All Taking the Gospel to All
August 16, 2009
by Alan Cornett
VERY EARLY tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas—‘Doubting Thomas’—took the gospel to Persia and ultimately, to India. After preaching there, that same tradition tells us, Thomas was martyred for the cause of Christ. In keeping with this tradition, there is a Roman Catholic basilica in Chennai (formerly Madras) dedicated to him along with a tomb purported to be his. Is Thomas actually buried there? Did he even go to India at all? We cannot know, but we know someone—or several someones—certainly did.
Following the initial preaching of the gospel in Jerusalem, and the firm establishment of that church, the apostles would have followed the Great Commission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) Some traditions contend the apostles cast lots to decide which apostle would take which area. However they decided, they would have gone; they would have preached. Many—maybe most—would have died in the process. But it wasn’t simply the apostles who took the gospel, but lots of people took it. In fact, Acts 8:1 makes the specific point that it was not the apostles who scattered to preach the gospel during the persecution by Saul. They stayed behind because they were still needed in Jerusalem. Contrary to the hopes of the Jewish authorities acting through Saul, the gospel was not stopped but rather exploded out of Jerusalem never to be contained.
Saul himself would be turned from an instrument of persecution into a great instrument of evangelism. And while he was dynamo of evangelistic energy, there are many names that creep into Paul’s letters, men and women who helped him. They were spreading the gospel, too, using their resources and contacts to go where he could not. Apollos perhaps stands out as the most prominent of these people associated with Paul. More are mentioned, certainly many more were not.
What can we learn from this? That evangelism is at its best a decentralized process. An older preacher recently spoke of a woman who became a tremendous spreader of the gospel when she, as he put, learned that she didn’t have to teach. ‘All’ she had to do was make contacts and set up studies.
We all have different talents, skills and opportunities. Can you invite someone to services? Can you mention a potential study to a friend?
Taking the gospel to all the world successfully has never been left to only a few. It must be done with small steps by a lot of people.