On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the apostle Peter preached a powerful sermon which brought many people to repentance. We read from verse 37 to 39, “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.’”
The “all” that Peter talks about in verse 39 means exactly what it says: All who call on the name of Christ will be saved.
Some 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, God called Abram out of his homeland in Ur of the Chaldeans. Most historians agree that this was in present day south-eastern Iraq. The promise which God made to Abram all those years ago in Genesis 12 still applies today. It is an ancient promise which still stands.
In Genesis 12:1-3 God said to Abram, “Go from your country and from your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This promise to Abram, known as the “Abrahamic Covenant,” was a gracious act by God by which He revealed His universal purpose to bless not only Abram and his relatives, but the whole world. This is the reason why Abram’s name was changed to Abraham. The Lord said to him in Genesis 17:5, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
All of these promises we see in the early pages of the Bible form art of what is known as the covenant of grace. The word “covenant” refers to a promise that has solemn obligations attached to it. In the opening verses of Genesis 12 in particular, we see God taking the initiative as He binds and commits Himself to blessing the whole world through Abraham. From the very beginning, God has intended to bless every nation and culture, and the unfolding story of the Bible reveals just how God has carried out His promise, even in the midst of, and despite human sin and rebellion.
And so, through Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, God’s intention was to carry out His universal promise of blessing. Instead of following God though, Israel began to embrace the pagan practices of the neighbouring nations. Instead of reflecting God’s nature and character to the surrounding nations, they turned their backs on God as they were infiltrated by the culture of the day, and this has been an ongoing problem ever since.
Even today, especially in the face of mounting opposition to the Gospel, one of the greatest challenges facing the Church is a refusal to buckle under the pressure of the secular world and to conform to the radical secularist agenda we see in virtually every aspect of society. We cannot share the truth of Christ if we don’t proclaim it. Jesus said it Himself in Matthew 5:13-16. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
In the days of the Old Testament, God sent His prophets to warn and to call Israel back to Himself. The prophets reminded the Israelites of God’s promises to them, and of their duty to follow Him, but instead of listening to the prophets, Israel persisted in disobedience until the nation was split in two and ultimately exiled from the land of promise. This is where we ended last week.
And it seemed for a long time as though God had perhaps forgotten what He had promised to Abraham. These were dark times in the story of Bible, but we also see that God did not forget His promises. Remember, He is a promise-making and a promise-keeping God.
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord promised that not only would He restore His wayward and rebellious people, but He would also bless the nations.
“And now the LORD says, He who formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him; and that Israel might be gathered to Him – for I am honoured in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength – He says: ‘Is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:5-6)
Here is just one reminder that God had not forgotten His covenant of salvation that would extend to all nations. The remarkable thing is that He was accomplishing His purposes even through Israel’s disobedience. As we saw last week, even as far back as Genesis chapter 3, God promised a Saviour - one would come, formed in the womb, a true and obedient servant, who would be the light of the world. This promised Saviour would carry out the promise made to Abram long before, and bring joy to the world.
In chapter 49, the prophet Isaiah was talking about Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, the angels who attended His birth told the shepherds in Luke 2:10, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people!” We also read in verse 14 of the multitude of the heavenly host bursting into songs of praise: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” The ancient promise given to Abram two millennia ago, was now fulfilled. When Mary was given the news that she was to give birth to the promised Messiah, her psalm of praise, popularly known as the magnificat, ends with her words, “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:54-55)
When, in accordance to the Law of Moses, Jesus was taken to the temple as a baby, Simeon was overjoyed as he said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) Here again we are reminded that through Jesus, God has delivered on His promise to be a light to the Gentiles.
Jesus made this especially clear on one famous occasion, when He challenged the religious leadership at the temple. The priests were shamelessly exploiting the people by turning the temple into a marketplace where sacrificial animals were being sold for profit. And as Jesus overturned the tables and drove out these charlatans, He quoted from Isaiah 56. “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Mark 11:17)
Despite Israel’s failure to be a light to the Gentiles, Jesus came to gather and bless all the nations according to the ancient promise made in Genesis. In John 12, Jesus was speaking to the people of His death on the cross as He said in verse 32, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Jesus’ atoning death at Calvary was for every culture, tongue and tribe, including you and me. On the cross Jesus revealed Himself as the sole mediator of God’s covenant of grace given in the Old Testament. The benefits of that promise of grace come through Him, and not through anyone else. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Jesus Christ is the only way, and the only person through whom God offers sinners life and salvation through faith.
In Acts 3, the apostles Peter and John healed a crippled man as they proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus. Of course, the authorities were not too happy with them, so Peter and John were hauled before them the next day and were asked to explain themselves. Peter’s bold and uncompromising response to them was, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead - by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)
That was the message of the Church in the 1st century, and it remains the same message of the Church today. The salvation that Jesus accomplished is now being spread abroad through the ministry of the Church. Not only does the ancient covenant of grace apply to you, but God also includes you in the story as a means of spreading that hope to the world.
Our theme today is God’s promise to bless all nations on the earth, and He does exactly that. Whether people know God or reject Him, we are all recipients of His grace each and every day. Even the next lungful of air you’re about to breathe is a gift and a blessing from Him, regardless of whether you believe you were created by God, or that you are the product of some creature that dragged itself out of a pond of slime billions of years ago, that has now evolved into what you are today.
Jesus said of the Father in Matthew 5:45, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” This is what is sometimes known as common grace. Even those who hate God the most are recipients of His common grace, whether they realise it or not. This is very different to God’s special or saving grace, which we will look at in more detail next week, but we do live in a world in which all nations are blessed by God.
So many people question this truth though. “If God is a God of love, why is there so much evil in the world?” You hear that question all the time, but trust me - you don’t want Him to withdraw His common grace and protection, and you certainly don’t want Him to cease being a God of love. God is still in control, and were He to withdraw that control and give us over to our evil desires completely, the world would be plunged into unimaginable suffering. What this world would be like without the blessings of God on all of His creation doesn’t bear thinking about.
So yes, He continues to deliver on His promise made to Abraham all those years ago.
But He has also chosen a people for Himself - those He has chosen to save by His grace. Just before His ascension into Heaven, Jesus gave His disciples their final marching orders. We know it as the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
And until such time as Jesus returns or calls us home - whichever occurs first - the mission of the Church on earth today remains the same. We are to proclaim the ancient promise given to Abraham and accomplished by Jesus to spread the Gospel of the hope of salvation to every tribe, tongue and nation. By God’s grace and mercy, He has saved you. Through Christ He has redeemed you to Himself, and we are duty bound to share the Gospel with those who are still lost.
Will all hear and respond? No.
But we must tell them anyway. It is not up to us to save the lost. That is what God does as He draws His elect by His Spirit. Our responsibility is to faithfully proclaim the good news that salvation is possible, and it is only possible through Jesus Christ.
Again, as Jesus says in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” (Matt. 5:14).
Salvation in Christ is for all who believe, regardless of which race, colour or creed they may be. That is the message of the Bible, and the Church, in obedience to Christ, continues to share the good news that there is hope for the lost. And you get to be part of this.
By the grace of the Holy Spirit and in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church is responsible for carrying out the great commission, given to the apostles by Jesus. Once you become a beneficiary of the promises of God, your privilege is to tell others that they too can receive all these blessings and more.
One of the great mysteries is that God has chosen imperfect, fallen sinners, saved though we may be, to share this message of hope with those who so desperately need to hear it.
Next week we’ll be looking at just how all of this is possible through the death of Jesus, as we become recipients of the gift of His righteousness, and the objects of God’s special, saving grace.