Thursday, September 27, 2012
Romans 10:11, 13 Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
THE GOSPEL IS INCLUSIVE IN ITS TARGET
We do not like to excluded. No one likes to be the odd man out. Yet that happens all too often when kids are playing or when adults are working. It is not the case when it comes to those that God wants to be saved. In Romans 10:11 and 13 we have the beautiful word of "whoever." Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
One of the biggest problems in the early New Testament church was not a disagreement about WHAT Jesus had done. They were agreed that He had died on the cross and rose from the dead. The questions being raised were: For WHOM did He die? Who was included in His plan of salvation?
God was clear even in the Old Testament that Jesus had come for all of mankind. The prophet Isaiah had said this. The ministry of Jesus showed this too. He took special care to reach out to those who were not of His race. He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He healed the daughter of a Syro-Phoenician woman and the list goes on. In the book of Acts, Peter was shown by God in a special vision that He is impartial and sent him to the Roman centurion Cornelius. Yet some still thought that one group had more of a right to God than others.
We don't need some government agency or some big investigation to figure out the target for God's Word. We don't need a gathering together of religious scholars. If you want to see the target of God's love look out. Look out the window when you're driving. Look at the television. Look at the person sitting next to you. Look in the eyes of your beloved or your worst enemy. The word "whoever" covers a lot of ground. Jesus died for all, and He wants His Word to get out to all.
