Question: Is the church more for the convinced or the unconvinced? The believer or the unbeliever?

Why do we preach so much to those of the faith as opposed to trying to reach those that are without? Every week, we see the same people return to sit in the same seats and fill the same pews. They show up, join in worship (some, maybe not all), and they sit for hours or so and listen to our messages on salvation, hope, sanctification, and so on. Why?

The answer lies in this. Not everyone who attends Sunday worship is convinced. And, not all who claimed to believe and be of the household of faith are really believers, at least not yet.

At first look, this can be discouraging, especially as we step up to the pulpit week after week wondering whether or not we’re reaching someone. Yet, we should take heart in this. The gospel is profitable to everyone – to those who do believe and to those who do not.

Those who have not the faith, don’t yet realize they need salvation. Thus, we are commanded to preach the gospel to them, to all the world, and be ready to preach it in season and out.

For some, it takes more time for the Holy Spirit to prick their hearts, change their minds and draw them in. For others, it’s quicker. Thus, a reiteration of the gospel from varying viewpoints is both necessary and part of the mission.

Those who are of the faith, or who claim to be of the faith, yet don’t manifest works that are mete for salvation, they need reinforcement, encouragement, continued admonishing and constant reminding. Hence, the reason Paul reiterates, in so many ways, in all of his letters, what a healthy lifestyle for a Christian is. It’s part of the shepherding process for ministers of the gospel to constantly be moving people closer to God.

So, let’s not get weary in well doing. As ministers of the gospel, we are called to share the message and not to determine whether or not it’s relevant and/or to whom. If we have a hundred or 10,000 show up week after week and they’re all the same people, rest assured that sharing the gospel, the message of hope, is needed, even for those who believe.