Anchored: The Life and Letters of the Apostle PeterУзор

The gospel is a message announcing the good news that those who trust in Jesus as their Savior by God’s grace experience forgiveness of sin, freedom from guilt and shame, and adoption into God’s family.

I love how Pastor Tim Keller says, “A gospel is an announcement of something...that’s been done for you that changes your status forever!” Friend, Jesus’s death and resurrection changed our status forever! In a single breath of faith, we move from sinner to saint, from rejected to accepted, from lost to beloved. That announcement has been made to thirsty souls for over two thousand years! As a woman radically redeemed by the grace of God, I love to testify—the gospel is GOOD NEWS!

While God could have employed any number of means to share this glorious truth with the world, His master plan includes me and you. God uses normal people to share the beautiful message of Jesus’s victory over sin and death. His master plan also included a geographic strategy of how the gospel message would travel to the farthest parts of the globe.

While Jesus told the disciples that the gospel was for people of every race, tribe, and nation, many were slow to understand how a Jewish Messiah could be embraced by non-Jews (Gentiles). As the leader of the early church, God used the apostle Peter to welcome the Gentiles into the family of God. Acts 10 marks a major turning point in gospel advancement and proves critical for our study of 1 and 2 Peter.

It’s likely that Peter and the other disciples would have remained in Jerusalem without the hand of God moving them out of their comfort zones. The Lord allowed circumstances and trials to move the apostles closer and closer to people who normally would not have stepped foot near the temple in Jerusalem. God’s heart for the nations to know Him should be our heart, too. But sometimes, like the apostle Peter, we need a little push.

In just a few decades, the message of Christ’s victory over sin and death spread from Jerusalem across the Roman Empire. Through the declaration of the gospel message, the status of thousands and thousands of people was changed from sinner to saint and from Gentile to child of God. This mission was God’s plan, and He used those who were witnesses of Jesus to take the message to the world.

One thing that strikes me is how God permitted the pressure of persecution to scatter the disciples to places they might not have gone without the hardships that propelled them there. While the enemy was at work in the persecution, we see the Lord using all things for our good and His glory. His sovereign hand was on display in this scattering of the church.

Anchor Your Life to This Truth:

Just as Peter left everything to follow Jesus and become a fisher of men, we too are called. As we surrender our lives to Jesus and obey His call to make disciples, we are part of the greatest mission of all! God’s master plan to share the gospel with the world includes you. Let this truth shape how you view your everyday life­—you are the way God wants to reach your neighborhood, family, and friends. You are on mission with Jesus!

Read Acts 10:44-45. Reflect on how the good news of God has shown up for you. Whether you’re thinking of your past, present, or future, the gospel has been at work in your life. Challenge yourself to spread the gospel today in a new and unique way.