Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mat 28:19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
AG I did not know that we had a choice in obeying the word of God , and that we could do it our way.
One of the things we used to do with Texas Baptist Men’s Lay Renewal preparation meetings was praying and meditating to discover our gifts of the Spirit. (I Corinthians 12) As a result of that effort I discovered my gift is to encourage other believers; evidently He has given me a reassuring demeanor (LOL!). He routinely puts in a role to encourage believers in their home-going. I am not however gifted for teaching, preaching and evangelizing.
Having the "gift of encouragement " ( not one I find in the Bible as a fruit of the Spirit , but agree that it is a wonderful trait to have, especially for the work of Christians in their ministries) But does not exclude the command of the gospel in the proclaiming the gospel
AG , we do not know each other well . From what I have seen of you it would seem you are a very kind and caring person . But I am very troubled that in all of our exchanges you have yet to proclaim that without faith in Jesus there is no salvation, that is what I would call proclaiming the gospel . Jesus is not a "state " of being. Jesus is God incarnate , that carried my sin and paid the price I could never pay , Jesus clothes the saved in His robe of Righteousness .He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords , my Saviour .
All men need encouragement , but they need Christ more .If we fail to clearly present the gospel , we may be encouraging men to an eternity of the flames of Hell.
No man can say Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit
Instead, I strongly suspect that you are first a steward in God’s vineyard, caring for the children and others He has put in your care, realizing all the time that they are His and not yours – that you look at every dollar you put in a coke machine as His and not yours, that the shoes on your feet as His and not yours and care for all such things – that you take every opportunity to knock on doors or hand out Bibles or speak to people about Christ. I further strongly suggest that you give personal testimony and joyfully reveal that Christ is the only begotten Son of God, come to us from heaven, suffered and died a propitiation for our sins, raised on the third day and sitting at the right hand of the Father.
RnMomof7, I do all of these things too – but with a few differences according to how my calling has changed over the years. I used to knock on doors, hand out boxes of Gideon’s Bibles (I was Gideon’s Auxiliary). The whole nine yards. But God has a different assignment for me in the twilight of my years. Now I sit at His feet, ingest the living Word, worship Him continually and diligently surrender to His will. To help me love Him all the more, He provides me with the opportunity to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, encourage the inconsolable and declare Him. This is my joyful calling!
As a final point, you keep asking me whether someone can be saved without Christ. If anyone could be good enough to get to heaven, then Christ died for nothing.
Thank you for the discussion, it has been illuminating.