“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. ” — Mark 16:15
Many older believers in Christ were raised on the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, which sometimes, with its archaic language, is hard to understand—especially for new believers. I’ll never forget an illustration, however, that demonstrates how the reading of God’s Word out of any translation can often produce dramatic results!
A man tells the story of a friend that he kept inviting to church for years—and the friend finally accepted the invitation. But on that particular Sunday the pastor. who had begun a new series through the book of Genesis several weeks earlier, was preaching that day from Genesis 5, which is known as “The Begats” chapter.
As the pastor went through the verses that said, “so and so was begat by so and so, and he died,” and “so and so was begat by so and so and she died,” the man was afraid to look at his friend’s reaction. He wondered, “Why did we come on this Sunday?”
However, much to his surprise, when the pastor gave the altar call his friend got up and rushed to the front and gave his heart to Jesus! After the service, as he was congratulating his friend, he couldn’t help but ask him what made him go forward to receive Christ?
The friend replied, “When I heard the preacher read that so many people were “begat” and then they all died, I realized that I was also “begat” and I was going to die someday—so I thought to myself that I better get right with God before it was too late!”*
The Bible tells us that God’s word is “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12), which means it has a life of its own and can speak to the human heart under any circumstances (or translation) and it’s the Holy Spirit that brings conviction (John 16:8-11). I saw that happen after I had preached a funeral service. An older man responded to my altar call and the result was that not only did he give his heart to the Lord, but in his excitement over his new birth, he was instrumental in leading several of his family to God, as well! So my friends, never keep silent when it comes to speaking the truth from God’s Word.
We don’t need to use special techniques of persuasion to lead others to Christ; we only need to bear witness to Christ and what He has done for us. God is sovereign, and He will bring fruit from the small seeds we plant. We must simply tell the story of Jesus. It may save somebody’s soul from eternal separation from God Who loves them and has left that beautiful message of salvation and the grace of God to you and me* (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:45-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8)! — Maranatha!
*The One Year Book of Hymns, February 20
“God is good all the time. All the time God is good!”
