One of my all-time favorite sermons is preached by David Platt. It is titled "Our Obligation to the Unreached" and addresses why is it so important for us as Christians to go and spread the gospel. This sermon is a part of his radical sermon series and falls hand in hand with his book Radical.

In his sermon Platt states, "Our OWNERSHIP of the Gospel creates in us an OBLIGATION with the gospel. Saved people this side of heaven owe the gospel to lost people this side of hell."

We live in a world with approximately seven billion people. Out of these seven billion, two billion people are considered unreached when it comes to the Gospel. According to the International Missions Board this is around 6,500 people groups. These are people who have no access to or awareness of the Gospel. There are not people that they come in contact to on a day to day basis that know anything about Christ.

Platt uses the example of how we might question why we should go when there are unreached right here in our offices. He states this truth, there are not unreached people in your office because you are there. They know and come in contact with Christians. We have to try and put ourselves in the place of the unreached. These people are people that will be born, will live, and will die without ever even hearing about the gospel. So then the question is presented. What happens to these people? Do they really go to hell?

In his sermon, Platt lays out seven truths that show us the importance of the gospel and the importance of us to give sacrificially and go willingly.

Knowledge of God through creation

Everyone on this planet has knowledge of God because He has made himself known through creation so we are without excuse.

Romans 1:18-20 states, "18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse".

Have rejected God

Because of our sinful nature, God has revealed himself to us but we have rejected Him. We have turned away from Him and have chosen to worship other things.

Romans 1:21 says, "21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened".

Stand condemned before God

In Romans 6:23, Paul writes that “The wages of sin is Death". We stand guilty in our sin before a holy God.

Platt uses the example of what if there was an innocent guy in Africa or Asia?

The problem is there is no innocent guy in Africa or Asia. There are guilty people all over the world and that is why they need to hear the Gospel. There are people who have never heard the good news of how they can be saved. Nobody has ever told them that God loves them so much and has sent His son to die on the cross for their sin.

Carl F.H. Henry says, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there on time."

How thankful are you that someone has told you and felt obligated to tell you about this good news instead of keep it to themselves?

Why must we be willing to go?

There are four reasons why we must willing go:

There are two billion people whose knowledge of God at this moment is only sufficient to damn them to hell forever.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

There are people who are in hell and nobody even told them how they could not be there.

How can we just sit back and coast through cultural Christianity and turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to this reality?

The gospel of God is powerful enough to save them for heaven.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

There is not a person or people group on this planet that is beyond the power of this gospel to save.

The plan of God warrants the sacrifice of his people.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:13–14)

God has chosen to use us to make the Gospel known to these people instead of just writing His love in the sky.

God has not saved anyone in his church to sideline his mission.

Because the Son of God deserves the praises of all peoples.

... to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations . . . (Romans 1:5)

Jesus is worthy of the worship of so many more people. And so we go, because we know he is worthy.

Platt says, "We can’t keep this gospel to ourselves. It is the greatest news in all the world: People can be made right with God, forever, through faith in Jesus Christ. Everybody has got to hear this. They must hear this! "

If there is any fear whatsoever in giving God a blank check, remember who you are giving the blank check to. If you can trust God to save you from eternal damnation surely you can trust God to lead you for a few short years on this earth.

The most foolish thing we can do is to put limits on our faith.

Here is the link to this sermon if you would like to listen to it. I would highly recommend this to people but also warn that your life will be changed and if you open yourself up to God he will speak to you in amazing and scary ways.

I am continually reminded by how great our God our is and how great His calling is on our life. Going to unreached places is scary and you never know where God will send you but how can we as Christians just sit back and let people continue to not know about Christ and what he can do for them.

I am brought to tears when I finally realize how many people need Christ and just need someone to tell them that God loves them. How can we just sit back and say someone else will do it and not do anything ourselves?

In his book "Radical," David Platt writes, “My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus' words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to Him.”