As you see, things still aren’t fixed. Some of my technical difficulties have straightened out, but not all. Hopefully, things will go back to normal soon. Thanks for bearing with me.
Nuggets
- We read about the conversion of Cornelius and think the Jews were not to associate with non-Jews, but that isn’t the case.
- God chose the Gentiles – a.k.a. us – along with the Jews, making it evident mankind is elected – not just a certain race, ethnicity, or nationality.
- God calls us to be holy – set apart, perfect, and pure.
- Yes, everyone is included.
- We are to go to all nations of the world for a very special purpose.
- The disciples interpreted the gospel so the world could understand without changing what God had spoken.
Devotions in the What I Believe series
What I Believe Series
Devotions in the Evangelism and Missions category
What Is Evangelism?
What Is Missions?
What Was Jesus’ Mission? (Part 1)
What Was Jesus’ Mission? (Part 2)
How Is the Mission to be Inclusive?
Discussions in society today are centering around inclusion of a diverse population. This devotion looks at diversity and inclusion in the plan of salvation — and how far that inclusion should go.
Let’s Put It into Context
Evangelism is sharing, as led by the Holy-Spirit, the good news of God’s kingdom to ensure all sinners have heard of God’s love and mercy so that they may choose to accept Jesus as their Savior. Sinners are all people who have not made a genuine profession of faith — who have not sincerely ABCDed.
I really liked how the Holman Bible Dictionary linked evangelism with a deep-rooted concern for people. This concept — even though evangelism isn’t mentioned anywhere is Scriptures — permeates them.
Resource
Holman Bible Dictionary’s definition of evangelism
https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/e/evangelism.html
On the other hand, missions, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, is “a task on which God sends a person He has called, particularly a mission to introduce another group of people to salvation in Christ.” While — again — the term missions is not used in the Scriptures, evangelism is accomplished through missions.
Resource
Holman Bible Dictionary’s definition of missions
https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/m/missions.html
It Is Forbidden?
“Peter said to them, ‘You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean’” (Ac. 10: 28 CSB)
We read about the conversion of Cornelius and think the Jews were not to associate with non-Jews. That isn’t the case.
Instead of being God’s law, this was man’s tradition. HaNaviy wrote “The Torah (Law) of Moses never prohibits Jews from ‘associating with’ or ‘visiting anyone of another nation.’ This statement of Peter’s reflects the ‘ethnocentric Jewish exclusivism’ baggage that the Torah communities of his day had engineered, baggage not uncommon among people groups who are marginalized. In other words, Peter was just regurgitating the standard mantra of his day. This did not excuse his error, which is why God went through all the trouble to send him the vision in the first place.” So, it was man thinking they knew what God wanted.
Resource
e-Bible Questions’ Why did Peter in Acts10:28 say that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation?
https://ebible.com/questions/14659-why-did-peter-in-acts10-28-say-that-it-is-an-unlawful-thing-for-a-man-that-is-a-jew-to-keep-company-or-come-unto-one-of-another-nation
We’ve talked about man-made traditions before. Pharisees were good looking at ritual – tradition. But these traditions were add-ons by the scribes. Jesus said the Pharisees were putting human traditions over God’s laws.
To read a related devotion, click on the button below.
What Does Charity Mean?
How Do We Not Give Lip Service Worship?
It seems like Peter was saying, “Hey, God elected us to be His people. We need to separate from you.”
What Is Election?
“Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs” (Rom. 11: 28 CSB)
We’ve talked in the past how God elected us. Election is that God chose to accomplish the plan of salvation to restore His people. But God chose the Gentiles – a.k.a. us – along with the Jews. To me, this makes it evident mankind is elected – not just a certain race, ethnicity, or nationality – we could probably list a lot of qualifiers that God doesn’t even look at.
To read a related devotion, click on the button below.
What Is Election?
Where Does Separation Come into Play?
But where would the first-century Jews get the idea of separation? God calls us to be holy. Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure.
- “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and he drives out many nations before you — the Hethites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you — and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them, and you must not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons” (Deut. 7: 1-3 CSB).
