Several years ago, I came across some sermon notes on the importance of preaching the gospel to the lost. It contained five reasons why we should spread the good news of the gospel of Christ. It was so long ago that I no longer have access to the original notes so I cannot give credit to whoever wrote them. Nevertheless, this week I want to consider the five good reasons suggested in the notes as to why all of us should do our best to spread the good news of the gospel of Christ

The first reason is the command that we have from God. As disciples of Christ, we should already be self-trained to do all that God has commanded us to do. It should be our fixed purpose to please God by our willing obedience to His Word. After all, as Christians we are followers of Christ, and He always did what was pleasing to His Father (John 8:29). If we are truly followers of Jesus, we will always do the will of God. Not only is this an important part of being like Jesus, it is vital to our continued fellowship with the Father. Remember, Jesus taught, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Are you a doer of God’s will? To answer yes to that important question, you must be doing your part in teaching the gospel. You must be following the instruction to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). You might think to yourself that that command was only given to the apostles, but that would be incorrect. In the gospel of Matthew, we have a fuller rendering of the great commission. Here it is.

Matthew 28:19-20
¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Notice that Jesus, Himself, calls this a command. So, whoever this commission is given to, we know it is not optional. So then, to whom does the great commission apply? Well, it is true that Jesus is speaking directly to His apostles in the great commission; but, notice that they are commanded to do more than teach and baptize people. In ver. 20, they are instructed to teach those who are baptized to observe all the things that they were commanded to do. Obviously, teaching all nations would be included in that. That means that anyone who is ever baptized into Christ is now under the command of the great commission to teach all nations.

This being the case, we should all feel the way Paul did. When writing to the church at Corinth, he said, “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). There are two things that we learn from Paul’s words. First, merely preaching the gospel is no reason to boast. All we are doing when we spread the gospel message, is obeying God. God does not expect us to do anything less than this whenever we have the opportunity. Second, since, as we have suggested throughout this article, preaching the gospel is something we are commanded to do, woe to us if we refuse to do so. The word “woe” is a proclamation of grief, suggesting that things are not going to turn out well for us if we disobey God in this area.

The fact that we are commanded to spread the gospel is not the only reason we should do so. The truth is, it is probably not even the most compelling reason. It is, however, the first reason. We must do all things that God commands us to do, including trying to save as many souls as we can by telling them about Jesus. Are you willing to do what God commands of you?

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.