The Call of Christ

The Call of Christ
Saturday, March 28, 2020
by Dr. Paul Chappell

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

Matthew 4:17–20

At the start of His ministry, Jesus clearly laid out His expectations for those He called to follow Him. They would embark on a lifetime course that would revolve around reaching other people. Jesus did not initially tell them they would be preachers or teachers or writers, but He did tell them they would be soulwinners. They would trade in catching fish for catching men. Dr. Curtis Hutson said, “Soulwinning is not a request; it is a responsibility. Soulwinning is not an opportunity; it is an obligation. The only alternative to soulwinning is disobedience to a clear command of Scripture. Everybody is to be involved. Nobody is excluded.”

It is impossible to say that we are truly following Jesus until we are doing our part to share the gospel with others. This was His purpose. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). And it must be our purpose as well. Everywhere we go, we meet people who are either heading for Heaven or for Hell, and we have a responsibility to them that we must not shirk. Paul wrote, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). If Heaven and Hell are real, and they are, we must make the eternal destiny of others a priority in our lives every day.

Today's Growth Principle:
God has placed people in each of our lives who need salvation, and we must reach out to the lost.