God calls us each to have responsibilities in expanding His kingdom. This devotional reading looks at how this call is the same.
Nuggets
- Jesus calls all to preach the Gospel.
Jesus calls us to be committed to proclaiming His message. - Just like we are all told the preach the Gospel, we are all told to tell it to everyone.
I know. I am going to sound like a broken record in this devotion.
We all know the Great Commission. We know our marching orders to preach.
But how committed are we to doing them?
Oh, it is one thing with family. That is easy.
For the rest, aren’t we just supposed to live our lives and let everyone see without making a big, hairy deal about it?
What do you really think?
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the theme.
Devotions in the Commit to Grow Our Habits study
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
The headings are Langley’s words, organizing this devotion.
Resource
The Nature of the Command
“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
Jesus calls all to preach the Gospel.
When Jesus knew His time on earth was limited, He called His disciples to continue His mission. That mission is to lead others to salvation. Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Sin is not believing that Jesus is our Savior to save us from our actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues and to serve and worship God.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues and to serve and worship God.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
This is an important mission. Our fate for eternity rests on mankind hearing the message and accepting it.
More importantly, the Person Who has the authority to call us to the message has the authority to complete the work of salvation within us.
Jesus doesn’t say, “You know, God wants to offer you salvation, but I really have nothing to do it.”
Instead, Jesus says that is only through Him are we saved.
What Jesus wants us to preach is His Gospel. Some may think the preaching is strange.
Spurgeon has a broad definition of preaching. He wrote, “It includes all church work for the spread of the gospel.”
Resource
Everything we do for God is considered preaching. Every song we sing, every child we teach, every benevolent gift we give should be preaching Jesus’s Gospel.
Yes, there are times when we need to speak informally with people one on one. Other times, trained Pastor-Steve types must be telling a multitude in a church service.
Both can be termed as preaching.
What we are preaching is how too apply Jesus’ message in our lives. Jesus does, as Newton said, want “Its adaptation to the circumstances of mankind.”
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That phrase alone may a stumbling block for some. We cannot read it that we get to adapt Jesus’ message to the worldview.
We have to take Jesus’ message and apply it to circumstances in our lives so that we can follow Him, not the worldview.
Grindrod clarified what our mission is.
- We need to explain doctrines to other to ensure they understand.
- We do have to encourage others to follow God’s laws and commandments.
- We should be exclaiming from the housetops what God’s promises are.
- We have to resist and denounce sin.
Resource
It might be easy to think the them in verse 15 refers just to the apostles. We are to take the Bible literally, aren’t we?
Well, yes and no.
If only the apostles were to teach all mankind in every generation with the resources they had in the first century, we would have been in a pickle. They have long been dead. Paul’s original letters are long gone.
Thankfully, God wanted all generations to know of the Savior. Yes, we have to work with copies, but we hear and can accept the Gospel.
When we ABCD, that means we become disciples. That means the them includes us. Yes, that means the Elaine-types are to preach the gospel as well as the Pastor Steve-types. That means every Tom, Sally, and Elaine.
Yes, that means you!
The Extent of This Command
“… ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
Jesus calls us to be committed to proclaiming His message.
But what are we to preach?
Martin reminded us the extent of the command. In that day, people taught the Torah in the synagogue.
Resource
Now, we are to preach the the Torah, the prophets, the writings, and the Gospel. Teaching the laws and commandments without Jesus does no good. Jesus came to fulfill the laws, not abolish them (Mt. 5: 17).
Jesus began the work. The New Testament is filled with His teachings. We know what the message is.
We need to be committed to telling the Gospel message.
I know. When God calls us to ministry, we come up with many excuses why we can’t preach the Gospel.
It does us good to remember that the Apostles were uneducated, most of them fishermen (Ac. 4: 13). And look what they did.
God can use the ordinary because that takes the focus off us and puts it onto Him.
That being said, Jesus spent three years training the men who became Apostles. He will train us.
Jesus told us to go into all the world. Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus already has gone into all the earth? He leads us no where He hasn’t already gone.
The Period When This Command Was Given
Just like we are all told to preach the Gospel, we are all told to tell it to everyone.
That means no one is exempt from hearing the good news. Regardless of nationally, regardless of ethnicity, all need to hear the good news.
There is only way through which people can be saved. That is through Jesus Christ. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn, 14: 6 ESV).
While we may have our own individual Sanctification Road, there is only one way to salvation. We have to ABCD,
Those not believing in Christ as their Savior are drowning in sin. God comes to them while they are still sinners to invite them to accept redemption. Redemption is where God bestows His gift of grace on us in order to deliver us from sin.
- Grace is a free and unmerited gift of love from the Heavenly Father, given through His Son, Jesus Christ, that enables salvation and spiritual healing to believers by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Glossary
Jesus always does this. He doesn’t make us clean up our acts, then redeems us. He knows we can’t.
Bottom line is there is no limit to Jesus’ gospel. We preach all of it — and only it — to all everywhere. Every one of us needs the Savior.
Making the Connections
We can’t read the gospel as a history book. It really isn’t even autobiographical.
Yes, it is about Jesus and what He has done for us. More importantly, it is about why Jesus did what He did.
This message is how we gain salvation.
How Do We Apply This?
- Know Jesus as our personal Savior before we tell others about Him.
- Have a heart for witnessing to others.
- Commit to God using us as He calls.
- Train to proclaim the Gospel.
- Preach in mercy and love.
- Preach all of God’s word, not just some.
Resources
Father God. You have called us to serve You. You call us to preach the Gospel. Help us to tell others the good news of redemption. Amen.
What do you think?
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