Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.”
To me one of the great signs of His coming is the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom in all of the world. However, it is interesting to note that it is talking about the Gospel “of the Kingdom.” Reformation will brings us back to the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Many have been duped by cheap salvation, a salvation which excludes the Cross where we are to come and die to ourselves as well as to be forgiven. It has been a Gospel where Christ has come to save us from our troubles rather than from our sins. Perhaps this is why so few persevere and go on in their Christian life, or why there is not much difference today between those in the church and those who are on the outside. When we come to Christ we find that we are not delivered from troubles, but just the opposite. Our lives seemed to be filled with troubles. We find that the whole fallen word is against us. Because we do not understand this we find that when difficulties come we have a tendency to fall away.
Being born again is the beginning of a great journey toward the full maturity that God is wanting. For the church to go to maturity it must begin with our message. Our message is a message of hope, but it is also a call to battle. It is a message that the rightful King is coming to take over. To be saved by a vision of the Kingdom is an enlistment into the army of the coming King.
The preaching of the Gospel today is done in such a way that it seems that when someone accepts it is as if they are doing the Lord Jesus a favor. Preaching of the gospel today needs to be done in such a way that the Kingdom is seen and when it is seen we will bow the knee begging His acceptance. According to Matthew 24:14 we are to be preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
It is interesting to note the pattern in Scripture. In Genesis we see the Power of God. In Exodus we have not only the Power of God being revealed (bringing the Children of Israel) out of bondage or slavery, but we see the holiness of God (giving of the Law) and then the love of God in the Tabernacle (God dwelling with us).
This is something that we are missing today in the presentation of the Gospel. We bring out the love of God, but not the power and holiness of God.
Presenting the Gospel is like a three-legged stool and with any one leg missing it falls down and whoever is sitting on it also falls.
I think it is interesting that when Paul speaks to the man who has no Bible He starts with the wrath of God. Roman 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness.” What is Paul doing? He is following the pattern laid out in Scripture.
Jesus did not come to just be our Savior, but to be our King. Reformation will bring us back to this truth.