Matt
28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.""(NIV)
1 Tim 3:16
Beyond all question, the mystery
of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was
seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the
world, was taken up in glory. (NIV)
Luke 24:45-49
45 Then
he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
46 He
told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from
the dead on the third day,
47 and
repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at
48 You
are witnesses of these things.
49
I am going to send you
what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed
with power from on high." (NIV)
Rom 15:18-21
18 I
will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished
through me in leading the Gentiles to obey
God by what I have said and done--
19 by
the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from
20 It
has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so
that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.
21 Rather,
as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those
who have not heard will understand."
(NIV)
Why
doesn’t Jesus return and fulfill his “end time” promise now?
Mark
10 And
the gospel must first be preached to all nations. (NIV)
Matt 24:14
14
And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (NIV)
2 Peter 3
The Day of the Lord
8But
do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a
thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is
not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.
10But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the
elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be
laid bare.[a]
11Since everything
will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought
to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God
and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of
the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But
in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness.
He
does not want the nations to perish. He
wants you to go to them and preach the Gospel to them—following the pattern he
prescribes below. Then he will come and
straighten everything out. You can speed
His coming by obeying Him—and especially by telling those who have not
heard.
Matthew 10 (New
International Version)
As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of
heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who
have leprosy,[b]drive out demons. Freely you have received,
freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your
belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or
a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
11"Whatever
town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his
house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it your
greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if
it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not
welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you
leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more
bearable for
17"Be on your
guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you
in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before
governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But
when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that
time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you
speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21"Brother will
betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against
their parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you
because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When
you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you
will not finish going through the cities of
24"A student is
not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is
enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.
If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,[c] how much more the members of his household!
26"So do not be
afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or
hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark,
speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do
not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the
ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth
more than many sparrows.
32"Whoever
acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in
heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him
before my Father in heaven.
34"Do not
suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring
peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
36a man's enemies will be the
members of his own household.'[e]
37"Anyone who
loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves
his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone
who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it.
40"He who
receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone
who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward,
and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will
receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup
of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you
the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
In
this passage, Jesus confronts the usual excuses that Christians use to suggest
that they are not “called” to world evangelism.
But He also gives us a healthy pattern regarding who we should disciple.
11"Whatever
town or village you enter, search
for some worthy person there and
stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it
your greeting. 13If the
home is deserving, let your peace
rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone
will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when
you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more
bearable for
1 Cor 9:16-17
16 Yet
when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe
to me if I do not preach the gospel!
17 If
I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to
me. (NIV)
Who’s
trust committed to him? Who is trusting
or expecting him to preach?
Luke 12:46-49
46 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with
the unbelievers.
47 "That servant who knows his master's will
and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with
many blows.
48 But the one who does not know and does
things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from
the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
49 "I
have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already
kindled! (NIV)
Who
is really going to hell (a place with the unbelievers) here? Those who seek, and never hear, or those who
know, and never tell?
Ezek 3:16-21
16 At
the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me:
17 "Son
of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of
18 When
I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak
out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked
man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.
19 But
if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from
his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
20 "Again,
when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a
stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will
die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will
hold you accountable for his blood.
21 But
if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely
live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself." (NIV)
Well,
we know that most “Christians” are too cowardly
to follow the above scripture. What of
them?
Rev 21:7-8
7 He
who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my
son.
8 But
the cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. This is the second death."
(NIV)
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