The Glad Tidings

Jesus summoned his disciples to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to every inhabited corner of the Earth. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about reforming society or governments. His message summons all men to repent and join a radically new social order and political reality, the Kingdom of God. Christ alone has overcome death, sin, and Satan.

The Good News proclaimed by Jesus is contrary to the wisdom and the political ideologies of the present world order. We must respond positively to his invitation since the end of the age is approaching. On the last day, the existing system will vanish from the Earth and be replaced by the New Creation – (2 Peter 3:10).

[Lantern - Photo by Zachariah Smith (Indiana) on Unsplash]

Jesus of Nazareth sent his disciples to declare his salvation and lordship to all nations. The Messiah of Israel is now the Lord who reigns over the Cosmos. As he declared before his Ascension:

• “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And behold! I am with you always, even to the end of the age” – (Matthew 28:18-20).

This life-changing message affects all men without exception, one way or another. It is a choice between life and death.

Jesus commanded his followers to wait in Jerusalem until they “received power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” They would then become “his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the Earth” (Acts 1:8). The last clause of this alludes to the vision of the Second Psalm of the Anointed Son of God governing the nations from the messianic throne:

• “I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me: You are my son! Today, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession” – (Psalm 2:7-8).

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” – (Psalm 110:1).

As the Davidic King and the heir of Abraham, Jesus inherited all things, including sovereignty over the nations of the Earth; therefore, he is sending his heralds to announce salvation to the furthest regions of the planet. Every man and woman must hear the “Glad Tidings of God’s Kingdom” while the opportunity remains.

According to the Apostle Paul, believers receive the “righteousness of God” through the faith of Jesus. With God, “there is no distinction” or “respect of person.” It is not ethnicity or social position that acquits anyone before the Judge of all the Earth, but the sacrificial death and consequent resurrection of Christ; together, the foundation of the Apostolic Faith:

• “Now, I make known to you brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, except you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures” - (1 Corinthians 15:1-7).

Every man and woman will stand or fall before God on the same basis. No one has any justification for boasting of his or her right to the acquittal of sins before Him. “All have sinned and lack the glory of God.”

FROM THE FAITH OF JESUS

Everyone who responds to the message with faith is put in right standing with God and acquitted of the penalties of sin that we all richly deserve. This is “from the faith of Jesus Christ.” Moreover, Jesus died for each of us when we were “yet enemies of God” - (Romans 3:22-30).

Paul appealed to his monotheistic faith and creation theology in support of the proposition that everyone is accepted by God on the same basis, Jew and Gentile alike:

• “Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one and will justify the circumcised from faith and the uncircumcised through faith” – (Romans 3:28-29).

No man is advantaged or disadvantaged before his Creator because of nationality, economic status, or gender. As Paul wrote to the churches of Colossae and Galatia:

• “There cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all” – (Colossians 3:9-11).

• “For you are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor free, there can be no male and female, for all of you are one man in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise” – (Galatians 3:26-29).

God is creating a new humanity and a political reality that differs radically from the nations and governments of this world, a covenant community, singular, composed of men and women of every country redeemed by the blood of Jesus, the savior who “gave his life as a ransom for many” – (Isaiah 53:12, Mark 10:45).

Our faith in and allegiance to Jesus redefines every human relationship. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” is shaping redeemed men and women collectively and individually into the image of His Son.

The traditional distinctions of race, social, and economic status are wholly inappropriate in His new community. What we each have in common is “the faith of Jesus.” This salvation is one message for all of humanity.

The mission assigned to the Body of Christ is to proclaim this “Good News” in every inhabited corner of the planet. The completion of this task is necessary before the return of Jesus. National borders, cultural imperatives, and ethnic barriers will not prevent “the Kingdom of God” from reaching its consummation:

• “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).

The day is coming when the destructive works of the Devil will vanish, and sin, disease, and death will be eliminated forever. This grand victory will coincide with “the arrival” of Jesus when he resurrects the dead, vanquishes death once and for all, rewards his faithful followers, judges the wicked, and ushers in the reign of God in all its fullness:

• “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 the Son also himself will be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Psalm 110:1).

In the meantime, we as the people of Christ are called to proclaim his Glad Tidings “to the ends of the Earth.” Everyone who hears and responds with faith will receive the forgiveness of sins, salvation, and everlasting life, and will be raised from the dead when Jesus arrives at the end of the age.

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SEE ALSO:

• Salvation for All Men - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to the men and women of every nation)

• The Age of Salvation - (Jesus announced the salvation of God offered to men and women of every nation, marking the commencement of the Age of Salvation)

• Call His Name Jesus! - (Jesus means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In this Man of Nazareth, the Salvation promised by the God of Abraham and Israel has arrived for all men)

• La Bonne Nouvelle de Jésus - (Jésus a convoqué ses disciples pour proclamer la Bonne Nouvelle de son Royaume à tous les coins habités de la Terre)