They Have Not All Obeyed The Gospel

In Romans 10 the apostle Paul speaks of the lost condition of physical Israel and his desire for their salvation (10:1-3). He speaks of the righteousness of faith (10:6-13) and the need for the gospel to be preached if men will be saved (10:14,15). In picturesque words he describes the beautiful work of gospel preaching by saying, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things" (10:15). One of the saddest statements to be found anywhere in the Bible follows those eloquent words, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel..." (10:16).

What was true in Paul's day is true today. Out of the countless billions of people on the planet only a very small handful have heard the word of truth and obeyed it from the heart (Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:17; Mark 16:16). In some places the pure New Testament truth has never been taught and the church of our Lord is not in existence. What a shame! We have more at our disposal in regard to technological advancements than did our first century predecessors. However, the Bible says, "they went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4), while it is difficult for most of us to go anywhere. Paul was able to say that the gospel had been preached "to every creature under heaven" (Col. 1:23), where, most likely, we cannot even say that the gospel has been preached to every person in our given community.

Why is it that so often we fall so short of fulfilling our obligation in regard to the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19,20)? Here are some possible reasons...

1. Worldliness: Many of us are so caught up in the things this world offers that we do not consider lost souls and the world to come. Let us remember what the Bible says about loving the things of the world (I Jn. 2:15-17; Jas. 4:4).

2. Selfishness: When people are concerned only with self, they will never reach out to others with the good news. Selfishness chokes out productivity and flies in the face of everything the Bible says about serving the Lord (Lk. 9:23; Gal. 5:24,25; Mk. 10:45).

3. Apathy: It may be that many of us just don't care. As long as there is money in the bank, relatively good health to be enjoyed, two cars in the garage and a decent home to live in, with a little fun thrown in, who cares about spiritual things. However, again the Bible rebukes this attitude (I Cor. 15:58; Acts 2:42; John 9:4, etc.).

4. Fear: Possibly, many of us are afraid to take the gospel to our friends and neighbors. We are afraid they might make fun of us, dislike us or think negatively about us if we approach them with the truth. Again let us remember what the Bible says about fear (Rev. 21:8; II Tim. 1:7).

Certainly there are other reasons for our lack of evangelistic enthusiasm and zeal, but these four top the list. What can compel us out of these attitudes and into action? Perhaps, the words at the top of the page, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel..." As I write this article billions are lost. Across the street, down the road, in the grocery stores and factories are multitudes of lost people destined for hell. Friends, family members and others whom we know will not find heaven as home unless someone with "beautiful feet" takes the gospel to them. Let us do the best we can that, although not all will obey the gospel (Mt. 7:13,14), those whom we know will at least have the opportunity to hear it.

By Bill Burk