Any man who has taken on the position of a local pastor-teacher of the Church of Jesus Christ, or anyone who desires to proclaim the Gospel to another, should know at least this much:
1. Salvation is of the Lord alone.
Christians are never told in Scripture to ‘go out and save people’ with the Gospel. You cannot. Saving souls is the work of God, not man. Yet, every Christian is a missionary and the task is equal to all – proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the Great Commission. Proclaim the Gospel as the Truth that it is. Do not wait for an immediate conversion. Leave it in the hands of God.
2. Wound by the Law of God.
The first priority in proclaiming the Gospel to anyone is to wound – not to console or make them comfortable in their sins. The Law of God is the needle that pricks the conscience of the soul. It’s purpose is to shed light on the sin of the one to whom you are speaking. Without speaking of the Law, you have no good news, no Gospel. One must see their infinite sin against an infinite God before they can realize an infinite punishment for having been born in the first Adam, their federal representative, in whom they stand condemned already.
3. Heal by the Gospel
After the Law is preached, then, and only then, should the Gospel, the good news, be given. The Law of God is powerless to convict a sinner without the working of the Spirit of God – and so also, is the Gospel powerless, without the working of God the Holy Spirit!
Salvation is of the Lord alone!
Joel Taylor Ministries 