The Final Word : Preach the Gospel

Last words often represent a person’s most important message or sentiment. A study of the final verses recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke reveals a common theme, ‘To spread the Gospel abroad...’

‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost’
Matthew 28:19

‘And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following’
Mark 16:20
‘And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations’
Luke 24:47
Jesus died for our salvation and we should thank Him for it every day. Do you ever feel unworthy of so great an act of love that you’ll never be able to repay? Jesus doesn’t want us to feel unworthy, nor does He require repayment. The scriptures show us that He went to the grave out of the very purest, unconditional love.

Although we can never repay Him, the greatest act of love we can perform is to tell others that the same salvation is available to them. It is not a commandment to preach the Gospel. But if you love the one who gave His life for you the result of your love must surely be a desire to tell others. ‘Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear’ 1 Peter 3:15.

There may be reasons that we don’t ‘always’ speak; but are any of them really good enough (compared to love)? Are we too busy, do we assume people won’t listen, are we embarrassed, afraid, or whatever the excuse? When we received the Holy Spirit we were filled with the love of God. It is a limitless power that dwells within every Christian: yet many choose to repress its action. The Bible tells us that we have full control over the Spirit within us, ‘…the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets’ 1 Corinthians 14:32.

Love is the activity which releases the Spirit’s power into a person’s life. Whether it is ‘loving your neighbour’, ‘loving the brethren’ or even a ‘love for your enemies’. It is only when you use what you have that the fullness of the blessing returns to you. That is why the last words of the Gospels were telling the saints the first things to do…

We cannot repay Jesus for His love, but we can (surely we must feel compelled to) share that love with others, whenever we possibly can. ‘...because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart’.
Of course, to preach the Gospel, according to the Bible, you must know what it says: Read Acts 2:1-4 & 38; Mark 16:15-20, John 3:1-8 and the whole of Acts 10 as a starting point to discovering this truth. 

 Martin Gladdish

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