“Say among the nations: ‘The LORD reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.’” (Ps. 96:10 CSB) What kind of message will we bring with us when we go out to the nations? What will be our banner? Our argument? Our plea? We cannot present a gospel that does not include God’s sovereignty over creation. That would not be faithful to the biblical gospel. We must proclaim that God is the rightful ruler and judge over the nations, and that one day soon he will return to judge the living and the dead. This was an essential part of the gospel that Peter preached when he went to the house of Cornelius as recorded in the book of Acts: He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all… We ourselves are witnesses of everything He did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, yet they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree. God raised up this man on the third day and permitted Him t
How are we declaring God’s glory among the nations? Are we faithful in telling all peoples about what he has done? Sing to Yahweh, praise His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples. For the LORD is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. (Ps. 96:2-5 CSB) I fear that all too often our churches are communicating greed, envy, selfishness, immorality, disorderliness, strife, and abuse of authority among the nations rather than the glory of God. Are we singing his praises or our own praises? Are we proclaiming his salvation or our own righteousness? We certainly know what we ought to be doing; the Scriptures are clear on that. We must be faithful in declaring God’s greatness and the works of Christ among all peoples. And we also know why we must do it. He is the great and only true God, creator of heaven and earth