Every day, tens of thousands of people die. By the most conservative estimates, over 100,000 people each day breathe their last and open their eyes in Hell. That crushes me, and it should decimate every soul who professes Jesus as Lord. It gets worse. I submit to you that for all those going to Hell, we have blood on our hands.
Paul says, “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). We are those preachers of the Word because Jesus told us to proclaim the gospel to the whole world (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). When we fail His commission, we cannot escape the fact that people are going to Hell on our watch.
This is a heavy statement, and perhaps you’re thinking it’s not in your power to save anyone. Salvation does belong to the Lord alone. (John 6:44) What is in our power is the ability to obey what Jesus tells us to do, and what He tells us to do is to tell others about Him. (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20) How well are you obeying that command? When was the last time you shared the gospel with a family member, friend, or co-worker? If we do not open our mouths, we have blood on our hands. People in our circle of influence are going to spend eternity under the wrath of God because we are too afraid to open our mouths and tell them the good news of Jesus.
Jesus said if we are ashamed to proclaim Him on earth, He will not proclaim our righteousness before God in Heaven. (Luke 9:26; Matthew 10:32-33) That’s not a scare tactic; those are the words of Jesus. Just because we prefer not to think about such statements doesn’t make them any less true. The name of Christ should always be on our lips. (Hebrews 13:15; Psalm 34:1) Every conversation should include Him because He is our entire life. Without Him, we are nothing. (John 15:5; Colossians 3:4) Our love for Him gets us out of bed each day and comforts us when we lie back down at night. If Jesus consumes our lives, He will never be far from our conversations. How often do you talk about Jesus?
We don’t want blood on our hands when we face the Lord. How will we explain our lack of obedience to Him? How will we excuse our unwillingness to share His gospel with those around us? There will be no excuse then, and there is no excuse now. We talk about those things about which we are most passionate. Is that who Jesus is in your life?
These are some of the most sobering words I’ve ever written because I am as guilty as you are. There have been times I have not opened my mouth when I knew I should have. I have let opportunities to share the gospel slip through my fingers. We must always be ready to tell why we believe. (1 Peter 3:14-15) A lost and dying world is in desperate need to hear the good news the Lord has been so gracious and merciful to entrust to us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; 1 Thessalonians 2:4) We bear the mark of Christ, the inconceivable blessing of His redemption and salvation. (Ephesians 1:7-8; Ephesians 1:13-14) We have the message and the antidote the world needs. If we don’t tell them, then we have blood on our hands. (Ezekiel 33:1-11)