The apostles were tasked with selecting someone to replace Judas, who had betrayed Jesus and subsequently hanged himself. In their selection process we gain an insight into the reason for the selection: the need to have another witness among the people.
And this reason gives us an insight into the focus of their witnessing.
Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection. Acts 1:21-22
The apostles were not focused on the fact that Jesus was a great teacher, or that following Him meant a better lifestyle, or that He was a pretty nice guy. They were witnessing to the fact that Jesus is God, that He had risen from the dead, and that He had walked among them, alive, and ascended miraculously back into Heaven.
To them, the truth that Jesus is God the Savior was an overarching, all encompassing, wonderful, powerful truth.
What in the world is going on? What is happening? It seems much of our world has gone off the rails. There seems to be the prevalence of…..well, chaos.
I am blessed to have grown up in one of the most gospel-laden cultures on the planet: the Bible-belt of the Southern United States. While not a perfect place by any means, the presence of the gospel has made a positive impact on many facets of the community. In the South, what your Jesus-loving Grandmother would say about your actions still influences you. That’s a silly illustration, but it makes a point. The gospel has impact in that part of the world.
The Impact of the Gospel
The more the gospel is present in a culture, the better off that culture will be. It’s what Elmer Towns calls the “redemptive lift” of the gospel: when the gospel is present, all points of the society are lifted.
The reverse is also true.
The less the gospel permeates a person, family, group, or nation, the more debased in all points they become.
The gospel is light and it pushes back the darkness. The gospel is love; it repels hate. The gospel is hope; it banishes despair. The gospel is truth; it lays waste deception. The gospel is victory; it dismisses defeat. The gospel is success; it prevents failure.
It’s very common to hear people say “I just don’t know what the world is coming too” or “I can’t believe how far we’ve fallen”. But when you understand the principle that to remove the gospel is to invite in debauchery, you will not be surprised.
The Gospel and Nations
I live in what is considered a “developing” nation – the Philippines. The old terminology for countries like the Philippines is the “Third World”. I have also visited developing countries in the Middle East where poverty is rampant and frankly unbelievable from a Western perspective such as mine.
What is the reason for the poverty, violence, and dis-organization found in so many places on earth? It is the absence of the gospel. More specifically, the gospel is not present in large enough terms to “lift” the culture.
What is the only ultimate answer to the violence of ISIS and radical Islam? It’s not laser guided bombs. It’s the gospel.
This is why I am afraid for America. The gospel is retreating from the United States. It is moving to other places, like the Philippines, at incredible speed. My heart aches for my country when I think of the future of a gospel-less society. I’ve seen what the absence of the gospel does to people, families, communities, and nations. It’s not the place you want to be.
This is why I believe church planting to be the most important task in our world today. A gospel-centered church in a community is a light that drives away debauchery and promotes healthy communities.
The absence of the gospel will be our ruin; its presence is our salvation.
I enjoy reading Ann Coulter’s columns. Agree or disagree, she is entertaining and always clearly defends her position. But her latest column is off base. Coulter questions in her most recent post, titled “Ebola Docs Condition Downgraded to Idiotic”, why Dr. Kent Brantly, an American missionary, chose to go to Africa to combat the Ebola outbreak when there are people suffering in America. She makes the argument, through sarcasm, that there is much to do in America – why leave home?
I’m all for providing clean water and food for the needy. Really, I am. Our team in the Philippines operates daily feeding centers and other humanitarian efforts. But that’s not our mission. Our mission is much more important than that.
A recent article on Christianity Today is reverberating through the Christian blogosphere, and for good reason. The article is titled “The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries” and it details the startling findings of sociologist Robert Woodberry. The implications are incredible for the future of Christian missions.
Why does this video make us emotional? It’s one word: sacrifice.
We understand the sacrifice that the soldiers – and their families – make every day. And when those sacrifices are rewarded with a surprise homecoming, it brings us to tears. Even outside looking in, sacrifice moves us in powerful ways.
This is one reason the gospel is so powerful – it is the story of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.
