Wrong Time to Preach the Gospel.

Wrong Time to Preach the Gospel?


One question that invariable comes up when encouraging others to preach (proclaim, speak, share) the gospel is, “when is a good time to bring up the things of God?” Or another way of putting is, “when is the right time or wrong time to witness to someone?” Believe it or not there is a wrong time to preach or proclaim God’s word in general and the Gospel in particular. Some of my friends will be balking now because they believe there is no bad time, that every chance you get is a good time. Well I do have a scripture reference that makes it clear there are situations or times were preaching the word would not be as fruitful as other times. At the conclusion of this article, I will give those people the verse.

I have been giving this some thought and before we can look at situations wherein wisdom dictates we withhold the Gospel from those sinking into hell, we need to understand what affect preaching the Gospel or Word of God has on sinners. We know from examples in scripture that there are three responses, 1) the sinners gets saved, 2) the sinners become angry, hateful, full of wrath even to the point of violence,(Stephen in the book of Acts) 3) the sinner is apathetic( no response at all) to the Word preached. From those three options you appear to have two safe options for your well being when you share the gospel. But on further study of those who are saved, I realized that in some situations even if the person is saved it could bring you the preacher great pain and suffering. While I admit on the surface it seems impossible that one who has just been saved from the wrath of God, through the mercy that Jesus purchased, would want to hurt the bearer of the good news, it is possible they might do so anyway.

Consider this fact, that fear and trembling quite often accompany salvation and also those who are on the verge of salvation when they hear the Word of God. God, speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, advised He will only look to those who have a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at His word. (Isaiah 66:2) Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God says that when he cleanses the citizen of Israel and Judah from all their sins that they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and prosperity He is going to provide.” (Jer. 33:4-9)

So when you witness to some one it is possible that they will have fear and trembling that God has saved them, anger that you have showed them they are not good before God, or they will not care at all.

Consider these possible reactions as you decide you have enough love in your heart to warn your dentist to flee the wrath to come, to throw himself at the foot of a bloodstained cross because he is so evil only the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse him. Do you talk to the dentist after he is done working or before he start filling that cavity or performs a root canal? Does he get so angry with you that he can’t see straight, or does tears start streaming down his face and his hand trembles as he relishes the love of Jesus that is now shed abroad in his heart?

Can you visualize that your dentist is holding the drill trembling in anger or love as it approaches your somewhat numb but stills sensitive tooth. Or you could have talked to him about his lying, thieving, adulterous heart before his gave you the Novocain injection. That needle could be the instrument that is held in his trembling hand, and if he is angry with you, he may choose to not give you as much Novocain before the trembling hand brings the drill.
Imagine you give into the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and in love, you decide to share the Gospel with the nurse that is putting in your I.V. You asked them “If you were to die today and stand before God, and He asked you why should I allow you into my Heaven? What would you tell Him?” The nurse tells you that she tried to do good, and she is basically a good person. As she is prepping the I.V. you explain to her that if she has ever told one lie she is a liar and all liars have their part in the lake of fire which is the second death. You tell her the if she has ever stolen she is a thief an no thief will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. She stops preparation and asks what must I do to be saved. You explain to her that Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life, always obeying the Father, that He died on a cross becoming a curse, taking the full wrath of God upon himself so that she could be saved. That God gave a sign that He accepted Jesus payment by raising Him from the dead. That all she has to do according to Jesus is repent (turn from) of her sins, and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died to cleanse her of her sins. With tears streaming down her face, she prays to God thanking Him for His gift and asking Jesus to cleanse her. Now she turns back to doing her job, and with trembling hands, and vision blinded by tears puts the I.V. in your arm.

You could also imagine a barber using scissors to trim around your ears as you witness to him, the brain surgeon that comes to visit you right before you go under, your partner in the bomb squad as he diffusing a bomb, and many other instances were you would pay a personal price for speaking up at the wrong time.

I am sure that there are still a few die hards that would say that there is no wrong time; even in these instances the eternal fate of those people is far more important to a needle going in wrong, or a drill running around the mouth drilling holes in teeth that are not numbed. Well for those people let me give the verse that proves Biblically that there are wrong times. 2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. (NKJV) See the Bible does says there is an out of season for preaching the Word. However, on closer look it does appear we are still to do it even if it is out of season.

I guess the dentist, nurses, and barbers will not be the only ones trembling as we share the Gospel with them from now on, but perfect love will cast out fear of what might happen. We know it is far worse for them to fall into the hand of the living God, who is a consuming fire, if they die in their sins than anything that could happen to us now.


By Franklin L. Reeves

An Intergalactic Gos

An Inter-galactic Gospel.

In a galaxy far far away, a great illustration of Biblical truth is revealed. What do you mean, what kind of Biblical truth is illustrated in a Sci-Fi movie or book? I am glad you asked, because I think this illustration will help you understand a hard Biblical doctrine.

Do you remember a tall, furry creature that seamed to growl and roar to his friend and partner? If you are thinking of Chewbacca the Wookie then you would be thinking of the right character from the StarWars trilogy. He was the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon and close friend to Han Solo.

