Proselytizing is fundamental to Christianity. Every believer is called to spread the good news of salvation as we share the love of Christ. Eternal life is not a secret that is reserved for the few while the many are at risk of perishing. Jesus taught, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15).
Perception is a manageable commodity. No matter what the issue, people will develop a perspective based upon the information available to them and their perspective may be correct or incorrect depending upon their consumption of that information. Silence cannot be an option, therefore, since allowing misrepresentation produces misinformation and misinformation can lead people away from truth and directly onto the path of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).
In Romans 10:13-15 Paul states, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
CHRIST’S LOVE COMPELS US
Furthermore, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.
And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Salvation is not something we keep to ourselves. We are compelled to share the good news with others so that they may also receive redemption through Jesus Christ. As ambassadors for Christ, we are commissioned to extend His ministry of reconciliation to the whole world.
MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS
Jesus proclaimed in Mathew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Paul highlighted this commission in Galatians 3:8, “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’” And even prior to Abraham, it was God’s desire to fill the earth with His love. In Genesis 3:15 we read that God had a plan: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”
Enmity is a deep-seated hostility and bitter antagonism between individuals or groups. This animosity has prevailed for millennia. The tension between good and evil came to a head during the flood of Noah when nearly all of humanity was wiped off the face of the earth. God then blessed and commanded Noah, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1).
However, sin also remained and multiplied along with humanity. And rather than filling the earth, civilization congregated in one place and pursued a motive meant to bring honor to itself. Rather than filling the earth, mankind intentionally sought to build a consolidated society in direct defiance of the directives God issued to Noah.
Genesis 11:4 informs us, “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” At this point, God once again intervenes and confuses their language which forces humanity to become dispersed throughout the earth.
The result is only a partial completion of God’s purpose therefore He promises Abram that He will bless all the inhabitants of the earth through him. The graciousness of God is evident since the very people who had openly rebelled against God are those who will be blessed through Abram.
The promise reverberates throughout history to many men of renown. Joshuah was assured that “all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful,” (Joshua 4:24). And when David slew Goliath he proclaimed, “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:46).
The prophet Daniel wrote about the coming Messiah in Daniel 7:13-14: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Time marches on and generations come and go until finally, four thousand years after creation, Jesus of Nazareth seals the fate of the serpent and conquers death. Christ then reiterates God’s intention to bless all nations as he commissions the disciples to “make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19).
So, what does the Bible mean by “nation?” The Greek word for “nations” that is used in the New Testament is the word ethnē and it means people group or ethnicity. Furthermore, the word indicates a group of people sharing a common language, culture or territory. However, even among ethnic groups there are divisions due to religious beliefs, social status and language dialects that keep people from interacting with others.
GOD PROMISES THAT ALL PEOPLE GROUPS WILL BE BLESSED
God promises that all people groups will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). God is infinitely concerned with blessing each and every people group on earth. Revelation 7:9 discloses that heaven will include “a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”
If the church is commissioned to reach all people groups, then the question that is front and center is, how many have we reached so far? There are currently 11,260 people groups on our planet of which approximately 6,534 are considered “unreached.” These unreached groups are classified as being without a viable or relevant church.
Reaching all people groups doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved. It simply reveals that each and every people group will hear the gospel message and that many will be saved and be present in the great multitude in heaven. In order to reach remote populations of the unreached, teams of Christian missionaries are constantly charged with the task of upholding the Great Commission. The mission field is also immediately outside our doors. Our neighbors may not know the peace of God therefore it is incumbent upon each of us to share the message of salvation.
Knowing Jesus is much different then simply knowing about Jesus. To know Him is to love Him; to love Him is to obey Him; to obey Him is to proclaim Him; to proclaim Him is to do so passionately, convincingly and sacrificially. Our redemption in Christ Jesus compels us to share that redemption with others.
If I know there is a bridge out on the road ahead and do nothing to warn travelers headed that way, I am guilty of wrongdoing and complicit in their potential destruction. But out of the God-given compassion intrinsic to my nature and through the love of Christ within me, I must stand along the road in the darkness and pouring rain and shine the light of hope – warning everyone of the impending danger that threatens humanity. Jesus Christ the light.
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