Belfast OutReach

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:15 Paul asked the rhetorical question, "How shall they preach except they be sent?" (Rom.10:15), expecting, of course, the obvious response, "They cannot preach except they be sent." No one can understand either Paul's question or the answer, without first being made aware of the difference between being called and being sent. Jesus first called disciples to follow him. Later, from among those whom he had called, and there were many, Jesus chose certain ones to send to preach the gospel. As Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." It may seem at first to be a small matter, but we need to know that no one has ever been "called to preach". That phrase is found nowhere in the Bible. Rather than "calling men to preach", our Lord call

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:15 Paul asked the rhetorical question, "How shall they preach except they be sent?" (Rom.10:15), expecting, of course, the obvious response, "They cannot preach except they be sent." No one can understand either Paul's question or the answer, without first being made aware of the difference between being called and being sent. Jesus first called disciples to follow him. Later, from among those whom he had called, and there were many, Jesus chose certain ones to send to preach the gospel. As Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." It may seem at first to be a small matter, but we need to know that no one has ever been "called to preach". That phrase is found nowhere in the Bible. Rather than "calling men to preach", our Lord call

> We confess Jesus Christ as God, our Lord and Savior, who is revealed in the Bible, which is the infallible Word of God. > We affirm our commitment to the Great Commission of our Lord, and we declare our willingness to go anywhere, do anything, and sacrifice anything God requires of us in the fulfilment of that Commission. > We respond to God's call to the biblical ministry of the evangelist, and accept our solemn responsibility to preach the Word to all peoples as God gives opportunity. > God loves every human being, who, apart from faith in Christ, is under God's judgment and destined for hell. > The heart of the biblical message is the good news of God's salvation, which comes by grace alone through faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning death on the cross for our sins. > In our proclamation of the Gospel we recognize the urgency of calling all to decision to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and to do so lovingly and without coerci