Good News for All Nations

We are acquitted before God through the faith of Jesus Christ, and not from the works of the Law – Romans 3:21-26. Having demonstrated that all men violate God’s revealed will, the Apostle Paul concludes that no man or woman is acquitted from the penalty of sin from the works and rituals required by the Law of Moses. Instead, we are declared innocent through the faith or faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

The Church of Thessalonica began to serve the Living God and wait eagerly for the arrival of His Son from Heaven – 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10. The saints of Thessalonica responded to the preaching of the Gospel by turning “ from idols to serve the living and true God .” Their life orientation changed radically because of their new allegiance to Jesus Christ. Rather than a comfortable life in Macedonia, they chose a path that guaranteed opposition, trials, and even persecution.

Is the Gospel of the Kingdom a message for only some nations, or is it Good News for all nations and peoples of the Earth? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is often perverted into  Good News  for some nations, but  bad news  for others. This twist occurs whenever representatives of the church of the same Jesus who gave his life for all men associate and even identify his name and   message with specific nations, races, cultures, and political ideologies.

Salvation includes the resurrection of believers and the New Creation, both of which will occur when Jesus arrives from Heaven . Central to the doctrine of salvation is redemption . God will not abandon what He first created. The term ‘redemption’ signifies the recovery of that which was lost. The universe has been enslaved and condemned to decay and death by sin. In God’s redemptive plan, however, the end state of the things and creatures rescued by Him will not simply be restored. They will be vastly superior to their original state, and this is epitomized by the promised bodily resurrection.

Central to salvation in the Apostolic tradition is the bodily resurrection of the dead when Jesus arrives to gather his saints . Foundational to our future salvation is the resurrection of the dead. That event will coincide with the future arrival  of Jesus. Our resurrection is based on the past resurrection of Jesus , and our salvation will remain incomplete until he raises the dead, transforms those believers who remain alive, and gathers all his saints (“ He will send his angels, and they will assemble his elect from the ends of the Earth to the ends of heaven ”).

The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and true life to men and women of every nation and people . Jesus proclaimed that “ all authority in Heaven and on Earth is given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations! ” He sent his disciples to announce his Lordship and Salvation to the “ uttermost parts of the Earth .” The Era of Salvation had commenced with his Death and Resurrection; therefore, his life-giving message must be announced to all men. The Son of God has achieved salvation for his people!

Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the future resurrection of believers . Paul responded to false teachings about the resurrection of believers in his second letter to Timothy. Certain voices denied this essential truth. “ God did not give us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind ,” and this included overcoming our anxieties about death. Jesus was victorious over death and now gives men and women life “ through the Gospel .”

Paul expresses his goal of going on to completion, a process that will culminate in bodily resurrection when Jesus arrives in glory . Paul instructed the congregation of Philippi to go on to “ completion ” in Jesus. Bodily resurrection must take place for the consummation of this process and the completion of our salvation. This will occur when Jesus appears “ on the clouds of Heaven .” God will continue to perform what He began with our conversion until “ the Day of Christ .” Salvation is a process throughout our lives.

Jesus has come in these last days to provide salvation for men, women, and children of all nations, and everlasting life in the age to come . After his resurrection, Jesus declared, “ All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me! Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations .” Christ sent his disciples to announce the salvation accomplished by his death “ to the ends of the Earth .” The promise of the Abrahamic Covenant to bless all nations is now being fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul presents his most detailed explanation of the “ Good News of God ” in his letter to the churches of Rome. He dealt with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish believers and prepared the ground for taking the Gospel to the western regions of the Roman Empire. He addressed related topics, including redemption, the Law, wrath, resurrection, death, sin, and the New Creation.

The kings and nations of the Earth are found in New Jerusalem because of the Lamb’s redemptive work . The Apostle Paul describes the proclamation of “ Christ crucified ” as “ God’s wisdom and power .” The proposition that God overthrew Sin, Satan, and Death through the execution of a lowly man from the small village of Nazareth is “ foolishness ” to men and contrary to this world’s “wisdom” and ideologies. Even the spiritual “ powers and principalities ” did not understand what God was doing and sealed their fate by crucifying the “ Lord of Glory .”

Jesus summoned his disciples to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to every inhabited corner of the Earth . The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about reforming society or political systems. Christ’s message calls all men to repent and join a radically new social order and political reality, namely, the  Kingdom of God . This message is contrary to the political ideologies of the present world order. It subverts mankind’s philosophies and popular beliefs.

Having demonstrated that all men violate God’s revealed will, Paul concludes that no one is acquitted before Him “ from the works of the Law .” Instead, men and women are justified “ through the faith ” or faithfulness OF Jesus - They are reconciled with their Creator because of the gracious act of Jesus on their behalf. Since all men deserve condemnation and death, all they can do is respond with repentance and faith to what God has done for them.

In his Letter to the Romans , Paul presents his most detailed explanation of the Gospel. His purpose was to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members of the Assembly and prepare the ground for taking the Gospel to the West. In doing so, he touched on key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation. Believers are justified through his death and saved by his resurrection life.

In his Letter to the Romans , Paul describes in detail the message of salvation that he proclaims among the nations. He declares that it is the “ power of God for salvation ” to all men who accept it. Due to humanity’s sin, two forces are at work in the world - Righteousness and Wrath . In Jesus of Nazareth, God has provided the solution to humanity’s desperate plight and made it available to all men through the “ faith OF Jesus Christ .”

The righteousness of God refers to His faithfulness. He fulfills His promises, and this is demonstrated by the salvation He has provided in Jesus . Paul stresses the “ righteousness of God ” in his Letter to the Romans, the righteousness that is revealed whenever the Gospel is proclaimed. This message is the “ power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ,” including “ Jews and Greeks ” alike. Salvation is available to all men through the “ faith of Jesus Christ ,” God’s “ Righteous One ” (“ From faith for faith… My Righteous One will live from faith ”).

The death of Jesus inaugurated the messianic age with consequent changes in the status of God’s people . In his epistle to the Assembly in Galatia, Paul declares that his apostleship originated from the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, the Messiah of Israel who gave his life to “ deliver us from this evil age .” His declaration anticipates his proposition in the body of the Letter that the arrival of Jesus changed the status of the Law for the people of God, the “ children of Abraham .”

'Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” In the man of Nazareth, the salvation promised by the God of Abraham has arrived . The child carried by Mary was “ begotten of the Holy Spirit ,” and Joseph was instructed to name this child ‘Jesus’: “ Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins .” The name announced by the angel pointed to the saving act of God that was about to unfold in history – (Matthew 1:20-23).

Jesus Christ fulfills God’s promise to bless all nations through His Covenant with Abraham. He is the Light and source of Salvation for the nations . Foundational to the biblical doctrine of redemption is the Covenant that God made with Abraham, and with his “ seed ” after him, including the promises to bless all nations and to grant the Patriarch innumerable descendants. But how and when are the nations blessed? And who is Abaham’s “ seed ” destined to inherit the promises?

In Romans, references to justification from works have a specific category of works in view, the works required by the Mosaic Law . Sin is the Great Leveler that places everyone in the same predicament: Bondage now, death and wrath later. No one is exempt from the penalty of sin. Death waits for all of us. However, what did Paul mean when he referred to ‘works’ in his discussions about our justification? Good deeds and human efforts, or something more specific?