Christians across the world work hard. I never cease to be amazed at how much people give of their time, effort, money and various talents—from carpentry to technology to medicine to evangelism—to advance the Lord’s cause. The Gospel needs preached, and in publishing it, there is a whole lot that needs done to get out the message. Whatever these selfless Christians do is all—they would certainly agree—for one goal: the forgiveness of sins. They do it because they are in Christ and have experienced the washing away of sins in baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16). They do it because they know God expects of us, as Christians, to be a people of good works (Ephesians 2:10). They do these things so that the cause of Christ can advance and more and more people can learn about the forgiveness of sins. This is why Christianity exists. This is why Christ died on the cross. This is the reason God planned this plan from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
Sin is a real problem. It is what separates people from a holy God. The Psalmist praised God with this acknowledgment of His holiness: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You” (Psalm 5:4). This holy God, through the prophet, identified sin as the reason people feel far from their Creator (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin draws people away into a downward spiral (James 1:13-15). Sin is a submission to the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4; cf. Ephesians 2:1-3). Sin has a real punishment. Beyond the fruitless emptiness of sin in this life (Romans 6:21-22) is the “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” into which the unfaithful servant will be cast. It is a place of “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). It is little wonder that some within denominationalism and even within the church try to soften the Bible’s teaching on hell. It is unpalatable; it is horrible. Nevertheless, no matter how man tries to soften it, the plain Bible teaching of the eternal nature of this punishment still stands.
God has a redeeming plan. He foreordained Christ before the world began to come and shed His blood so people could be freed from these aimless, sinful ways (1 Peter 1:18-20). Until Christ came, then, God was slowly unveiling His plan so that people could learn from the Old Covenant how they would eventually interpret the Covenant of Christ (Galatians 3:24-25; Hebrews 8:6-13). When Christ came, then, at just the right time, it was so people could be redeemed (Galatians 4:4-6) or bought back. When obedient, then, to God’s plan, they make the move from the power of Satan’s darkness to the light of the kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13; cf. Acts 26:16-18).
The plan is simple when unclouded by worldly, denominational wishes. Once one hears the Gospel of Christ (Romans 10:17), he must believe (John 8:24; 3:16; Hebrews 4:2). He must repent of those sins that separated him from God in the first place (Acts 17:30-31) and be baptized (immersed) for the remission of those sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:1-6). Then, he must remain faithful, being a new creature zealous for good works (Revelation 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 2:14). If he stays that way until his passing or the Lord’s return, there is a glorious reward that awaits (1 Peter 1:3-4).
It is all about the forgiveness of sins. Every work authorized by Christ is eventually about pointing people to the forgiveness of sins. Without such forgiveness, there is no hope, but only desperation. Christians work to publish the means of forgiveness of sins so that people can have peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2).
