by Bill Hall
The preaching of the apostles proceeded from hearts full of conviction. They had observed the miracles of Jesus; they had heard His teaching; three of them had been with Him in the mount, and had heard those words spoken from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him”; they had seen His composure as He was arrested in the garden; they had carefully examined evidences of His resurrection, and had talked with Him, eaten with Him, felt of Him; they had watched as He ascended until a cloud received Him out of their sight. They believed! And so full were they of faith that their faith overflowed in words. They could not hold back that message which burned in their hearts.
They preached it everywhere; in the synagogues and in the temple; in the streets and from house to house; in governors’ mansions and in prisons; in market places and from Mars Hill; on ships and in chariots; in upper rooms and on riverbanks.
They preached it to the rich and to the poor; to worshipers of God and to worshipers of idols; to the humble and to the proud; to the lowly and to the mighty; to the educated and to the uneducated; to the good and to the bad; to the moral and to the immoral.
They preached it to the drunkards, to adulterers, to homosexuals, to idolaters, to sorcerers, to kings, to government officials, to army officers, to jailers, to ship captains, to beggars. They preached it, and preached it, and preached it!
Because they preached it, they were imprisoned, beaten, scourged, stoned, mocked, ridiculed, threatened; they were victims of lies, deceit, conspiracy, uproars, mob violence, shipwreck, ambush; they lived in poverty, often hungering, and with “no certain dwelling place”; but nothing could stop them from preaching as long as they had breath. They believed, and their faith forced them to preach regardless of the consequences. “They believed, and therefore they spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
What did they preach? They preached that message revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, God’s divine message (1 Corinthians 2:6-13). They had not time for opinions, human philosophies, or politics; nor was their faith centered upon such things. The message that burned in their hearts was a message concerning Christ and salvation through Him. They believed in Christ, in the efficacy of His blood, and in the power of His gospel. They believed, and therefore they spoke that message, and that message only.
Faith! In that one word may lie the most important element of effective evangelism. When we come to believe as did those apostles; when we become so full of faith that we can hardly restrain ourselves; when the message of salvation burns within us as it did in them, we will be teaching others and we will be doing so effectively. Until then, our words may contain an unmistakable emptiness that will render them powerless in changing the hearts of men.
~via Gospel Power, vol. 12, no. 42, Oct. 16, 2005