“How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

“Stop It!”

“Stop it!” I yelled as I ran across the street to confront six students from my high school beating up another classmate. “We’ll give you a ride home,” I said to the young man on the ground.

“No, thanks,” he replied as he gathered his books, papers, and what was left of his dignity, and walked away. I called to him, “Be proud! It took six of them to get you down!”

“Well, aren’t you a sorry bunch of guys,” I said to the rogues dumbfounded by me, a wee freshman. “Six of you against one! You should be embarrassed and ashamed!” I look back now in disbelief at myself for having the boldness to confront these guys. It helped, I’m sure, that my mom was sitting in the car across the street. I wonder what my mom was thinking. I must have looked like “Chihuahua girl” yapping at six “Doberman boys.”

During my freshman year at a small Bible college, I saw a group of guys about to throw a kitten into the pond. “Stop it!” I yelled. Unafraid of my fury, the kitten went flying into the pond. With a fiery glare at them, I stomped into the pond after the kitten as they all watched. I held the dripping kitten close and gave them a similar speech as to the size of the kitten as opposed to those big college boys!

Does that kind of boldness evaporate with age? Why am I now so weak and fearful? If I am not ashamed of the gospel, why don’t I speak out about my Jesus? Where is that bold “stop it” girl in this older woman?

My pastor, with loving boldness, says, “stop it!” from the pulpit in regards to people continuing in sin. I am guilty of prideful justification saying, “I give my witness by the life I live.” But my neighbor, who Jesus said I am to love, is going to hell thinking what a nice church person I am. Why do I fear? What could I lose? What could I gain?

Duane Liftin, president emeritus of Wheaton College, says this regarding preaching the gospel by our deeds: “It’s simply impossible to preach the gospel without words. The gospel is inherently verbal, and preaching the gospel is inherently verbal behavior. ‘How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher’” (Romans 10:14)?

Bill Bright said to “share the good news and leave the results up to God.”

“Lord, forgive my excuses. Help me to “stop it.” Excuses keep me from telling others how much You love them. You are not willing that any should perish, so why am I? Your last words before You ascended to heaven were our marching orders to go and tell others. How will they know unless we tell them?”