THE WORLD ALSO NEEDS THE GOSPEL

Romans 15:18-21 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: but as it is written, to whom He was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

On the Day of Pentecost the inspired apostles preached the first gospel message of salvation, through Jesus Christ, to the nation of Israel that had assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate this Jewish festival. It is well documented throughout the bible that the gospel of Christ was to be first offered to the Jews and from the city of Jerusalem. Immediately before His ascension into heaven, Jesus, Himself, confirmed this in His final instructions to His apostles, by saying that God's call to salvation was to begin at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). This was fulfilled when, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter and the other eleven apostles stood up, lifted their voices, and preached repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:14).

It is specifically stated, or inferred, in numerous scriptures, that salvation was to be first offered to the nation of Israel. Paul confirmed this in this same letter to the Christians at Rome. To them he wrote, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Rom. 1:16, also see Rom. 2:9-11). It was also God's plan, from the beginning of time, that after being offered to the children of Israel, salvation was then to be offered to all mankind. Although a scriptural fact, offering the gospel of salvation to the Gentile world, did, indeed, take place within the time frame established by God. It was only after Peter's vision, which resulted in the conversion of Cornelius, that God's complete plan of salvation was extended to all mankind (See Acts, Chapter 10). From that point forward Peter confirmed that God is no respecter of persons (Vs. 34).

The first preachers of the gospel of Christ, totally overlooked the Gentile nations, by restricting God's call to salvation only to the Jewish nation. There seemed to be no thought of preaching to them, even though Old Testament prophecies clearly stated that they were to be included. No doubt this caused some of the dissention that existed between the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome. Paul, in his effort to ease some of the tension within the church there, quotes some of these Old Testament prophecies. In verse 9, he cites the meaning found in Psalm 18:49; Verse 10, from Deuteronomy 32:43; Verse 10, from Psalm 117:1; Verse 12, and from Isaiah 11:1 & 10. In Verse 16, Paul says that it was his mission to fulfill these prophecies.

All this is said to make this point, that, just as it was in first century preaching, it is easy for preachers and teachers of God's word to overlook many audiences that have open and receptive hearts - sincere desire to learn how they may gain eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. Most certainly the mission of the church of Christ is to provide spiritual edification through the fellowship of Christians that assemble to worship God through prayer, songs of praise, observing the Lord's Supper, and hearing God's word proclaimed. Preaching the word of God to a congregation is the "easy" part of the mission of the church of Christ. The hard part is taking the gospel to those outside the body of Christ. Today, people of the world are not generally classified as either Jews or Gentiles, as it was during the first century church. However, the world is still divided into two distinct classifications - those that have obeyed God's call to salvation through Jesus Christ, and those that have not obeyed. Those within the church of Christ are privileged to hear God's word proclaimed each time the doors of the church building are opened for services. What about the "Gentiles" in today's society? What about the world outside the body of Christ? They, too, need the gospel of Christ.

The apostle Paul said, in the lesson text that ...I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, but where the gospel had not been preached before; outside the body of Christ; to a lost and dying world. To remain in the pulpit and preach would have been easy, but Paul chose the hard mission - to carry salvation to the Gentiles. Using Paul's example, the church today needs to recognize that God's plan of salvation also needs to be preached to the world outside the body of Christ, so they that have not heard shall understand. Today's "Gentiles," are unbelievers. Indeed, The world also needs the gospel!