Is it possible we’re not trying to do our best?
This probably applies to Christians beyond the walls of the Pioneer Baptist Church, but most readers here are Pioneer Baptist Church readers, so this is aimed at you… and me!
I once read a book (around 1977) and the title, to the best of my memory was, The Church Reaching Multitudes, and it was authored by Pastor Tom Malone. (Just looked on line - may have been The Sunday School Reaching Multitudes.) Anyway, I seem to remember this statement above others “The Great Commission requires numbers.” It’s a haunting thought to a church whose members have been sitting side-by-side for decades, enjoying the blessings of the LORD, loving their fellowship together, and doing their best (we guess) to be good and faithful Christians.
It’s not easy, in my experience, to birth and develop strong Christians. We have to engage people, find ways to effectively give them the Gospel, and pray that the Holy Ghost moves in their lives. Those in the world think they’re having fun, and they might be in one sense of the word. Those who have proclaimed Christ but are not particularly serving Him seem content with what they have, and further seem to want to avoid what you have, which is a lifetime of service and worship.
We have a great Church Family at Pioneer Baptist. We have the Word of God in our King James Bible, we have people we love and trust, and things are good. But we live in a Hell-bound world that appears to be getting worse by the minute, and we have been ordained and entrusted with the truly great, Great Commission. It’s not easy, we emphasize the tract ministry as well as the worth of a soul, and because the process is not easy, the question lurks somewhere in the shadows of our minds, “Are we trying to do our best?”
Jesus didn’t waste His breath! When He said the only way to Heaven was through Him, and said that there was, as we “cliché” it, a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun, He was speaking absolute, divine, truth. Specifically Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33.) “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24.) We all know the dire results of a person rejecting Christ, we all know the wonderful change He brought to us and to our children and grandchildren, and we want to see the world come to Christ. But are we trying to do our best?
We can hand out tracts, whether in our organized tract distribution or individually, we can be “soul conscious,” looking for every opportunity to put in a good witness for Christ (How often have I kicked myself for missing or passing up one of those?) and we can pray for ourselves to be good witnesses as we pray for those we witness to. If we don’t place a high priority on it, we’re not trying to do our best. Within our own families, our relatives are observing us, and taking silent and subconscious notes on whether we really believe what we are practicing. I’m not a proponent of what is called “lifestyle evangelism” to the exclusion of flat-out giving people the Gospel through verbal and written word, but I do believe that our lifestyle is a factor in the process. What are we saying to those closest to us through our daily activities?
If a sincere desire to see souls come to Christ is not high on my priority list, then, I’m not trying hard enough to do my best. I must do better, I must do better for Christ, and I must do better for those who so desperately need to be saved.
Otherwise, I’m not trying hard enough to do my best.
Love and Prayers to all,
Pastor