What Caused Such Love

WHAT CAUSED SUCH LOVE

By

Jerry Falwell

“Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel” (I Corinthians 9:16). There is an obligation upon me and every preacher of the Gospel to tell the Gospel to every person in the world. We have the greatest message and yet all the world still doesn’t know the good news.

Bad news travels fast. Within two hours the whole world knew that President Kennedy had been killed, who killed him, where he was killed and how he was killed. Today, still half the world does not know the good news that Jesus died, where He died, and the purpose of His death. People do not know that Jesus died for them.

Commercial news travels fast. Coca Cola® sells 800 million bottles of Coke each day because someone in the Coca Cola empire said they saw 6 billion points of light, and they wanted everyone in the world to drink a Coca Cola by the year 2000 AD. The Coca Cola people adapted the song, “I want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony . . . Coke is the real thing.” Coca Cola filmed a commercial of the children of the world singing their jingle for everyone to drink Coca Cola.

OUR COMMAND

“Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.” Why? Because Jesus gave me a command to do it. On the first Easter Sunday afternoon, Jesus first gave the Great Commission, “As my Father has sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). This command told me to go to the world as Jesus was sent to the world.

A week later, Jesus amplified on the Great Commission, telling us to whom we should go and what we should preach. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Jesus wanted us to preach salvation to every person on this planet.

A little while later Jesus gave the same command again, this time He included our strategy, “All authority in Heaven and earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make all disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV). So I must preach to get people saved, then baptized, then I finally teach them.

On the 40th day after His death, Jesus again repeated the Great Commission. This time He included the message of the content of their preaching, “Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46-48 NIV). Make no mistake, the good news is that Jesus died for your sins.

A few hours later, Jesus walked outside the city of Jerusalem and before he ascended into Heaven, He gave the Great Commission; this time including geographical outreach. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

THE ROMANS ROAD OF SALVATION

Many believers share the Gospel with others using a plan called The Roman’s Road of Salvation. They call it this because four verses used to present salvation are found in the book of Romans.

THE LOST CONDITION OF ALL

The first verse in the Roman’s Road is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This verse emphasizes the fact that all people are sinners. We preach our message because the lost need Jesus Christ.

A little brother and sister were walking in the fields near the farm house where they lived. When it got time to go home, they argued which way was home. The boy went to his left and the girl went to her right. Eventually the little boy got home and told his mother his sister was lost. All the men and teenage boys of the surrounding farms and residents of the village went into the woods that night looking for the little girl because of the threat of bears and other wild animals. They said, “Fire a rifle if you find the girl.” The mothers took their daughters to the local church to pray all night. Toward dawn, they all heard the rifle shot and came running to the house. The little girl had been found and was alive. Everyone went to the church to praise God and rejoice together. People gave testimonies and praised God that their prayers were answered. Finally, the pastor stood up and said, “While we are glad the little girl was found, there are still thousands of others little boys and girls that are lost. Would we not work as diligently to bring them home to Heaven? Would we not rejoice in the church as gladly if they were converted?