“…and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?” Romans 10:14,15
God gave to Isaiah a remarkable vision of Himself. In that vision, Isaiah saw God seated upon a throne, in His absolute power and authority. If this was not enough to bring Isaiah to his knees, certainly the constant proclamation of the seraphims would: They cried out: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Is. 6:9) As a result of this vision of God, Isaiah was profoundly convicted of a specific sin, one that brought him low in his own eyes, bringing him to declare: “…I am undone.” The word “undone” basically means to be “lost,” completely destroyed, incapable of being saved in and of himself. Such is the effect of the holiness of God upon the sinner. The knowledge of the specific sin which God would use to convict Isaiah was “unclean lips,” not only because Isaiah’s were so, but that the context in which he lived was characterized by the same thing. Not only was he lost, but also those around him. There were certainly some who in Isaiah’s day were saved, having been justified by faith. However, God’s holiness, when confronting the iniquity of any man, will produce in that man a sense, even a conviction, of his lostness, his total lack of being able to save himself. To such a man, God comes. He looks for the response of the man to the revelation of Christ’s holiness. For Isaiah, it seems to be immediate, and complete. But there is in that response an acknowledgement of who God truly is, in contrast to sinner who is “undone.” Isaiah declares and confesses: “…mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (v.5) God’s response to Isaiah was a tangible, miraculous revelation of His dealings with Isaiah’s sins, but also, with Isaiah the sinner. On one hand He removes fully the sin, purging it, taking it away. On the other hand, the call comes forth to Isaiah to follow Him. This call comes in the form of two questions that Isaiah must answer: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Both questions have their purpose in the launching of Isaiah into the realm of fruitful, eternal service to the King, to the Lord of hosts. From that day forward, the blessing of God will be upon His servant, Isaiah. From that day to this, his book will declare in precise, simple and yet fathomless terms, that there is but one God, and He is the Creator and Redeemer of all men. The testimony of that day when Isaiah had his vision, has been passed down through the millennia to this very day, to reveal to us that God has not changed, and that He still calls men to be His servants, clean and available, faithful vessels, sent and equipped to proclaim the Ever-lasting Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Why is it that the proclamation of the Gospel is so essential? Accompanying the account of Jesus’ life, there is communicated the great truths of saving faith, destined for the world to hear? This is because God is intent to save as many as will respond to His call to come to Him, seek and find Him, finding in Him what Isaiah found, cleansing from sin, and the powerful, yet quiet, thrusting forth into a new life, where in one’s heart, “…Christ alone is heard to speak, and Jesus reigns alone.” The knowledge of the message of the Gospel is essential for the soul to believe unto salvation.
There is another reason for proclaiming the Gospel, and it has to do with power. To the Romans, Paul would write that the Gospel is the “…power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (1:16) God’s way of saving a soul is by the proclamation of the Gospel, accompanied by His power, forgiving sin, and giving life.
Dear Father, Make us faithful messengers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.