Some in the Church have been taught and now believe that Jesus’s salvation only applies to individuals, not the greater population of a nation. While individuals must first be saved before a nation is impacted, we still cannot abandon God’s larger purpose. He is after nations.
The Lord’s desire is for the entire population of a nation to be saved. Over 500 times in Scripture, “nations” are mentioned, forty-one times in the New Testament. It was Jesus who addressed nations the bulk of the time.
For those who have allowed the news media and a few popular theologians to dismiss the salvation of a nation and demean those who believe in that reality, they are spewing derogatory and demeaning labels at those who believe in that reality.
When Paul spoke in Athens, a city known for its worship of tens of thousands of gods, he noticed a solitary idol with the inscription, “To the Unknown God.” Paul was invited to speak to an assembly of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers to explain his beliefs. After hearing Paul speak, they said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods” (Acts 17:18).
Paul then began to address the content of his faith, “From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries” (Acts 17:26).
Then Paul revealed the purpose of God, “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist” (vs. 27-28).
Paul continued his discourse by revealing Jesus, “For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead” (vs. 31).
“When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, ‘We want to hear more about this later.’ That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers”(vs. 32-34).
Be careful about joining in the contemptuous and condemning chorus of derisive labels being tossed at other believers in this emotional time in history. These labels are not part of Scripture. They are mocking voices, voices crafted by the news media and progressive believers who have abandoned the faith to embrace a lesser god. God is doing something so much larger than we can imagine. It is that larger work to which we have been called.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Garris Elkins
Featured Image by Kris from Pixabay
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