We Have a Commission
1 Jesus commanded his followers to “make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matt. 28:19) In 232 lands and island groups around the earth, over five million praisers of Jehovah God provide living testimony to the fulfillment of Jesus’ command. But what about us personally? Do we take seriously the commission to preach?
2 A Moral Obligation: A commission is “a command to perform prescribed acts.” We are under orders from Christ to preach. (Acts 10:42) The apostle Paul realized that this laid upon him a necessity, or moral obligation, to declare the good news. (1 Cor. 9:16) To illustrate: Imagine that you are a crewman on a sinking ship. The captain orders you to warn the passengers and direct them to the lifeboats. Will you ignore that command and concentrate on saving just yourself? Certainly not. Others are depending on you. Their lives are at stake. You are morally obligated to carry out your commission to help them.
3 We have been divinely commissioned to sound a warning. Jehovah will soon bring an end to this entire wicked system of things. Millions of lives hang in the balance. Would it be right for us to ignore the peril to others and be concerned only about saving ourselves? Of course not. We are morally obligated to help save the lives of others.—1 Tim. 4:16.
4 Faithful Examples to Follow: The prophet Ezekiel felt an accountability to give a warning message to unfaithful Israelites. Jehovah emphatically warned him of the consequences if he failed to carry out his assignment: “When I say to someone wicked, ‘You will positively die,’ and you do not actually warn him . . . , he being wicked, in his error he will die, but his blood I shall ask back from your own hand.” (Ezek. 3:18) Ezekiel loyally fulfilled his commission even in the face of stiff opposition. Therefore, he could rejoice when Jehovah’s judgments were carried out.
5 Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote of his responsibility to preach. He declared: “I am clean from the blood of all men, for I have not held back from telling you all the counsel of God.” Paul preached publicly and from house to house because he recognized that a failure to do so could have made him bloodguilty before God.—Acts 20:20, 26, 27.
6 Do we have the zeal of Ezekiel? Do we feel impelled to preach as did Paul? Our commission is the same as theirs was. We must continue to fulfill our responsibility to warn others, in spite of their apathy, indifference, or opposition. Thousands more can yet respond to the Kingdom message and declare: “We will go with you people, for we have heard that God is with you people.” (Zech. 8:23) May our love for God and our fellowman motivate us not to give up. We have a commission to preach!