Now this "...confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus..." obviously implies sincerity and this obvious implication rules out the possibility of someone just speaking it, it must be in the heart. To confess does not mean simply to "speak" or to "repeat after me" but it means to "to agree with" or to "acknowledge". These things imply more than just speach, they imply true concious recognition in the heart. When a person confesses with their mouth the Lord Jesus, they are agreeing with what God has declared about Jesus, that He is exalted and lifted up above all (including self), He is Lord. To confess is not just lip service but is heart driven verbal agreeance to what God has decalared to be truth. And so if you have confessed with you mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you are saved. And though God has used the unsaved in the past to glorify His name, this is the one situation in life that you are wise to worry about yourself before you get too concerned for others. Now let's go on
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Vs 18-20
He says "All power is given unto me..." and then "Go ye therefore..." So why are we to go? Because all power is given unto Him. You see, when we recognize the Lordship of Christ and believe what God has declared of Him we are saved, but saved from what? The wrath of the King. If we were condemned already because of sin how much more if we neglect so great salvation which is recieved by the preaching of the cross? Therefore as we have heard and obeyed so must the lost hear and thus recieve the option of obedience of faith.
When Christ finished the work, God made Him Lord of all. All authority, all power is given to Him, He sits as King waiting for the time when His enimies shall be made a footstool for His feet and we have been given the charge of letting the world know about the power and authority that is already in place although it is not seen so that they too might believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths and be justified in the site of God by faith even as we. If they die in their sins having been told of the blood that was shed then they will die as they have lived, in rebellion to the Authority that is already in place. But if they die in their sins not knowing of the Authority, not having heard about the risen Lord who died in their stead, they are condemned, but it is then we who have not fullfilled our part. We know about the One who will judge and have had the message committed to us, how can we not preach the gospel, woe unto us if we preach not! God forbid that our country fall into the wrath of God not having heard the message that we have been commanded to preach, namely the grace that saved us.
This is my burden for Canada. A church on just about every corner, Practically every last person having heard of Jesus and yet well over 90% of the people I talk to on the street have not heard a clear, biblical presentation of Jesus Christ. This is CLEAR evidence that the Church is not fulfilling it's commission.
So what do we do? Well it is simple; Submit to the Authority that is already in place...Jesus Christ. Do I mean get out there on the street and start preaching? No. Because preaching is not neccesarily the first step. If the Lord is burdening you to testify by all means do not disobey. What we need is a return to the Word of God. The Written and the Living Word. The things that I have mentioned are evidences that there is something wrong in the Church today but we will not fix the root by dealing with the fruit. I believe that when a person is near to Christ they are driven to testify as well as to pray as well as to study the Word as well as to demonstrate that Life that has its origins in God. These are not the things make people godly they are the things that are made of godly people. As it is said "Let's not confuse the root with the fruit". They are the effect of Christ living in and through a person not the cause of it. I think all too often the end is confused with the means. So let us turn to Christ in faith trusting in His promises and thus abiding in Him, for as we know "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." John 15: 4
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James 4: 8-10
So why should we preach the gospel? Because of a simple realization of the way things really are, not the way they are seen but the truth of God wich is yet unseen. If they haven't heard then they don't yet know about what you have been told to tell them.
May the love of Christ constrain us, drive us to testify of the One who died for all.