The reason there is preaching is that the Gospel is not coercive. Preaching is the proclamation of the gospel with a view toward persuasion. No one is saved against their will. The early church fathers said that when Christ preached there that many gravitated toward Him and received the message. He lead them out of the darkness and silence of death into the Light of His presence in Paradise. His defeating of death enabled Him to say to the thief on the cross, and these who would hear His message, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Now we know, because of Jesus, “To be absent from the body is to be present with our Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Where He is, we will also be (John 14:3). Praise be to God.
