Our Object in Service
Our primary objective in serving the Lord is to announce the Gospel to every creature, allowing them to make a free choice of salvation.
Lewis Sperry Chafer emphasizes the importance of preaching the Gospel to every creature as a world-wide ministry that continues through each generation until the heavenly Church is gathered. He explains that the goal is not to reach every person in one generation, as countless individuals have passed away without hearing the Gospel. The evangelizing work will eventually be completed when the last member of Christ's body is gathered, leading to His return and the establishment of His righteous kingdom on earth, as taught in the Bible.
Text
We are appointed to announce the Gospel to every creature. We have no commission to christianize the world. So long as man can act in free will and reject God's grace, this can never be done. We cannot force men to be saved. Salvation must be the free choice of the heart. Nor is our object to reach all people of some one generation with the Gospel. The ideal is unbiblical. Nothing vital would be gained by it since countless millions have already gone down to death who did not hear the Gospel.
Preaching the Gospel to every creature is a world-wide ministry which must be repeated with each succeeding generation.
It goes on and on: not until the world is saved, or until some one generation has heard; but this preaching is to continue until the bride of Christ, the heavenly Church, is gathered out. The seed is to be sown in the whole field, but only a fourth part is said to develop into wheat, -- the children of God. The evangelizing work will someday be completed. The last member of His body will be gathered in. He will then come, and by His resistless power He will banish evil and establish His kingdom of righteousness in the earth. This is the consistent teaching of the Book of God. (Note Matthew 24, 25; Acts 15:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 19:11 to Rev. 20:6.)
Sermon Outline
- Our Object in Service
- The Ideal of Reaching One Generation
- The Completion of the Evangelizing Work
- The Gathering of the Heavenly Church
- The Establishment of God's Kingdom
Key Quotes
“We have no commission to christianize the world.” — Lewis Sperry Chafer
“Salvation must be the free choice of the heart.” — Lewis Sperry Chafer
“The evangelizing work will someday be completed.” — Lewis Sperry Chafer
Application Points
- We must focus on continually announcing the Gospel to every creature, rather than trying to reach all people in one generation.
- Salvation must be the free choice of the heart, and we cannot force men to be saved.
- The evangelizing work will be completed when the last member of the body of Christ is gathered in.