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Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Sacred Trust of the Gospel

LISTEN

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

—1 Thessalonians 2:4

What have all believers been called by the Lord to do? We all have been called to get the gospel out to the world. We have been given the sacred trust of delivering the gospel. The Great Commission was given to all. No one is excused. Granted, some are called to be evangelists, but all are called to evangelize.

In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul spoke of “the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to [his] trust” (1 Timothy 1:11). Again emphasizing this sacred trust of the gospel, Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:4, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.”

Don’t feel as though you are a failure in this area necessarily. Think of Noah. He didn’t have a single convert. After all those years of preaching, no one really believed. But Noah was faithful in what God had called him to do.

Be faithful with what the Lord has set before you. Be faithful to be a good husband or a good wife. Be faithful to raise your children in the way of the Lord and teach them the Word of God. Be faithful to be a witness for Christ wherever you go, remembering your sacred trust of bringing the gospel to as many people as you can.

You’re making an impact in ways you don’t even realize, and that impact may not be fully realized until years later. God will not hold you accountable for what He has called me to do. Nor will He hold me accountable for what He has called you to do. But He will hold you accountable for what He called you to do.