Acts 20:26-27,31b
I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
C.H. Spurgeon “Lingerers Hastened”
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/lingerers-hastened/#flipbook/
When you go to lost souls, you must, as these angels did, let them plainly see their condition and their danger. ‘Up,’ they said, ‘for God will destroy this place.’
If you really long to save men's souls, you must tell them a great deal of disagreeable Truths of God. The preaching of the wrath of God has come to be sneered at nowadays, and even good people are half ashamed of it. A mushy sentimentality about love and goodness has hushed, in a great measure, plain Gospel expostulations and warnings.
But, my Brothers, if we expect souls to be saved we must declare unflinchingly, with all affectionate fidelity, the terrors of the Lord.
We shall never persuade men if we are afraid to speak of the judgment and the condemnation of the unrighteous.
God says to you this morning, “Wilt thou have thy sins and go to hell, or wilt give them up, and trust in Christ and be saved.”
F.B. Meyer Our Daily Walk, “The Ministry of Warning”
Colossians 1:27-28 “Christ in you, the hope of glory; Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom.”
The ministry of warning should be a recognized part of the work of the Church and of each individual member. The foghorn warns the ship from the deadly rocks; the red light warns the train of imminent danger; how much more should we, who know the wrath of God which abides on those who refuse Christ, raise our voice in warning. We should do it deliberately, earnestly, patiently, and in reliance upon the Spirit of God to make our words, however much they may be resented, the means of arresting the wicked from the error of his ways, and those who are taking their first steps in forbidden paths from pursuing them (Ezekiel 33:7-11).
How wonderful it is that God does not commission angels to carry His warnings and appeals; instead of this, the work that angels might love to do is entrusted to men. It is at our peril that we neglect our opportunities in this direction. If the signalman is placed at a point where many lines of rail cross or diverge, and he sleeps at his post, or neglects his duty, he may be tried for manslaughter; and if we know of people in the immediate circle of our influence who are in danger of ruining their physical, moral, and spiritual well-being, we are bound to raise a warning voice. If we saw, upon the upper reaches of a river, a boat full of people hastening towards the rapids unheeding the danger, surely we might be guilty of being an accessory in their destruction, if we failed to do something to warn them of their peril.
Accompanying our words of warning, there should be the clear reiteration of the Love of God. He does not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live. (2 Peter 3:9) It is not enough to try and prevent men from taking the wrong path, we must urge and allure them to take the pleasant ways of righteousness and peace. All are included in the love of God. Even sin cannot turn away His love (Romans 5:8).
PRAYER
O God, we have left undone many things that we ought to have done. Hands have been reached out for help which we have not given; hearts have turned to us for sympathy which we have not blessed. Forgive us, we pray Thee, and at whatever cost may we follow Christ in His redemptive purpose.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Love So Amazing; Expositions on Colossians 1
http://hcf-india.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Love-so-Amazing-Dr-Martyn-Lloyd-Jones.pdf
The first preacher in the New Testament is John the Baptist. What did he say? He said “Flee from the wrath to come.” (Matthew 3:7)
Sermons on Romans
My dear friends, it is not enough that you and I should be clear about the evangel; our methods of evangelism must correspond to the Scriptures as much as our message does, and here is the method. He starts with the wrath of God, not with the needs of people as such, not with the things which were worrying them, not with that sin which gets them down, which they cannot overcome; nor with their unhappiness, and so on. Not at all! He does not mention these things. Instead, he speaks of the wrath of God!
True evangelism always suggests the whole of the doctrine. It always has an element of law and of condemnation. It always has a reference to God. There is a superficial evangelism which puts the gospel entirely in terms of human beings. Are you unhappy? Are you worried? Do you want this or that? Come to Christ and you will get it. And so people come. They have never trembled under the holy law of God, and that is because they were never taught it.