10/08/2020 - PREACH THE WORD!

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Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching..  2 Timothy 4:2

The apostle Paul placed young Timothy under a commitment to preach the Gospel, for he knew of the commission given to the saved: to bring the Good News to every creature (Mk 16:15). Many say they do not understand the Lord, because although we are flawed, He has commissioned us to carry the message of salvation to the lost. This task is in our hands, and this is more serious than we think.

In verse 1, Paul points out that this call was made before the One who will judge the living and the dead. When we understand our responsibility, we feel the inability to fulfill this mission. At that time we tremble and confess that without the help of the Holy Spirit, this is impossible. Since we will have to realize the ones that needed to be reached and were not, we fell silent in agony.

The final judgment does not take place every month, but will come at Christ’s return. You can’t play to do the work, thinking we’ll do it if we want to. It is an obligation that weighs on us. Woe to those who fail to do their part. Then they will be asked why they did not do more to free the captives.

The order is to preach the Word to those who live far from the Truth and therefore do not serve God. Proclaiming the Gospel is the solution to humanity’s problems. Hearing the voice of the Lord, everyone will understand that Jesus is, in fact, the Savior of the world. They will know that the Son of God is Wonderful and will act rightly, because He will lead them.

Insisting on past events and those that will happen shortly will make the lost feel the need to be converted and to be right with the Lord. Some will not do it quickly because they feel good about their sinful life. Therefore, we need to insist on teaching them the Word. The worst thing is to see that a person is about to make the decision and know that she died before she was saved.

God will give us the ability to answer the questions of the wicked by reasoning them. There are cases in which it will be necessary to rebuke them, so only with divine help will we succeed in this task. We have to urge, because the days are bad and pass quickly. We cannot cross our arms and rest, because Jesus will return without warning and there will be no time for repentance.

Knowing that our ministry must contain these details, we should act quickly because we have little time left. Because God is long-suffering – having kind hope, or hopeful kindness – is moving millions of His children to go around the world to spread the Gospel. Everyone needs to know the Word!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares