So, I have been pondering something. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is it for? Or better yet, who is it NOT for? A wierd question a guess, but over the years, a few things have bothered me in relation to how we (Christians) view the Gospel. It appears that we put the power of the Gospel in a box and think that it is only intended for a certain audience. Maybe I am over exaggerating, maybe I am reading too much into these things, or maybe you have experienced what I have experienced. I will list a few examples (in no particular order) and give a brief response.
Politics:
It appears that in our day that God must be a Republican. It's crazy I know, but to hear many Christians speak, you would think that republican = saved and democrat = lost. It has really elevated over the years that conversations within the church are so passionate about politics, especially over right wing vs. left wing, conservative vs. liberal, and republican vs. democrat, that one would think that being a republican is something scriptural and a democrat something anti scriptural. Now obviously following the principals of Scripture would lead you to make the best decision possible, but my point is the gospel is not only for republicans and it excludes democrats. I am sure there are democrats and republicans alike who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most daunting statement Christ Himself gave concerning politics is in Matthew 22:21:
Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
It was just as shocking to them as it is to us. We want Jesus to be a certain "party", namely the one we hold to. We will speak with such boldness that our way is God's way. It is sad to see the passion most Christians give towards politics and yet have little to no passion concerning the things of God.
Race:
This could be a touchy subject. The reality is that our churches are still too segregated today. I am sure that some of it is out of our hands (the community we live in). Nevertheless, there still seems to be an issue in our churches that the gospel is only for a certain "race" of people. Many American Christians simply have a problem with the infiltration of other people groups. We speak boldly about our jobs being lost to these people groups and how they have negatively impacted our economy and yet we never dream of or desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Simply put, we don't believe it is for them. Many of us only have this view of American Christianity and the harsh truth is that it is a shallow view. Whether it is Hispanics or Chinese or Muslim or caucasion or African American, no matter the "people group" the call of the Gospel goes out. It must go out!!
Revelation 5:9 says :
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open
its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
So whatever our issues with other people groups, it would be a good idea to seek the Lord to rid them in our lives because the eternal reality is we will be joined with myriads of others who make up every people group in the world in worshipping the Lord ETERNALLY!
Well, there are others and I don't want this to drag out, but I am sure we have experienced these in our lives. Like how we treat homosexuals, murderers, abortionists, drunkards, drug addicts, and the list could go on and on and on. The reality is that we are to herald the Good News of Jesus to a world who is steeped in sin. That sin comes in different shades and most of it grosses us out because we have been redeemed from that sin, but let us not ever forget where we were or where we could have been. May we do that what was simply commanded of us and that is simply to "preach the gospel"! That is it. So, who is the Gospel for? Everyone, and after that, the results are up to the Lord!!!
Ephesians 2:1-10
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