What do you think of when you think of borders? A border is a boundary that creates a distinction between two areas or objects. There are all kinds of boundaries in our world and society, such as physical, emotional, social, and even economic. Some boundaries are good and necessary, while others are divisive and cause great harm. While I can change where I live or how much money I make, there are a couple of features that people cannot change. For example, where a person is born, what nationality they are born into, or their gender. These distinctions and features are God ordained. Unfortunately, the world can use these other distinctions as a boundary for prejudice and discrimination against one another.
The gospel goes beyond human borders and boundaries. God does not see Jew or non-Jew, male or female, rich or poor because God does not see race, gender, or socioeconomic classes. God sees “imago dei,” man was created in the image of God. This same man has sinned and needs to be saved because sin has created a separation between God and man. The only distinction that God sees is a sinner or saint. Sin must be forgiven to remove the boundary separating the holy and the unholy.
God is gracious to all who call upon Him for salvation from sin in order to be saved. But for that to happen, the message of salvation must be proclaimed. Paul asked the question, “How will they call on Him in whom they have not heard or believed to be saved unless someone tells them about the Savior, the Lord Jesus? Someone must tell the sinner the good news of God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. This is why Jesus commissioned His disciples to go and evangelize, preaching the gospel unto salvation.
Preaching and evangelizing are a command for all believers (Acts 1:8) to go beyond their borders. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, and, having believed, you carry the gospel power of salvation with you. If you have heard the gospel and believed in salvation, then someone crossed a boundary to preach to you. Maybe it wasn’t a physical border, but perhaps a personal boundary. Maybe it was a boundary of fear or insecurity. Maybe it was a relational boundary that required you to share Jesus boldly.
Jesus crossed every border and boundary to save you when He left heaven to die on the cross for you. Don’t let manmade boundaries hinder you from preaching the gospel to others.
In His Service,
Pastor Cary