To set the stage you need to know how Chewbacca and Han Solo joined together in partnership. A lot of that stage is not revealed in the movies, but for Star Wars fans who have read the books know a little more of the information. I am going to tap into this extra information as my illustration.

You need to know that at the end of Episode III Chewbacca and the rest of the Wookies are still sympathetic with the Jedi and the Republic. The Emperor also has a hatred for non-human life forms. This two factors lead to the enslavement of the Wookies. You also may not be aware that at one time, Han Solo was part of the Empirial fleet.

The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia on Han Solo;

A scheduled rendezvous with a slaving vessel revealed that an adult Wookiee had overwhelmed the crew and released the Wookiee children that were to be sold. Leading a TIE fighter squadron, Han boarded the damaged ship and found a barely conscious Wookiee, Chewbacca, in the pilots seat. Commander Nyklas ordered the young lieutenant to skin the Wookiee; Han refused to do so. He later lost his lieutenants commission and was dishonorably discharged. In this way did Chewbacca swear a life-debt to his rescuer, and from then on the two were inseparable.

The life-debt is a concept that I have seen in many movies. Usually the debt was paid off when the debtor found a way to save the life of the one who originally rescued them. The life debt the Chewbacca swore was different from those. It would continue long after the Chewbacca had saved Han Solo. It even went as far as Chewbacca giving his life to save one of Han and Liea’s sons. After which Chewbacca’ son tried to assume the life-debt to the Solo family.

While this is fictional and the concept is really strange, I want to look at it from the Wookies standpoint. The day the Han Solo sacrificed his commission and risked his life to save Chewbacca, was the day Chewbacca would have died. From that day forward Chewbacca would not have even been alive accept that Han Solo intervened on his behalf.

Even the act of saving Han Solo’s life could not cancel this debt, because there is no way that Chewbacca could have saved Han Solo accept Han Solo saved him first. No amount of service would ever be possible without Han Solo’s first saving Chewbacca life, so no amount of service could be used to pay the debt owed. Even Chewbacca’s son would have never existed accept for the intervention of Han Solo in his life. That was why Chewbacca’s son was willing to take over the life-debt.

It is important to know that the Wookie began his service to Han Solo at first out of gratitude to this Imperial officer. It is clearly seen that this gratitude turned into love and the years working together grew into a lasting friendship. So all of the affection the Chewbacca and Han shared was not simply because of their original encounter, but the original encounter was required to begin the process.

So you may be asking yourself what does that had to due with spiritual things, the Bible, Jesus, or God? That is a good question and I am glad you asked.

You see that fact is that you are a lot like Chewbacca. You are nearly dead at the control of a hijacked ship. You are awaiting the boarding party that has been sent to kill you. You cannot fight them off and your only hope is a rescuer that will risk His very life to save you.

Unlike Chewbacca, you are not wrongly pursued, your crime is not freeing others from slavery. You have violated a just law and the law is seeking you out. You don’t believe me do you? May I ask you a few questions to see if I am right about your crimes?

Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of value or your age? Have you ever looked with lust? If you answered yes to these three questions you are a liar, thief, and adulterer at heart! You have violated God’s standard of Holiness, the Ten Commandments, and you are already condemned.

You have not paid the penalty yet but it a matter of time before your ship is tracked down, and justice is swiftly dealt out. It is appointed once for a man to die then comes judgment. All liars have their part in the lake of fire, and no thief or adulterer will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Your only hope is a rescuer to save you.

God demonstrated His love toward us in this, that while we were yet sinners (transgressor of His law) Christ died for us. Jesus Christ, totally right with the law, paid the fine you had earned. He did not risk His life to save you, He gave His life to save you. He laid it down and took the anger of God, that you earned, on Himself.

However that is not the end of the story. He was also raised from the dead, proving His sacrifice was acceptable to God. He has ascended back to Heaven were He prepares a place for those He saves.

What must I do to be saved? Great question! The Bible clearly teaches that one must come through the door of Jesus Christ, He is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through Him. It also clearly teaches that Jesus is the door. Now we know that doors swing on hinges. The hinges that the door of salvation swings open on is repentance and faith. You must repent, turn away from your sins, and place your faith, trust, in Jesus Christ alone.

You maybe saying you are already saved, so what does this story do for me. If you noticed the main part of the illustration was on what Chewbacca’s life-debt meant. You see you were dead in your sins at one time, if you are saved now. Christ came and set you free and saved you from sure death. Every moment from that day belongs to Him. It is reasonable that you would now serve Him with your whole life. Everything you own, even relationships, belongs to Him now.

As you serve Him out of gratitude for what He did for you, it will turn into love. Over the years of following, Him that love will turn into a true friendship that will last for eternity.

So I challenge you to think of yourselves as a bond-servant with a life-debt. Consider that you could have nothing, not even your life or freedom, if not for the sacrifice He made for you.



Key Verses

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (NKJV)

Acts 20:20,21 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

Romans 5:6-8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJV)

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)

Other Verse references

Revelation 21:8
1 Cor. 6:9
Heb. 9:27