Preach the Gospel!

The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God's Kingdom to all nations until the moment Jesus arrives – Matthew 24:14.  Jesus commanded his true followers to announce the same message that he preached, which he summarized as the “ Good News of the Kingdom of God .” His Church would spread this message to all nations without exception and in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Christ's sovereignty over humanity must be established!

Contrary to popular preaching and many church traditions, Jesus did not inaugurate his church to reform society or use the political methods of this sinful age to impose his rule on mankind. Instead, his followers call men and women to join God's kingdom, and they do so by bearing witness to his teachings, deeds, his sacrificial death, and that God raised him from the dead. The Kingdom of God is a political order radically different from the institutions and ideologies of this world.

[Preaching - Photo by Ben White (Michigan)on Unsplash]

All men are invited to accept Christ's offer of life and salvation while the door remains open. The day will come when it will be too late, and all men and women who reject his gracious gift will find their names excluded from the “ Lamb's Book of Life .”

Embracing his message means a complete reorientation of life. Absolute commitment to Jesus is mandatory. Nothing is more important than responding to his call to believe the “ Good News ,” take up the cross, and follow “ the Lamb wherever he leads .”

Through his Death and Resurrection, Jesus defeated the forces that were hostile to God, including Satan, Death, the “ powers and principalities ,” and Sin. His Resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of his reign and the equipping of his Church to take the Good News throughout the Earth- (Psalm 2:2-8, 110:1).

• “ This Jesus did God raise up, of which we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this that you see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens. But he said himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified ” – (Acts 2:32-36).

• “Then comes the end, when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. And when all things have been subjected to him, then will the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all” – (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Christ’s Death and Resurrection also meant the arrival of the “Last Days.” Sin and Death may persist for now, but the decisive victory was achieved on the Cross. The Gift of the Spirit bestowed on the Church is irrefutable evidence of his conquest of his enemies and the start of the “last days.” The Spirit empowers believers to become his witnesses to nations and peoples:

• “But this is that which has been spoken through the Prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh…” – (Acts 2:16).

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you: and you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” – (Acts 1:8).

The defeat of Satan was confirmed when God raised Jesus from the Dead. Since then, he has been subjugating the “powers and principalities” that oppress men and women. He will continue doing so until all that remains is the unopposed rule of God - (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 1:5-14, Revelation 1:4-6).

WE ARE HIS WITNESSES

Christ’s disciples are his “witnesses” commissioned by him to call all men to enter his Kingdom, and to preach “repentance and the remission of sins in his name among all the nations.” This mission must continue until the “end” when Jesus will appear “on the clouds of heaven”:

• “But he that endures to the end, the same will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole habitable earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come”- (Matthew 24:14).

This does not mean we must disengage from the world, but we are called to help humanity by preaching the Gospel and living cruciform lives conformed to the teachings and example of Jesus. Without the salvation purchased at great personal cost by Jesus of Nazareth, the world will remain forever in darkness.

Before his death, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In response, the disciples asked when that event would occur, and what would be the sign of the “Coming of the Son of Man.”

To the first question, Jesus replied, before the end of the generation that was contemporary with him. To the second, he warned, no one except God alone knows the hour of his return. The one factor that will determine when he returns is the completion of the Church’s mission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations - (Mark 13:30-33, Matthew 24:14, Acts 1:6-9).

Completing this task will be “the sign” of the end, which will not come until we conclude our mission. It is not optional but imperative for the consummation of all things and the redemption of humanity.

The fact that the end has not arrived is indisputable evidence that our mission remains unfinished. Jesus will not return until his message has reached the furthest corners of the inhabited Earth, “as a testimony.” Therefore, all who wait anxiously for his “appearance” must, above all else, Preach the Gospel!

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SEE ALSO:

• To the Ends of the Earth - (The Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus offers salvation and life to all men and women of every nation and people)

• As many as He Calls - (The Gift of the Spirit is for every man who repents, even to those afar off, and in fulfillment of the promise of the Father - Acts 2:37-41)

• We are Witnesses! - (The Gift of the Spirit equips the Assembly to bear witness of Jesus, especially concerning his Resurrection from the dead)

• Notre Mission - (La mission de l'Église est de proclamer la Bonne Nouvelle du Royaume de Dieu à toutes les nations sans exception jusqu'au retour de Jésus)