It is now globally retorted that, regardless of religious belief or identity, that we are all God’s children, therefore, as written in Scriptures, in Paul’s discussion with the Athenians, “since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:29-31).
In this modern world, there is a shortening in the presentational context of the gospel of Jesus. How or why this shortening happened is anyone’s guess. This change can be called evolutionary from perceived past constraints: from the idea of objective truth to subjective truth cradled with objective personal truth, or a narrowed view of humanity and it’s hierarchical limitations. Where does this ever-changing development leave the Gospel of Jesus the Christ? How can we draw knowledge and strength from Scriptures to keep the Gospel in perspective in an ever-changing ‘World Culture’? We can begin with taking a step back and look at what is recorded in the letter of Acts.
The Gospel: A Net of Salvation
The Gospel of salvation is meant for all people; the message of Salvation is open to anyone regardless of their identification: including gender, biological sex skin color, ethnicity, etc. We see the spreading of the Gospel in Acts in various cities and places around their known world. It was revealed to Peter first that the God he knows, the one who raised the Lord from the dead, was sending him to a gentile’s home to share the message of Jesus the Christ. This was going against their cultural norms. We read from the beginning of Acts that the spread of this message begins in Jerusalem, then the message spreads out; now it almost appears that is already over the whole world.
Each encounter we read Peter, Paul, Philip, and Stephen sharing the message. But not just a simple ‘pray, believe, and receive’ style, but one that brings together a history of people and where God places them in history (e.g., Acts 2:47, 3:1-26, 7:1-60, 8:9-40, and 10:1-48). I encourage you to read these for yourself.
The idea of a net is found in Matthew 13:47-50:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Good (G2570) means in this way, can mean valuable or virtuous. Bad (G4550) can be worthless or rotten, it is something already in the state of perishing. We know in our modern world any idea of bad or good is almost abhorrent in a general sense, yet there is almost a type of perishing in what we see going on in the world: people being told to separate from each other due to a label, or the perception of being sick without evidence, or keeping our eyes turned at what we know is wrong, but our silence is justified due to the fear of being pointed as the perpetrator. (Who is telling us that this is now the new morality, is a whole other topic.) This idea of a net is important to understand that as we set out to inspire others, or share what has happened in our lives, what this message entails can either be rejected or accepted; it sorts out people, not as in what we choose or reject, but what this idea of salvation and the kingdom of heaven accepts.
Drawing on the Acts Gospel Example
We can find the message of salvation presented in the letter of Acts, in a way that is not only unique according to the group, but inclusionary for all of humanity. We see this when Peter is confronted by Jesus to preach to the gentiles, and when Paul preaches the message of salvation not only to the Gentiles, but also to his own people. When we learn to know our culture or the culture we are in, we can draw not only a way to present the Gospel, but draw appreciation for that culture we find ourselves living within.
Living Hopefully in the End Times
The message of salvation does not mean that there will not be difficult times in life, nor a way to avoid those times ahead. The message of salvation is not just a way out of a corrosive world due to sin, although this appears to be the extent of the current presentation of this message; it includes, through the life-giving Spirit of God, separation from a world that is dying, and in the future, a way into the newness of a renewed body and world. And more so, becoming a part of a family that will be eternal.
Conclusion
There are three highpoints from this: I see a point in time where Christians are going to begin to acknowledge the fact there is a day of judgement as a part of the salvation, and how that 2nd coming of Christ establishes their final transformation, an event not separate from the 2nd coming. The coming judgement is what we are saved from, not just from our sins.
The second point is that our submission to Christ Jesus unto salvation requires changes in not only our hearts, yet the way we live, no longer living in a way that goes against God and bring harm to others or ourselves, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the power of the Spirit of God that lives as a seal unto that final Day, the day of his coming.
The third point brings us back to where we started: I see a point where disciples of Jesus are going to begin bringing back the words of the day of judgement coming upon the world, not metaphorically, but literally. His coming is our salvation not from tribulation, yet from the wrath of God coming upon the world in the days ahead.
jeremiahletter 