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On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone.
It was a great day—sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s Spirit had swept through Jesus’ followers and filled them with a new joy and a sense of God’s presence and power. Their leader, Peter, who only a few weeks before had been crying like a baby because he’d lied and cursed and denied even knowing Jesus, found himself on his feet explaining to a huge crowd that something had happened which had changed the world forever. What God had done for him, Peter, he was beginning to do for the whole world: new life, forgiveness, new hope and power were opening up like spring flowers after a long winter. A new age had begun in which the living God was going to do new things in the world—beginning then and there with the individuals who were listening to him.
“This promise is for you,” he said, “and for your children, and for everyone who is far away” (Acts 2:39). It wasn’t just for the person standing next to you. It was for everyone. Within a remarkably short time, this came true to such an extent that the young movement spread throughout much of the known world. And one way in which the “everyone” promise worked out was through the writings of the early Christian leaders. These short works—mostly letters and stories about Jesus—were widely circulated and eagerly read. They were never intended for either a religious or intellectual elite. From the very beginning they were meant for everyone. …
The book of Acts is full of the energy and excitement of the early Christians as they found God doing new things all over the place and learned to take the good news of Jesus around the world. It’s also full of the puzzles and problems that churches faced then and face today—crises over leadership, money, ethnic divisions, theology and ethics, not to mention serious clashes with political and religious authorities. It’s comforting to know that “normal church life,” even in the time of the first apostles, was neither trouble-free nor plain sailing, just as it’s encouraging to know that even in the midst of all their difficulties the early church was able to take the gospel forward in such dynamic ways.
Actually, “plain sailing” reminds us that this is the book where more journeys take place, including several across the sea, than anywhere else in the Bible. … There isn’t a dull page in Acts. But, equally importantly, the whole book reminds us that whatever “journey” we are making, in our own lives, our spirituality, our following of Jesus, and our work for His kingdom, His Spirit will guide us, too, and make us fruitful in His service.—N. T. Wright1
The invitation
Jesus was God’s love, God’s Word, walking the earth. He was called to pay the ultimate price of dying for the sins of those in the world, and in doing so, He made it possible for us to be reconciled to God, to become God’s children, to have the right to receive the inheritance of our Father, which is eternal life.
We, as members of God’s family, His adopted children (Galatians 4:4–7), play a role in God’s great story, in His love for humanity, His love for His creation. For we are called to share this story with those who haven’t heard it, who don’t understand it, and who have trouble believing it. With God’s Spirit dwelling in us, we are temples of the Holy Spirit. We are ambassadors of Christ, who have a personal relationship with God, and our commission from Jesus Himself is to share the message, to tell the story, to let others know that they can be part of God’s family. They can become part of God’s kingdom, of His new creation. Their sins can be forgiven—all for free—since the price of their entry into God’s family has been paid for. It’s theirs for the asking.
It’s helpful to remember the end result of it all, what God is offering, so it’s fresh in our hearts and minds when we offer it to others. Those who become members of God’s family will live forever in a place of incredible beauty—a place with no need of the sun or stars, for God will be its light. There will be no death, mourning, crying, or pain. It’s a place that is free from all evil, a place where God will dwell with His people forever! (See Revelation, Chapter 21). Ours is a message of joy, of happiness, of the possibility of eternal life in the most wonderful place possible, and a renewed life now. It truly is the most important message there is.
As partakers of these eternal blessings, as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), His messengers, we should do our very best to live in a manner which reflects God and His love, which lets people see God’s light and feel His warmth through us, His children. We are to be messengers of the divine invitation, inviting one and all to the feast, to the kingdom of God (Luke 14:23). We are to preach the gospel, the good news that anyone can become God’s child, that His free gift is available to everyone.
We are to be messengers of love, in word and in deed, to a world desperately in need of God, of His love, His forgiveness, and His mercy (Romans 10:14). We are His messengers; our job is to pass on the invitation, to share the good news, to tell the story through our words, our actions, and our love. Let’s invite everyone we can!—Peter Amsterdam
Everyone’s invited
Not everyone will believe the gospel, but everyone should be invited. We know from Scripture, and experience, that not everyone will trust in Jesus and be saved. In fact, many will not. … They will refuse Jesus, so why should we invite them to trust him? ...
We offer the gospel universally because as far as we can discern, every person we encounter could believe. God knows whom he will draw (John 6:44). Jesus knows who will hear his voice (John 10:27). We don’t, so we just preach. …
“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). This verse tells us two things about “everyone.” First, it is not simply everyone, but everyone who calls. Everyone will not be saved, but everyone who calls on the name of Lord will certainly be saved. Second, part of the “everyone who calls” can be anyone at all.
It doesn’t matter how messed up your life is, or what mistakes you’ve made, or how dismal you see your tomorrow. If you—hardened criminal, reckless teen—if you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, or what color of skin you have, or how much money is in your bank account, if you turn from your sins and trust in Jesus, you will be saved.
And therefore, since Jesus can save anybody, we offer this message to everybody. … Every soul is thirsty, every soul is broken, and so it goes for every soul when God says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).
Grace, in this sense, is the great equalizer. It is the only way that anyone can be reconciled to God. The kid who grows up in church, nourished by a gospel-centered stay-at-home mom, and the strung-out crack addict downtown—if they will belong to God, it will happen by the same way: grace, grace, grace. …
Because we don’t know who will or won’t believe, because Jesus can save anybody, because everyone can afford free, today this gospel goes to everyone.—Jonathan Parnell2
Published on Anchor December 2024. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso. Music by Michael Fogarty.
1 N. T. Wright, Acts for Everyone (SPCK, 2008).