintly duty: sound the alarm
Col. 1:28-29
We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ. For this I labor, striving with His power and energy, which so greatly works within me.
If you watch unedited original television broadcasts from the 1950s, you may notice that many of the program sponsors were cigarette companies. It now has been a number of years since the broadcasting of cigarette commercials has been outlawed. However, one thing we commonly see today are commercials warning about the dangers of smoking. One particular commercial shows a woman who appears to be rather average. As the commercial progresses, we hear her voiceover describing her suffering through illness and hospitalization as a result of smoking. We also see her begin to remove her hair, false teeth and the scarf around her neck that was hiding the scar from a tracheal tube. She knew the dangers of smoking firsthand, and she wanted to warn others by showing them the result. Likewise, as we were once lost souls ourselves, it is our duty to warn other lost souls of the danger ahead.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope and redemption. When we share Jesus with others, we share the truth of his love, mercy and compassion. I would wager that most of us do not begin evangelistic conversations by preaching fire and brimstone. I believe this is probably the right tactic to take barring some prompting from the Holy Spirit, but we cannot forget our duty to warn others of what lies ahead for those who deny the Son. It can be a delicate balance to maintain, but we are here to speak the truth and teach people the reality of the spiritual world around us. We cannot shy away from discussing the warfare and the evil that exist in this place at this time. We cannot teach of the salvation offered through Jesus Christ without teaching about that from which he saves us. We cannot preach the cross of Christ without discussing what it is that put him there.
With every day that passes, the return of Christ is one day closer. The time of judgment is coming soon, and it is a critical time. There are people around us who are headed for certain destruction and eternal separation from God. We love some of these people dearly, but we may not be warning them of what is to come. Scripture tells us that we do not know the hour or the day, and even the Son himself does not know when He will return. This should raise up in us an urgency to sound the alarm for the unsaved. Our Father in heaven desires that none should perish, and we should share that desire. Father, give us the courage and the tact to sound the alarm for the unsaved, and use us daily to lead others to your Son.