God’s Work

Did God give His people work to do in this world or are we just free-loaders?  There is the work of evangelism.  We are to make disciples and teach the nations to obey His commandments:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in Earth.  ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Have these two commandments (baptize and teach) ever been rescinded?  Does God ever need to rescind His commandments?  Of course not, God is perfect, perfect in every respect and never needs to change His mind: 

For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.  (Malachi 3:6)

God never changes His mind.  He, as the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of all things, is perfect, does all things well and never needs to correct Himself. 

He is speaking in this passage to His disciples and that includes you and me.  He tells us here to teach the nations to obey His commandments.  What sort of obedience do you suppose He had in mind?  As the perfect Son what could He be satisfied with but complete obedience?

Impossible! you say.  Yes, it is impossible in today’s world but He is patient and is willing to wait for an obedient generation to arise and obey.  As He waits and His people remain idle, the world continues to decay further and further.  Satan grows more powerful and God’s people grow weaker and weaker. 

Will He rescue them as some say?  Will He change His schedule and end the world very soon as some wish and hope for?  No, the God that created the universe with the breath of His mouth will never settle for less than His original plan.  He will wait for an obedient generation to arise and obey.  He is in eternity and can wait for as many thousands of years as are necessary. 

As He waits and His people continue to disobey, the world around us grows more and more wicked day by day.  It is now far more wicked than it was a century ago and, if disobedience continues will be yet more wicked a century from now.

How long will God’s people hold on to the foolish dream they began to dream over fifty years ago?  How long will they insist that the fairy story is true?  How much more pain must we suffer as God permits evil to grow even stronger?  God permits?  No, we permit the evil to grow!  The fight against evil is our fight, our life work!  Too many of us are fast asleep dreaming a dream of a rescue from above, a rapture into heaven, something that God didn’t promise. 

What did He promise?  He promised us eternal life in Heaven with His Son.  This was an entirely free gift, without price or payment of any kind.  But He did and still does ask something of us.  He asks, not in payment for the free gift but just a request we can do for Him if we please.  He asks us to spread the good news of His free salvation to others, to people we may know or meet.  His purpose was and still is the salvation of the world.  He suffered and died on the Cross to save not just a few but the entire world:

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (John 3:17)

Yes, God’s holy purpose was and still is the salvation of the entire world.  He knows full well that this cannot be done overnight.  It will take much time for us to complete this task but He didn’t set a date.  We have all the time we need to fulfil the assignment but we must fulfil it.  We can’t cut corners to shorten the task.  It’s a Christian world God requires of us and He will accept nothing less.

Are you on His team?  Is He speaking to you in these verses?  Are you doing all you can to spread the good news of salvation to everyone you can?  When was the last time you did so?  Is your goal truly a Christian world? Examine yourself to see if you are fully obedient to Him.  He has given you so much, so very, very much.  Are you fully obedient or are you holding back?  Cod sees partial obedience as disobedience. 

The Great Commission work has fallen off in recent years.  God’s people are focused on a new and lesser goal.  Many of God’s people believed Scofield’s very skilful lies and are waiting for a rapture that isn’t coming any time soon.  It isn’t coming until we have completed the work God assigned us.  Let’s get back to it.  Let’s put away all this nonsense about a rapture and the imminent end of the world.  We have neglected God’s work too long.  Let’s get back to doing what He put us here to do.