The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom to all nations until the moment Jesus arrives – Matthew 24:14.
Jesus commanded his true followers to announce the same message that
he preached, which he summarized as the “Good News of the Kingdom of God.”
His Church would spread this message to all nations without exception and
in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Christ’s sovereignty over humanity must be
established! Until his return, we are commanded to proclaim his Gospel to the “ends
of the Earth.”
Contrary to popular preaching
and many church traditions, Jesus did not inaugurate his church to reform
society or use the political methods of this sinful age to impose his rule on mankind.
Instead, his followers call men and women to join God’s kingdom, and they do so
by bearing witness to his teachings, deeds, his sacrificial death, and that God
raised him from the dead. The Kingdom of God is a political order radically
different from the institutions and ideologies of this world.
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| [World Map - Photo by T.H. Chia (Singapore) on Unsplash.com] |
All men are invited to accept Christ’s offer of life and salvation while the door remains open. The day will come when it will be too late, and all men and women who reject his gracious gift will find their names excluded from the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”
Embracing his message means a complete
reorientation of life. Absolute commitment to Jesus is mandatory. Nothing is
more important than responding to his call to believe the “Good News,”
take up the cross, and follow “the Lamb wherever he leads.”
Through his Death and Resurrection,
Jesus defeated the forces that were hostile to God, including Satan, Death, the
“powers and principalities,” and Sin. His Resurrection and the
outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of his
reign - (Psalm 2:2-8, 110:1).
- “This Jesus did God raise up, of which we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this that you see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens. But he said himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” – (Acts 2:32-36).
- “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 will the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all” – (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
The Death and
Resurrection of the Nazarene also meant the arrival of the “Last Days.” Therefore,
the “forms of this age are passing away,” its institutions and philosophies,
including governments and political ideologies – (1 Corinthians 7:31).
Sin and Death may persist
for a time, but the decisive victory was achieved on the Cross. The Gift of the
Spirit bestowed on the Church is irrefutable evidence of his conquest of his
enemies and the commencement of the “last days,” and it empowers believers
to become Christ’s witnesses:
- “But this is that which has been spoken through the Prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh…” – (Acts 2:16).
- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you: and you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” – (Acts 1:8).
The defeat of Satan was confirmed when God raised Jesus from the Dead. Since then, he has been putting down the “powers and principalities” that oppress men and women. He will continue doing so until all that remains is the unopposed rule of God - (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 1:5-14, Revelation 1:4-6 [“The last enemy that will be abolished is death”]).
HIS WITNESSES
Christ’s disciples are his “witnesses”
commissioned to call all men to enter his Kingdom and sent to preach “repentance
and the remission of sins in his name among all the nations.” This mission must
continue until the “end” when Jesus will appear “on the clouds of
heaven”:
- “But he that endures to the end, the same will be saved. 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).
This does not mean we must disengage
from the world. Far from it! But we are called to help humanity by preaching the
Gospel and living cruciform lives conformed to the teachings and example of
Jesus. Without the salvation he purchased at great personal cost, the world will
remain forever in darkness and without hope.
Before his death, Jesus predicted
the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In response, the disciples asked when
that event would occur, and what would be the “sign” of the “Coming
of the Son of Man.”
To the first question, Jesus replied,
before the end of the generation contemporary with him. To the second, he
warned, no one except God alone knows the hour, day, “season,”
“seasons” or “times” of his return. The one factor that will
determine “when” he returns is the completion of the Gospel mission by
the Body of Christ - (Mark 13:30-33, Matthew 24:14, Acts 1:6-9).
Completing this task is “the sign”
of the end. The end of this age will not come until we complete our mission. It
is not optional but imperative for the consummation of all things and the
redemption of humanity.
The
fact that “the end” has not arrived is indisputable evidence that our mission
remains unfinished. Jesus will not return until his message has reached the
furthest corners of the inhabited Earth, “as a testimony.” Therefore,
all who wait anxiously for his “appearance” must, above all else, preach
the Gospel!
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SEE ALSO:
- Voice in the Wilderness - (The Kingdom of God arrived in the ministry of Jesus, commencing with his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist – Mark 1:1-3)
- The Kingdom Herald - (After his baptism, the Spirit drove Jesus to the wilderness to be tested by the Devil. But he overcame and succeeded where Israel failed)
- La Misión - (La misión de la Iglesia es proclamar las Buenas Nuevas del Reino de Dios a todas las naciones hasta el momento en que Jesús llegue – Mateo 24: 14)