For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?Here the Apostle Paul is telling us why it is important that you and I go. The reason is simple: If we don't go, how can people believe? How can they believe if they've not heard? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Rom. 10:13-17)
Somewhere we have gotten the mistaken idea that everybody in the United States has heard about Jesus. It would be natural to assume that they have, but some people - right here in our own country - have never heard of Jesus. It was very shocking to me when I first discovered this fact.
A number of years ago I had the opportunity to minister in the Los Angeles County Jail. There were several of us who went together. When we arrived, the security guards told us that we would be unable to make any kind of physical contact with the inmates. We were told that we would be in one room and the inmates would be in another room.
I remember that we prayed together and believed God that somehow we would be allowed in where the prisoners were to minister to them. I wanted so much to be able to lay hands on the ones who needed it.
When we arrived, we met the prison chaplain who opened the service for us and then introduced a man who sang and led a couple of choruses. Then the chaplain turned the service over to me.
As I started to speak, the chaplain suddenly interrupted me and said, "Wait a minute. I don't know why I'm doing this, but let's go in there where they are." We walked in where the prisoners were, just as we had prayed.
When we got in that room, I immediately noticed a young man who was sitting near the back of the room. He had long, shaggy hair. My attention was drawn to him, and I found myself directing the entire service toward him.
I just knew in my spirit that when I finished preaching, that young man would be born again. I just knew it!
At the end of the service I invited all those who wanted to receive Jesus and be born again to come to the front. About 25 prisoners came forward. The very first one to get out of his seat was this young blond-haired boy.
I walked over to him first, and I never will forget his words to me. He said, "I've never heard the name of Jesus before in my life. This is the first time I've ever heard that name."
This boy had lived his whole life in the United States without ever hearing the name of Jesus. He said, "I don't know anything about Him or about what you told us just now. But I do know this, He sure feels good."
That shocked me! There was a person in the United States who didn't know anything about Jesus. Right here in our country there are lots of people who have heard all kinds of religious ideas, but there are still those who have never heard of Jesus Christ.
In the Scripture passage set out above, Paul wrote, "how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" How can people believe in Jesus if they have never heard of Him? There are people who have never heard anything about Jesus Christ.
That's the reason they have never accepted Him. It's one thing never to have heard anything, but it's something else to have heard the wrong information. There are many other people who have heard wrong things about Jesus, and that's why they have never accepted Him.
There are two kinds of unbelief. One is caused by a lack of knowledge; the other is a result of an unwillingness to believe. One person does not believe simply because he doesn't know anything that would cause him to believe.
Because of a lack of knowledge concerning that particular subject, he can't believe. Another person has heard the truth but, as an act of his own free will, has decided not to believe. There are many people right here in the United States who have decided not to believe in Jesus because of all the wrong things they have heard about Him.
Once again as the Apostle Paul tells us, "How shall they believe except they first hear?" Why must they hear? Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. This is why it is so essential that we become willing to go. If someone had not been willing to minister to you, you would not have heard the Gospel. If you had not heard, you could not have believed.
To hear it, you may have gone to a church, or to a Full Gospel Businessmen's meeting, or to some other kind of gathering. You may have been told about Jesus by your parents, by some other relative, or by a friend.
Maybe someone approached you on the street. Regardless of how it happened, you had to hear the Good News before you could believe it. If somebody had not been willing to speak the Gospel so you could hear it, you would not have believed.
Maybe you just picked up a Bible one day, started reading it, and came to the Lord on your own. Maybe you think that nobody else was involved in your decision, that it was just between you and the Lord. But that is impossible because the writers of the Bible were obedient. You were hearing what they had to say about Jesus through the written Word.
No matter how it came to you, you had to hear the Gospel before you could believe it. This is the reason it is essential that we be willing to go. People cannot believe until they have heard something to believe. Our purpose as ambassadors is to make sure that we take them the right information.
I don't want to project an improper image of Jesus. Do you? I don't want to present a distorted image of God. As I have already pointed out, many people have not believed on Jesus because of the distorted image of God they have received. (Many times that distorted image has come from Christians.)
They see God as some kind of vicious tyrant who is just looking for an opportunity to "bust them over the head" the first time they do something wrong or get the least bit out of line. The idea that all I have to look forward to was His knocking me out every time I made a mistake would keep me from wanting to become one of His children, too.
God is a God of love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and goodness; but how can people know the truth if we don't go tell them?
God loves them so much that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16); but how will they know unless we tell them?
Jesus came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10); but how will they know if we don't go tell them?
Why is it necessary that we go? Because if someone doesn't go, these people won't hear. If they don't hear, they can't believe. You and I must become willing to go. We are God's mouthpiece.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International