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As You Go: The Christian Duty of Preaching


“And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7).

Then I preached Christ, and when she heard the story, —
Oh! is such triumph possible to men?
Hardly, my King, had I beheld Thy glory,
Hardly had known Thine excellence till then.

Then with a rush the intolerable craving
Shivers throughout me like a trumpet call,
Oh! to save these; to perish for their saving,
Die for their life; be offered for them all.

- F.W.H. Meyer

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fearhating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh" (Jude 20-23).

In recent Christian history, preaching has been something that takes place only at a certain place, at a certain hour, not too often, and not for too long. It also requires much preparation by the preacher.

This, however, does not seem to be what Jesus was talking about. He said it again in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19: “As you go, make disciples of all nations.” Preaching and making disciples (i.e. evangelizing) should be a normal part of our daily life, not a special part. Nor should it be a normal part for special people.

Here is a biblical example: “And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles… Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1, 4).

Everyone except the apostles were preaching as they went. If all means all, this means thousands of people, and perhaps tens of thousands. Let us encourage one another to preach as we go.


This post coordinates with the #SamePageSummer Bible Reading Challenge. Join the challenge here - we'd love to have you reading with us!
Written August 1978.

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