GOOD NEWS FOR ALL

When the apostle Paul arrived in Athens, he observed the prevalence of idolatry within the city and felt Christlike compassion for the lost. And then he tried to do something about it. “He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17).

Notice something here. Paul shared the gospel with both Jews and Gentiles. He engaged in cross-cultural, multiethnic evangelism.

Paul wanted everyone saved—included in God’s family—regardless of their ethnicity. As a Jew, he knew God promised Abraham a multiethnic family. Jesus is the seed of Abraham, who created this family through his life, death, and resurrection (Galatians 3).

The football teammate who led me to Christ was Black, and he shared the gospel with everyone on the team—White, Black, Latino, Asian—it didn’t matter! He reminds me of the Jewish “men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20, CSB).

That’s the way it should be. Because everyday missionaries are cross-cultural. When you’re lit up with love, you cross ethnic and class boundaries to proclaim the reconciling love of King Jesus. Because the good news is for all people, we must be intentional when connecting with people from diverse backgrounds.

Jesus desires to save every person, and Scripture tells us that one day every nation, every tribe, and every tongue will worship him (Revelation 5:9; 7:9). Jesus’ passion fuels us to reach lost people across cultural and ethnic lines.

God’s heart for being reconciled to humanity gives us a heart for racial reconciliation. The local church is one community of earth where racism and prejudice should not exist because all God’s children are clothed in Christ and are one in Christ.

Missional principle #2: Tell others about Jesus across ethnic and cultural lines.