- “Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” (II Cor. 6: 14 CSB).
- “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12: 2 CSB).
- “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Pet. 2: 9 ESV).
But then, we make the same assumption that the two shall never associate with each other.
It seems like separation is logical when we put two and two together. But we came up with five instead of four.
We didn’t factor in our purpose.
- “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Gen. 12: 1-3 ESV emphasis added).
- “seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Gen. 18: 18 ESV emphasis added).
Everyone Included
“Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples” (Ps. 96: 3 CSB)
Yes, everyone is included.
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jan. 3: 16 ESV).
- God “… wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (I Tim. 2: 4 NLT).
Include Everyone for What Purpose?
We are to go to all nations of the world for a very special purpose.
- “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28: 19 CSB emphasis added).
- “And it is necessary that the gospel be preached to all nations” (Mk. 13: 10 CSB emphasis added).
- “Then he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 CSB emphasis added).
- “He also said to them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things’” (Lk. 24: 46-48 CSB emphasis added).
Newton reminded us that our job description came directly from God. We are to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.
Resource
Newton’s The Apostolic Commission
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/newton/the_apostolic_commission.htm
Job description
Included but No Compromise
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14: 15 ESV)
Newton also wrote that our commission has a nature of “… adaptation to the circumstances of mankind.” Does that mean we are to compromise our beliefs and rewrite God’s laws from a worldview perspective?
No way.
We have to remember what Jesus said. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
No. That isn’t going to make witnessing easy. Roberts wrote, “To follow Christ and to take up His cause anywhere is to challenge the world, the flesh, and the devil.” We will be challenging the worldview.
Roberts’ Missionary Conflict and Victory
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/roberts/missionary_conflict_and_victory.htm
Jenkyn described how the apostles approached the commission to preach the gospel to the world. He wrote, “They did not square their message by any human system of theology, nor measure their language to the lines of Procrustean creeds. They employed a dialect that traverses the length and breadth of the world.” The disciples interpreted the gospel so the world could understand without changing what God had spoken.
Resource
Jenkyn’s Universality of the message
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/jenkyn/universality_of_the_message.htm
Really Important All Included
“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24: 14 CSB)
It is really important everyone hear the plan of salvation. If they do not hear the gospel, they cannot make the decision to ABCD. Everyone needs to make the decision because one day soon the decision-making time will be over, and the decision will have been made for them.
“Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water’” (Rev. 14: 6-7 CSB).
Making the Connections
Newton reminded us that there is just one plan of salvation. Regardless of our ethnicity or our culture, we are spiritually dead if we have not ABCDed. Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
Paul put it this way. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23 CSB).
It isn’t about Tom is a murderer, Sally is a thief, and Elaine is a liar. What we have or haven’t done is not the issue. The issue is have we submitted our lives to God? Have we accepted His plan of salvation?
We are all the same. We are all in need of God’s forgiveness.
Newton put it this way. He wrote that there is “one and the same salvation for all and each. One common remedy for the universal disease.” As diverse as the world’s people are, we are looking for the same solution to our problems — God.
Resource
Newton’s The Apostolic Commission
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/newton/the_apostolic_commission.htm
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
What does the Scriptures say?
What do I believe?
Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Some may say God was harsh when He told the Israelites “… you must completely destroy …” (Deut. 7: 2 CSB) the Canaanites. There was a good reason: “because they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will swiftly destroy you” (Deut. 7: 4 CSB). God doesn’t want us to be led astray.
It is only after we ABCD can we expect the society people are wanting the inclusiveness to create. Roberts wrote, “Then, too, in the gospel victories is to be included a beautiful, delightful social revolution, for ‘now is come the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ.’”
Roberts’ Missionary Conflict and Victory
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/roberts/missionary_conflict_and_victory.htm
But it won’t be a social revolution to fix this world. This heaven and earth are on borrowed time. “… From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them” (Rev. 20: 11 ESV).
We will truly be as God intended. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3: 28-29 ESV).
Heavenly Father. We wait for the day when we will find unity in Your presence. Help us to find unity here in this life. May it be unity according to Your Will, and not according to the worldview. Amen.