Proclaiming the Good News

Jesus charged his followers with announcing his message to all nations. He summarized it as the “Good News of the Kingdom of God.” The rule of God will be established but in unexpected ways. He will establish his sovereignty over the Earth and subdue the “Last Enemy, Death,” by the time of his appearance. His disciples as his envoys must herald his Gospel to the “ends of the Earth” until the last moment.

His Gospel is about the salvation available to all men and women through Jesus and his sovereignty over all things, the new political reality, namely, the Kingdom of God. It is not about reforming existing social institutions or political systems judge already on Calvary. Every competing ideology or religious message of the existing world order amounts to “perishing meat.” Only his Good News and God’s Kingdom will endure.

[Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash]

All men are invited to accept his offer of life and salvation while the door remains open. The day will come when it will be too late. Every man and woman who refuses his gracious gift will find his or her name excluded from the “Book of Life.”

A complete reorientation of life is necessary. Commitment to Jesus and his Kingdom must be absolute. Nothing is more important than responding to his call to believe the “Good News,” take up the cross, and follow him “wherever he leads.”

Through his Death and Resurrection, Jesus defeated his enemies, 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 the “Last Days” during which he reigns from the “right hand of God” and sends his ambassadors throughout the Earth to announce his reign. He must do so until “he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death” - (Psalm 2:2-8, 110:1, 1 Corinthians 15:25).

Sin and death may continue for a time. However, the decisive victory was achieved on the Roman Cross, and the activity and guidance of the Holy Spirit in his assemblies is irrefutable evidence of this new reality.

The defeat of Satan was achieved through his death and validated when God raised Jesus from the dead. Since then, he has been putting down the “powers and principalities” that oppose him and oppress his people - (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 1:5-14, Revelation 1:4-6).

Jesus now calls his Church to proclaim the “Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations” until the day he arrives from Heaven. His followers must herald his victory and sovereignty throughout the Earth, providing every man and woman with the opportunity to repent and receive life and salvation through the “faith of Jesus Christ”:

• “Go and teach all nations…to observe all things whatever I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you even to the end of the age.”

We 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.” Jesus equips us to carry out this task with the Gift of the Life-Giving Spirit.

Before he ascended to Heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to wait until “they received power after the Holy Spirit came upon them.” They would then be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.” If we have God’s Spirit, we have no reason or excuse for not preaching the Gospel to the nations - (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 24:45-48, Acts 1:7-9, 3:19-21).

This mission must continue until the “end” when he arrives at his ‘Parousia’. His followers are to announce his salvation and help others prepare for life in the coming age, teaching them to be his disciples. Sin and death may persist in this life, but death will not have the final word.

THE TASK

None of this means we are to disengage from the world. Far from it! But we are called to minister to humanity by preaching the Gospel and living cruciform lives of service to others, thereby bearing witness to His Kingdom. Without his salvation, the world would remain forever in darkness and without hope.

Before his death, the disciples asked what the “sign” of the “coming of the Son of Man” would be. He answered by warning that no one except God alone knows the hour, day, “season,” “seasons” or “times” of his return - (also, Mark 13:30-33, Acts 1:6-9).

The one factor that will determine “when” he will return is the completion of the mission by the Church to preach the Gospel to every nation - “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole habitable earth for a testimony for all nations, and then shall the end come” - (Matthew 24:14, 24:36, Acts 1:6-8).

Finishing the task is the “sign” of the “end.” It is not optional but pivotal to the consummation of all things, the redemption of humanity, and creation itself.

Based on the logic of his words, the fact that the “end” has not arrived is indisputable evidence that the mission remains incomplete. He will not return until his message has reached the furthest corners of the Earth - “As a testimony.” Therefore, all who wait anxiously for his “arrival” must, above all else, preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God to one and all.

If you truly wish to see our Lord appear “on the clouds of heaven,” preach the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom. If not, remain silent and keep the word of salvation from the ears of men, women, and nations.

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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)