I want to speak with you of something that I believe is little known or understood within the ranks of God’s people today. We have come to believe that the foundation of gospel work is the spoken testimony and witness of God’s people. It is my conviction that this is a dangerous error. I believe that in light of 2 Corinthians three and four, that the real foundation of effective gospel work is the lives of God’s people. 2 Corinthians 4:7 states, “…we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” This “treasure” is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that writes a message on the pages of our lives to the world around us. It has little to do with our own purposes and attempts at gospel work, but rather it has much to do with the mysterious and powerful work of God.
I was working overtime one evening and the boss came to my machine in tears to apologize for his language around me. I was quite taken back by this event. I had never confronted him about his language, nor had I ever even considered it. Yet it seems that the Holy Spirit had been working on him much to my own ignorance. Obviously the Holy Spirit had been confronting him about the coarseness and evil of his speech and we understand that the confrontation of sin is an integral part of gospel work. It was only a short time later that this man confessed his sin to Christ and applied to Him for forgiveness. There was no debate or persuasion but the simple presentation of Christ’s mercy and forgiveness and of course, His provision of salvation by His own sacrifice.
It would seem to me that we must have the foremost understanding that gospel work is the work of God and we are simply a part of His means in doing that work. I believe it is imperative that we understand that He intends to do it through us, not by us. This implies the necessity of Spirit filled, holy lives.
