The Great Commission
God is merciful, full of mercy toward all His creatures. He extends His love to all without exception. He awards all that in true sincerity ask for the greatest of all possible gifts, eternal life in Paradise. What is our response to it? Incredibly, everyone, the entire population of the world rejects this, the greatest of all possible offers. Why? How is this possible? Everyone loves life and would gladly receive with great joy the ability to live forever. The gift is refused because everyone is in bondage to Satan and cannot lift a finger to resist his will.
The God that controls all things in Heaven and earth knew from eternity past that His creature Adam would sin and disobey Him. He knew and prepared a way to rescue his descendants from the doom of eternal punishment they earned through their sinful disobedience. God sent His Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, to become a man, a creature, and die on a cross for the sins of all that believe in Him.
God, the Son commissioned His disciples to spread the good news of this free salvation throughout the world. His last words to His disciples were:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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)
These were His instructions to all His disciples, both then and now. We, as the beneficiaries of God’s great grace, are asked, only asked mind you, not commanded, to spread the good news of God’s free salvation.
How many, though, actually do this? How many remain silent and why do they do so? It is because they, themselves do not really believe. They want to believe and belong but do not because they are not and never have been God’s true children. They may have been impressed by a sermon and responded to an altar call but were never truly born again. The idea of being born again might have appealed to them once but does no longer.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God, and faith itself is a gift God gives to those He chose in eternity past.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We know we have received God’s gift of faith when we see within ourselves a deep desire to believe in Him and obey Him. We communicate this God-given free gift to everyone we can, all that will listen and pay attention.
There are actually two gifts here, the gift of eternal life and the gift of faith. Both are gifts from God. No one chooses on his own to believe. Many jump to the wrong conclusion here by thinking that they made the choice to believe on their own. They fail to recognize the extent to which they were in bondage to Satan and totally incapable of choosing God. Yes God does it all. He gives us both the gift of life and the gift of faith. Praise GOD! All is from Him and to Him and through Him.