What God wants & what we should do about it.
The church is a family -- the family of God. And when I say, "the
church,"
I'm not just talking about the local assembly or group of believers you
gather with every week. Nor do I mean the association you may belong to,
such as the Church of God, the Southern Baptist Convention, or the
Foursquare Church. I mean the whole church, which is also the whole body
of
Christ in this world.
The church, which is God's family, is made up of every true believer in
Jesus Christ. And there are millions of us, all around the world. We
live
in Africa, in India, in China, in England, in Australia, in Korea, in
Japan,
in Germany, and even in the American nations. We're just about
everywhere,
it might seem. But not quite yet.
Many places in the world haven't even been reached with the gospel of
Jesus
Christ. There are nearly 6,500 unreached people groups in the world
today,
whose combined population is approximately 3.4 billion. So at the very
best, only half the world has even heard the name of Jesus.
And what about those that are being reached?
There are over 7,000 languages spoken in this world. Some ****tion of the
Holy Bible exists (or is being developed) in only 40% of those languages
right now. Over 4,000 languages have no Bible at all. And of the
languages
which do have the Scriptures, only about 5% (fewer than 400) have the
entire
Bible.
We still have a long way to go in sharing our faith.
But is it really God's will for everyone to know about Jesus Christ? Does
God really want everyone to be saved? Is it God's will for the church
(that's you and me) to put forth conscious effort in getting the gospel
message out to everyone?
I've included a few passages of Scripture that touch on these questions.
These passages represent only a tiny part of what the Bible has to say
about
such things, but they give us an idea of God's will.
First, we have Paul's letter to Timothy, which says, in part:
"...I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
be
made for everyone... ...For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God
our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge
of
the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1, 3 & 4)
What does the passage say that God desires?
1. All to be saved.
2. All to come to the knowledge of the truth.
In another place, the apostle Peter says:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but
is longsuffering [very patient] toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
Peter's comments make it clear that God is not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
What about our Lord Jesus? Why did He come to earth to live and then to
die? Jesus died because it was God's will for Him to carry away the sins
of
mankind (Isaiah 49:6). He died so that all might be saved (Isaiah 45:22).
After He is raised from the dead, Jesus says this to His disciples:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always,
even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:19)
What does Jesus say?
1. Make disciples of all nations.
2. Teach them to observe all the things that I've commanded you.
And in Mark, we read a similar passage:
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature." (Mark 16:15)
We see the same thing being said in the book of Acts. Jesus appeared to
quite a few people after He was raised from the dead. And He gave
instructions to the believers.
On one occasion, Jesus said:
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
will
be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth." When He had said this, as they were watching, He was lifted
up,
and a cloud took Him out of their sight. (Acts 1:8,9)
Jesus Himself gave us instructions concerning the people of the world. We
are to go and make disciples of every nation, every people. We are to
take
the good news to every person -- every living creature. We are to give
testimony to everyone.
God wants everyone to repent and be saved. God takes no pleasure in the
death of the wicked. It is therefore God's will that everyone should know
the truth.
Through the Bible we see plenty of evidence for this:
Isaiah 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I
am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 49:6 "Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be
My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved
ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You
should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"
Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who
have
no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money
and
without price."
Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?"
says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?"
Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says
the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"
Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way
and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house
of
Israel?'"
Luke 14:23 "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the
highways
and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."
John 3:15 "...that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
eternal life."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me I will by no means cast out."
Romans 3:29, 30 "Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the
God
of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who
will
justify the cir***cised by faith and the uncir***cised through faith."
2 Corinthians 5:17 - 19
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of
God,
who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us
the
ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling
the
world to Himself, not imputing their tresp***** to them, and has committed
to us the word of reconciliation."
Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to
all
men ..."
Luke 24:47 "...and that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached
in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
Romans 10:12 "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the
same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him."
Romans 10:13-15 "For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be
saved.' How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And
how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are
sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach
the
gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!'"
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth --
to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people..."
Isaiah 53:11 "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By
His
knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their
iniquities."
Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the
glory
of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea."
John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes
to the Father except through Me."
John 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."
2 Timothy 2:25 "...in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if
God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the
truth..."
and so on...
One cannot read the Bible and take to heart its message without realizing
that God is out to save people. God is reaching out to the world. And
whoever truly has His Holy Spirit in them will also want to reach out to
the
world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the gospel is God's invitation
to all people, calling everyone to repentance and faith, offering everyone
the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
So God's will is clear. And it is therefore clear what we should be doing
about it. We are to be taking the gospel message to everyone: to our
neighbors, to our city, to our region, and out to the whole world.
As believers in Jesus Christ we enjoy being a part of God's family. But
we
dare not sit inside, enjoying the warmth and goodness of God, while so
many
in the world still wait to be told of God's kindness in Jesus Christ. The
Lord wants His house to be filled. So we need to go out and call everyone
to come in.
We must do whatever we can to get the message out.
I urge you to pray seriously today and often, asking God to show you what
He
wants you to do. And I encourage you to follow His leading, whatever He
says to do. Be ready for an adventure. Be ready to trust the Lord. Be
ready to have your own life turned upside down as you're used of God to
share Jesus with a very big world that is still in great need.
God bless you as you step forward and obey the Lord.
Jim
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