Joseph Attoh 
The mandate to preach the Gospel remains central to the Christian faith and urgent in every generation. Jesus declared, “And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then will come the end” (Matthew 24:14). This commission, given to the disciples, has been passed down through the ages, empowering every believer by the Holy Spirit to bring salvation to a dying world. As Apostle Paul affirmed, “To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life” (2 Corinthians 2:16b). The believer is therefore commissioned to offer life – Jesus Christ – to humanity. Paul’s urgency echoes clearly: “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Yet the most traumatic reality is that, even as the Gospel is preached, many still die without accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour. Scripture reminds us that “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV). The account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) powerfully illustrates this truth. The rich man, confident in his earthly abundance, ignored both the Gospel and the suffering of Lazarus at his gate. Only in torment did he realise the eternal consequences of rejecting salvation, crying for mercy that could no longer be granted.
Abraham’s response, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed”, underscores the finality of eternity. The rich man’s desperate plea to return and warn his brothers was denied with the sobering truth: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Wealth itself is not evil, but being controlled by it blinds many to eternal realities.
As the Church embraces the 2026 theme, “The Church unleashed to transform society through the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit,” believers are called to renewed seriousness. The Gospel must reach every space – ghettos, marketplaces, schools, palaces, and the marginalized – so that none may perish. The silence of those in hell is permanent; the responsibility of the living is urgent. Now is the time to proclaim Christ, that all may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Written by Elder Emmanuel Tanor ( District Market Church Coordinator, Area Evangelism Executive Member, Atuna District – Dormaa Ahenkro Area)
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