Making the way of salvation known (among all ethnic groups)
We are commanded multiple times in the Bible to tell of God’s salvation. The Israelites in the Old Testament were commanded to speak of all his wonderful acts (See Psalm 67; 145). The revelation about the gospel of God was not complete in the Old Testament, but now that we have the full revelation of God in the New and Old Testament we ought more to tell of all his fantastic acts. God’s glory has been revealed in the life and death of Christ Jesus, and it would be a crime against God not to tell of His salvation. We know that there is salvation in no other, among men than Christ (Acts 4:12). We know that there is only one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:3,4), which is Christ, and we know that there is only one way to the Father and it is through Christ (John 14:6). To ignore this fact and to keep silent about this reality would be a grievous sin!
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” (Psalms 96:1-7, 9 ESV)
God has chosen in His sovereignty to save his elect from every tribe, nation and language group (Revelation 5:9;7:9) by using means. And those means are the prayers of his people and the proclamation of the gospel. God commands all men everywhere to repent because He has fixed a day in which he will judge the living and dead by a Man whom He has appointed (Acts 17:30,31). God had overlooked the times of ignorance in ages before Jesus came to earth. But now repentance and remission of sins should be proclaimed in the Name of Jesus to all ethnic groups (Luke 24:47,48).
The goal of evangelism is that all people on the earth hear about the good news of Christ. Not all people will believe, not all people will repent of their sins, not all people will embrace and cherish the life-saving message of Christ, but the offer of salvation should be made to all people because that is how God has appointed how people will be saved from their sins. Part of the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 is the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace. Are you ready and willing to proclaim the message of salvation? Do you have the shoes on of preparedness? Are you going on the offensive to proclaim the message? Woe to us if we keep the message to ourselves! May God forgive us for our sloth in this enterprise. May God get us out of our comfort-zones.
God has a people among all the peoples of the earth. We see this very clearly in the Book of Revelation when we get a glimpse of heaven.
“And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”” (Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)
God has sheep that are not yet in his kingdom, and He must gather them as well (John 10:16), and the way He does it is through the church, believers in Him, in those who pray for the lost and those who preach and share the gospel wherever they go. We must proclaim the gospel. General revelation in nature cannot convict people of the Savior. Our prayers cannot show people the Savior. We have to go and tell. People cannot hear our prayers. Our good deeds and our kindness and our long-suffering, although significant to adorn the gospel of God, cannot save people. We need to proclaim the gospel!
“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:13-15, 17 ESV)
Will you go and tell, those who have never heard, the gospel? According to missiologists, more than a billion people have never heard the true gospel of Christ. How will the elect of God be saved unless someone goes and tell? The goal of evangelism is to fill the face of the earth with the glorious gospel of Christ as the waters cover the sea. No one should go to hell unless they have been prayed for and unless they have been told of the way of salvation. God is just and holy and people who go to hell because of their rebellion and sin. But let us bow down to the King of kings and let us make known the fragrance of the knowledge of God in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). For some, it will be an aroma of death to death, but for those who believe it will be an aroma of life and great delight.
May we go and tell of the wondrous story of God’s love and salvation. God gets the glory, and God is magnified when we tell the old, old story. Let no one tell you the proclamation of the gospel is just for mature Christians and pastors. God has commanded all Christians to proclaim the gospel, to small and great, to the poor and to the rich, to young and old, to the educated and uneducated: God reigns!
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 