Why the ever-advancing gospel will forever and always be unstoppable

By Dean Collins

Nothing has ever stopped the gospel from advancing. Not even our ignorance or our misplaced loyalties. And there is plenty of both in us and in our neighbors both here and abroad.

There are arguments, closed-door meetings, and strategy sessions every day by people trying to stop injustice and promote their version of a better way forward. The problem is that groups and approaches for fixing what is broken and advancing the good often conflict with each other. The right and the left each offer their solutions. Local, state, national, and international communities all speak about our problems. This happens because there is plenty of brokenness in people, in culture, and in the world.

One solution

There is nothing particularly new about people trying to create what they believe will make a better future. Movements come and go. Laws are passed and changed. Treaties and agreements are made and broken. Technology, science, and innovation advance changes. Some of this is very good, but all of it ultimately leads to another challenge of access or affordability. And often the problem of injustice is not really solved; it just happens in a different version.

So, what do we do? Do we give up? Do we pick a team and work for change? Do we stick our head in the sand and hope it all works out?

The one path forward that has been twisted or abused but remains forever unstoppable is Jesus. He is alive and doing well. His Kingdom has continued to advance ever since the first Resurrection Sunday morning. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled those gathered in the upper room, and the church was launched. That church is still thriving, and no one in any century has or ever will be able to stop its advance.

Faulty efforts

Oh, from the beginning there have been attempts. In Acts 4 and 5 we find religious leaders and scholars trying to shut it down, but they couldn’t. Threats didn’t stop the gospel. Beating the new spokesmen of Jesus didn’t stop it. Later politics and government would fail to stop it. Gamaliel was right. He gave advice to those who sought to oppress the people and stop the advance of the good news:

“Keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”

Many from then till now have on-and-off-again chosen to follow this wise advice. But eventually someone decides their preferences or laws can stop what God has planned, but they’re always wrong.

Inside out

There are real problems here in the United States. There are justice issues and economic issues that must be solved, and any of us does well to join the work to find solutions. But our politics and our policies will never do what only Jesus can do. When Jesus changes a person from the inside out, they begin to see the way Jesus sees and they begin to act the way Jesus acted. Jesus people want justice and mercy because they have experienced grace and forgiveness. Jesus people work to address poverty, healthcare, racial injustice, and every broken system as they live transformed by the power of the gospel.

Brothers and sisters in oppressive countries and cultures would tell you it’s true. In Iran, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and many other places Jesus continues to advance his Kingdom. Here in the USA it is happening even as some try playing politics as the solution. We are well past chapter 28 of Acts, centuries past the example of the early believers who trusted what Gamaliel prophetically pronounced. What is of God cannot be stopped.

Maybe our best decision is to repent of anything that gets in the way of our loving Jesus, loving others, and sharing the good news today. Then we will see Jesus return and finish the long-awaited restoration of all things.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Your time with God’s Word
Acts‬ ‭5:27-34, 38-42‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Photos by Taylor Smith by Matt Botsford on Unsplash