Is it not a great miracle that - even in our time of alienation and loneliness - a true fellowship between people can grow, by lending ears to the preaching of the gospel?
Yes it is, but this happens only through preaching about what we have actually seen and heard, or, like John says, ‘Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life’ (1 John 1:1b). Truly preaching the gospel is not vain talking about sweet thoughts found in the Bible, but preaching like John describes here.
But does that mean that any real preaching is impossible nowadays? For who has genuinely touched or seen the Word of life? There are no apostles left who have known Jesus themselves.
This is all true.
But has Paul seen anything of Jesus - except by revelation - like it says in Galatians 1:12? Yet, the preaching of Paul has brought about so much in in the whole world of his time! If Paul - by the revelation of Jesus Christ in his life - received such a tremendous equipment to be a preacher of the gospel, then the only thing we need to receive this same equipment is the revelation of Jesus in our lives too.
The Bible passage of today tells us that ‘without holiness no one will see the Lord’ (:14). Hereby is not meant self-sanctification, for that is so self-centered that it might be the greatest sin of all. But the writer of the letter to the Hebrews shows us the way to genuine holiness: ‘God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness’ (:10).