I walked downtown this afternoon and my thoughts became captive to the wonder of the souls of those I passed by. “What of their soul?” I thought. Are they saved? Where might there eternal resting place be? I was reminded of words spoken in a tract I had read earlier in the day. It spoke of the torment of hell and all its fury. How unpleasant the thought of hell is to me, as well as knowing that a good many people are going to end up there. Just as I write these words now, I feel anguish in me knowing that so many that I know live an ungodly life and proudly proclaim a desire to be in hell, if not by their words but by the life they live. Oh, woe to them…. 
Hell is a great motivation to fire up any man to preach the gospel. For what redeemed man desires for another to feel the wrath of the Almighty God, even if that person had committed vile and wicked deeds throughout his life with no sign of remorse?
It is with great cause that the preaching of Christ be done with urgency to rescue those that are perishing, to warn others of the wrath to come. That all men are guilty sinners, slaves to self and deserve every inch of hell and God’s entire wrath for every act of rebellion toward Him through sin. Oh, the thought of the judgment come, woe are those who remain enemies of God.
While will do preach the gospel and have the desire to see men saved; we should not preach simply I say, to see men rescued from hell, but to glorify our Father in heaven, whether men be dammed or converted.
Any act of evangelism, the proclamation of the gospel, should be out of a desire to bring glory to our Holy and Just God first and foremost; to see Him lifted high and holy above all else. Even if that means through our labors, we are never be granted the opportunity to experience the moment when one repents and trust Christ as Lord. It is all for His sake, not for theirs or ours.
I recall Christ as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36 Here Christ could have had legions of angels at His disposal, but He longed to please, to glorify His Father in Heaven, His desires should be ours as well as we long to be like Him.
In Matthew 22:34-40, Christ is speaking to the Pharisees. He was asked about of the law, “which is the greatest commandment?” His reply was, “You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, and with all your soul, and your entire mind,” noting as well that the second was to love your neighbor as yourself.
Here Christ clearly shows us that the greatest thing we are to do is to love our God with all we have and others as ourselves. That He alone is to be first in all in all we do.
In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul writes in the text about all whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, do all for the glory of God. Even in the text, Paul writes about the partaking of food, as simple and trivial to some that may be, even that should be done to the honor of God.
As these few scriptures state clearly, God is holy and is to be esteemed above everything else, even when it comes to the saving of souls. If we obedient and loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, then there will be nothing left for no one else, God gets it all, but out of our obedience , God gives us the desire to love others as He does.
Are we placing God second when we weep over the ignorance of men who refuse to repent? By no means. If we weep for souls, it is only because through His grace that we have the desire for others to be saved. If we have no such desire, what becomes of us?
Charles Spurgeon said that, “If you have no desire to see men saved, then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that.”
We should long for men to come to repentance; if we don’t then I would stress that we do not possess the desire to please God. If you have not shed a tear or loss sleep at the thought of men going to hell, I worry for your soul. As Christ longed for God’s will to be complete before His, so should our desire be.
Paul expressed great sorrow and anguish for the souls of men in Romans 9:1-4, so much as to be willing to give up his own salvation for those he considered his brothers.
”I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. “
Abraham in Genesis 18:22-33. God was about to wipe the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah out, but Abraham is said to have stood before the Lord and pleaded with God to spare the cities if just ten righteous men were found in the city.
In Exodus 32, Moses had been gone for some time and the people of Israel believed Him to be dead so they fashioned a golden calf and worshiped it. It is said that then God burned with anger and was about to destroy the people of Israel, then Moses steps in and implored of God to spare them. And God did.
As these men showed longing for souls, as should we. Never forget though that it is never our tracts, our sermons, our analogies, our labors that save men, but Christ and His cross.
As the thought of opportunities missed for me to share the gospel with so many riddles my mind, the thought that many may already be now as I write, experiencing wages earned for their sins, I weep for those I encounter when the sun rises. May the God who is compassionate and forgiving, who is all knowing, give grace to each of us, for our lack of obedience to His Great Commission. May all our labor to see men redeemed be in direct response to the grace we have been shown through the death and resurrection of Christ. May we never sway or cower to the fear of man when it comes to the preaching of the gospel. But with all diligence and effort, glorify God alone.
Light the darkness,
David
Amen, David. Lord bless you!