"The Son of God with power.........by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name; among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ".
c) The SCOPE of the mission:
The gospel is to all nations, it transcends all national boundaries, it is a level playing field for all of us, which is, why, perhaps, many don't embrace it, since it strikes a blow at human pride.
Acts 17 v 30 "God commands all men everywhere to repent".
Matthew 28 v 19 "Go make disciples of all nations".
Matthew 13 v 38 "The field is the world".
Colossians 1 v 23 "The gospel, which was preached in all the creation" R.V.
Isaiah 45 v 22 "Look unto me, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else".
Isaiah 52 v 10 "The Lord has made bare His arm in the eyes of all nations ; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God".
Acts 1 v 8 "Ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth".
As with Russia, so with Rwanda; as with Scotland, so with Somalia; as with England, so with Ethiopia etc. etc. NO NATIONAL BARRIERS WITH GOD !
Elsewhere, this is expanded to no gender barrier, no social barrier, no cultural barrier, no religious barrier. No exclusions, no discriminations, all with the same opportunity, one way back to God, one way to heaven, God's way, for all people, no matter who, or where you are.
d) The DIGNITY of the mission: FOR HIS NAME
In our preaching, in our lives, in all that we are, in all that we do the NAME of Christ is at stake; His reputation, how the unbelieving world perceives Him.
I was brought up in a culture, religiously-speaking, that made much of their church being gathered "to His name"; this had somewhat deteriorated to being a mere doctrinal position, and at times the ethical and social reality just did not enhance the name of the Lord Jesus. In essence, the biblical expression" gathered in my name" was a distinguishing factor between their group of churches, and other groups of churches-a mere positional nicety, but at times devoid of any spirituality: patently lacking in a culture like that was any sense of essential unity with all believers, as also was a deep sense of morality and integrity, in our dealings with others. The Church at large today seems quite happy to continue on sectarian lines, presenting a "rent garment" in public.....c/f 1 Corinthians 1 v 10 bringing dishonour to the name of our Lord. His name is His character, all that He is, it has little to do with forms of gathering. We should be more concerned with what perception of Christ we present in public. I'm not sure what we can do to improve the public image of the church but we must do better.
Romans 2 v 24 "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you". The Jews were the custodians of the law, the guardians of the truth, but because of their conduct, they brought shame on the name of the Lord.
Rather should we understand "the name of the Lord" in moral terms as it teaches in one of our favourite Psalms 23 v 3 "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness FOR HIS NAMES SAKE";
that is the true meaning, righteous people made righteous, only by the grace of God, following righteous ways, according to His gracious leading, bringing honour to His name.
Wherever we go, how we conduct ourselves, we either bring honour, or dishonour, to the name of God; which is it with us? do we "ADORN" the doctrine of God our Saviour, or do we bring shame and disrepute? What name do we present to the world of our God. In our individual lives, and in our church lives do we truly represent God? What do people see in us, do they see God in all the wonder of His glorious name?
OH! The dignity of that blessed NAME, OH! the regal splendour of it, OH!the exalted privilege of bearing that Holy name to the world.
C.H. SPURGEON once quipped "If God calls you to be a missionary, don't lower yourself to become a king!"
Acts 9 v 15 "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel".
"Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ"...........ours may be a lesser role, if not the nations, then our city, town, village, street, to bear His name with dignity and honour, for the honour is all ours.
Tomorrow d.v. we consider the obligations of the mission.
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