CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL WHO HAVE RECEIVED HIM
Sakkie Parsons
Someone wrote to me about friends of hers who proclaim that only the race to which they belong will go to heaven and that all other nations are doomed.
She also sent me a writing these friends had sent her, setting out their version of the gospel—a gospel filled with hatred and contempt—and she asked me for my opinion.
She has shared the Gospel of Jesus’ love with these friends for a long time but is making no progress.
I want to share with you my reply to her, because I can hardly think of anything sadder than when people misuse Jesus’ Gospel of love to defend their own ideologies, which in some cases, as in this one, are simply evil.
For, as you will see in my reply to her, God sacrificed His Son Jesus on the cross for one race—the human race.
John 3:16–17
For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world (all the people in the entire world), that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.
Here then is my reply to one of my people.
I initially wanted to write:
“What a ridiculous bunch of falsehoods are being proclaimed by those people you sent me.”
But the word “ridiculous” did not feel quite right to me, and as I thought about it, the description “maliciously sick” seemed to fit their message like a glove.
I sincerely hope you will follow my advice.
There are people—described by Jesus—who, in my opinion, are like those you are dealing with:
Matthew 13:14–15
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
“You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand;
And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;
For this nation’s heart has grown hard,
And with their ears they hardly hear,
And they have tightly closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And turn [to Me] and I would heal them [spiritually].”
Because our Lord does not want you and me to waste the precious time He has given us to carry out His command, there comes a time when we must acknowledge and say to ourselves, “Enough is enough.”
What command?
Matthew 28:19–20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”
Did you notice how Jesus begins your and my mission?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
Not just the nation—which they wrongly and falsely claim is the only one going to heaven. Not even some nations belonging to a certain race, but “all the nations.”
If we are commanded to make disciples of all nations, then no nation, race, language, or people group is excluded. The command is:
“…of all the nations.”
You said you have reasoned with these friends of yours about the Gospel for a very long time, but all that ever results are bad feelings and you becoming upset.
When we have shared “the Gospel of love for all people, from every tribe and language and people and nation,” and they persistently throw it back in our faces, there comes a time when Jesus says we must realize we have spent enough time with them and move on. After all, as humans, we have only so much time to contribute to bringing in the great harvest.
Matthew 9:37
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few.”
Therefore, if we share this Gospel of love, meant for all people, and they continue to reject it, there comes a time when we must say, “Enough is enough.”
Matthew 10:14–15
Whoever does not welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties]. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].
Let us spend our time proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus’ love to as many people as possible, thus adding to that great multitude described in the Word, who will one day sing the new heavenly song:
Revelation 5:9–10
And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying,
“Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain [sacrificed], and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom of priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.”
Did you see what you just read?
“…with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”
Jesus was sacrificed for everyone in the world who will receive Him as Savior—not for one specific race, people, or color, but for every person from every tribe, language, people, and nation on earth who accepts Him as their Redeemer and Savior.
Why must we, in obedience, shake the dust off our feet when people preach such a twisted gospel and refuse to listen to us?
Simply because you are wasting your precious time. As you have seen from the Word, there are people so blinded by their ideology of prejudice—rooted mainly in hatred and contempt—that the Word rightly testifies about them:
Matthew 13:14
“…You will keep on hearing, but never understand; and you will keep on looking, but never comprehend…”
Let us, who have become new creations through our salvation, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as His Word commands us to proclaim it. After all I have shown you, this underlines the truth I wanted to share with you:
Colossians 3:9–11
Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new spiritual self who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the new self—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian [the most savage of all], slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction].
Just for interest’s sake, and for those who so easily distance themselves from others because they regard themselves as superior to some people around them:
The HAT (Explanatory Hand Dictionary of the Afrikaans Language) explains the word “barbarian” as:
A member of an uncivilized tribe or nation.
The Word says that if such a person, considered by you to be a barbarian, repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she becomes your brother or sister.
A Scythian was considered in Paul’s time the lowest rung of humanity. This is also where our word “skivvy” comes from.
The HAT explains:
“Skivvy: a person very low on the social ladder or engaged in very menial work.”
The Scythians were regarded in Paul’s day as the absolute lowest form of civilization.
And if someone thinks I am exaggerating to make a point—one of my sources, The Bible Encyclopedia for Youth, says the following about the Scythians:
“The Scythians originally came from the Caucasus (Russia) and were the epitome of illiteracy and the lowest level of civilization.”
The Word says that if such a person, a Scythian—despised as the lowest of the low—repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she becomes your brother or sister.
Colossians 3:10–11
…and have put on the new spiritual self who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the new self—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all.
2 Corinthians 5:17–19
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world [all people] to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them; and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with Him].
Sakkie