“For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved. But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher {someone to tell them}.” Romans 10:13-14
Please understand, the Gospel must be preached, spoken, declared or else, people will not call on the name of the Lord. We also know that if people do not call on the name of the Lord, they cannot be saved. The last time I checked we still believe that! Amen? It has been said the reason many people do not attend church is because they’ve never been asked. Could it be the reason many have not been saved, be due to the fact, we have failed to open our mouths and declare the Good News of Jesus Christ? Could it be that we rely way too much on good deeds, friendly smiles, and charitable giving? Now don’t get me wrong, all of those things have their place. Yes, we are written epistles for all to read, good deeds go a long way, and giving is a huge part of Kingdom living. But the Scriptures are very clear… they will not know unless we open our mouths and boldly proclaim the message of the virgin birth, the sinless life, the mighty miracles, the false accusations, the vicious sentence, the cruel cross, and the empty tomb. Once again Paul stresses’ to us at the beginning of Romans, “that it is the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation.”
We must articulate our faith. Saints of God, we must sing and shout it louder than the angels. We are the redeemed and we must say so! Everyday people are going to hell. Does that not shake us to our core? One statistic says that over 158,000 people die daily. News Flash… people are perishing because we remain silent witnesses (if there’s even such a thing). Hell is growing larger as you read this, because we don’t want to offend anybody or we’re afraid we’ll lose acceptance among people. Wake up, Beloved of God! This is a matter of life and death. We cannot remain silent! II Corinthians 3:12- “Since we have such [glorious] hope (such joyful and confident expectation), we speak very freely, openly and fearlessly. Not like Moses, we do not put a veil over our faces.” In Chapter 4 Paul writes, “if our gospel is veiled, it is hidden to them that are lost.” As I begin to mediate on this passage, I see with my spiritual eyes, people leaving churches/prayer closets (where glory is experienced) then just before walking through the door into the world, they grab a veil and cover their mouths. I pray our spiritual eyes will be opened so that we can see if there is a veil over our mouth. Sadly, the veils we will discover are veils of fear, apathy, unconcern, and selfishness. Let me make a bold statement… If Christ is not on our lips, we ought to check and see if He is in our hearts.
Matthew records the words of Jesus this way, “For out of the fullness (the outflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.” If our hearts and lives are full of Christ, then surely in our speech, we will continually tell of the marvelous things He has done! The Psalmist declares, “My mouth shall tell of Your righteous acts and of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is more than I know.” Psalm 71:15. We have the power of life and death in our tongues. Think about that verse differently for one moment. Life, if we open our mouths proclaiming the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, but death, if we say nothing. Again, how will they know unless we tell them? The world needs more than our smiling faces, good deeds, and relief aid! They need our tongues boldly publishing the message of Redemption! May the Lord of Glory touch our mouths as He did Zachariah’s! Tongues be loosed and mouths be opened as we pray Ephesians 6:19, “that we may open our mouths to proclaim boldly the mystery of the Gospel.”!
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