Why should we preach the gospel?

As I sat in the solitude of my room on a quiet Sunday afternoon, my study for the day was to gather a small list of verses on the depravity of man. Bible open, notebook at hand, I proceed to Romans 3 for some obvious examples. . From Romans, I went to John, and several other books, gathering many verses that actually showed the status of an unredeemed man throughout the writings of the New Testament. As you can see the list is rather long...
Last night, I took all the verses I gathered and ordered them. as you see them below.
While I was praying on how to present this. The Lord laid it upon my heart to use it for an answer to the question I have been dealing with, as a follower of Reformed theology.

Q. "If all the elect are guaranteed salvation, why should we evangelize?"

The obvious answer is simple, Because we are commanded to. -Matthew 28:19-20
Yet this answer, true as it is, seems to me to be a "cop out answer" to a critical question...

We were not given the ability to discern who is elect and who is not. We are commanded to preach the Word to all nations. It is the Holy Spirit's job to call and save. It is God who will gather His elect... It is our responsibility to preach His Word.
Every verse listed below reveals the condition of an unsaved man before God..This is how God views those who are unredeemed.


I. From the Mouth of Jesus Christ

John 3:16 is probably the most quoted, and the most memorized verse in the Bible. Yet
surrounding this wonderful truth, Jesus, in his conversation with Nicodemus, revealed many
things concerning the status of the lost.

• 1. They can not see the kingdom of God- John 3:3
• 2. They can not enter the Kingdom of God-John 3:5
• 3. They are already condemned- John 3:18
• 4. They love darkness rather than light- John 3:19
• 5. Their deeds are evil- John 3:19
• 6. They hate the light- John 3:20
• 7. They won't come to the light- John 3:20
• 8. The Wrath of God Abides upon them- John 3:36
• 9. They can't come to Christ- John 6:44

Wow... Jesus had a lot to say about the unredeemed... but it doesn't end there. If that is not enough to show the need for proclaiming the gospel, Let us go to The works of the apostle Paul.

II. The Writings of Paul

Let's jump to the book of Romans. A book that is replete with verses that testify to the
status of the unredeemed:

• 10. They treasure up wrath upon themselves- Romans 2:5
• 11. They are not righteous- Romans 3:10
• 12. They do not understand- Romans 3:11
• 13. They do not seek after God- Romans 3:11
• 14. They have gone their own way- Romans3:12
• 15. They have become worthless- Romans 3:12
• 16. They do nothing good- Romans 3:13
• 17. They have no reverence for God- Romans 3:18
• 18. They fall short of God's Glory- Romans 3:23

Let us continue

• 19. They are ungodly Romans 5:6
• 20. They are enemies of God- Romans 5:10
• 21. They are servants of sin- Romans 6:17
• 22. They are at enmity with God- Romans 8:7
• 23. They can not please God- Romans 8:8
• 24. They are vessels of wrath , fit for destruction- Romans 9:22

Oh... there's more

• 25. They can not receive the things of the Spirit of God- 1 Corinthians 2:14
• 26. The things of the Spirit of God are foolish to them- 1 Corinthians 2:14
• 27. They cant know the things of the Spirit of God- 1 Corinthians 2:14
• 28. They walk according to the course of this world- Ephesians 2:2
• 29. They are dead in trespasses and sin- Ephesians 2:1
• 30. They walk according to the prince of the power of the air- Ephesians 2:2
• 31. They are children of disobedience- Ephesians 2:2
• 32. They are Children of Wrath - Ephesians 2:3
• 33. They are Dead in sins- Ephesians 2:5
• 34. They are without Christ- Ephesians 2:12
• 35. They aliens and strangers to the covenant-Ephesians 2:12
• 36. They have no hope- Ephesians 2:12
• 37. They are without God in the world- Ephesians 2:12
• 38. They are dead in sins- Colossians 2:13
• 39. God will take vengeance on them in flaming fire- II Thessalonians 2:8
• 40. They will be punished with everlasting destruction- II Thessalonians 2:9
• 41. They can't please God- Hebrews 11:6
• 42. The are children of the devil- I John 3:1o

This is by no means an exhaustive list. But every single thing on this list applies to your lost friends... or family members...Wife, child, brother, sister, mother or father...
You would do everything you could to help them if they were seriously ill... Why won't you help them seeing that they are spiritually dead? How much do you really love those who are lost?

People are in dire need of hearing God's Word...We must love them enough to tell them the truth. Even if, in doing so, we become their enemy. It is our commission to proclaim the Love of God to all people through the sacrifice of his Son.

Q. "If all the elect are guaranteed salvation, why should we evangelize?"

A. Because if you don't tell them, you don't love them... Period.