Let me say this first. I am completely in favor of world missions and taking the Gospel everywhere to everyone.

Having said that, there is a popular teaching circulating that says that until every single ethnic group has heard the Good News of Jesus, the Lord will not return for His Second Coming. Here is the verse that is based on:

Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

What we need to do in order to be faithful to the text and handle it aright, is to see what is meant by The world” in that verse. Is it every ethnic group on the planet? Is it just the known world, or maybe the Roman Empire? We need to determine these things if we are going to determine whether the Lord’s return is eminent or if He is waiting for us to finish the job.

In order to interpret Matthew 24 biblically, we need to realize that this passage, known as the Olivet Discourse, is not about the end of the world at all. The entire discourse is about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Old Covenant Age. The end Jesus was speaking of was the end of the Jewish system.

The word translated “world” in this and other passages means the known world, or the Roman Empire. Let’s start with Luke.

Luke 2:1 (NKJV)

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

While I am sure Caesar would have loved to tax the Chinese and perhaps those living in Australia, this is not what was intended. The world here simply means the Roman Empire. Paul uses world in much the same way.

Romans 1:8 (NKJV)

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Colossians 1:5-6 (NKJV)

because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

According to Paul, the Word had already gone forth into all of the world. He affirms this in two of his letters.

Romans 10:18 (NKJV)

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,

And their words to the ends of the world.”

In fact, according to what Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, the prerequisite for the Lord’s return was already met before “the end” which happened in 70 AD!

Colossians 1:23 (NKJV)

if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Love for our Lord still demands that we take the Gospel of the Kingdom to everyone who is lost. The fact that the prerequisite for the Lord’s return has already been met should only add to the urgency with which we do missions work. Jesus could return at any time to gather those who are His elect.

The concepts of justification and peace with God are intimately tied together. After all, how would someone who is not justified and therefore an enemy of God, have peace with that same God? But how does that justification occur? It occurs by faith, which is our belief and trusting in Christ for our salvation.

Here is the way the Apostle Paul was inspired to describe it in Romans 4:1-8.

“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Later in the passage in verses 23-25, Paul summed it up this way:

“Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

With that as the background, Paul was inspired to write the following about the way that is related to justification and peace.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  Romans 5:1-2

In Israel today, there is no peace. Even on days when no warfare takes place, there is not peace. You cannot have true peace if there is the constant threat of war breaking out. This is why our relationship with God can be described as “peace”.  Due to our justification, there is no more possibility of war with God. The wrath that was due for our sins was borne by Jesus on the cross. That’s why he is called “the propitiation for our sins”. 

But many will say that it cannot be by faith alone.  Surely works must be added to it in order to receive salvation. We have to “do something” we can see to receive this salvation. But faith is not something you can see, and neither is the new birth! (John 3:3) Yet what about James 2? Doesn’t James say we are justified by faith AND works? Let’s take a look at what James says.

“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” James 2:24

But in James, the subject of salvation is not being addressed. James is talking about how faith is proven genuine in the sight of others.  Justification does not always refer to salvation. The context determines the meaning, and in this case salvation is not the subject.  Here is an example of another place in the New Testament where Jesus uses the same word in this way.

Luke 7:34-36 New King James Version (NKJV)

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a [a]winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

In this passage, wisdom is proven genuine in the sight of others by those who are following its principles. No one would say that “wisdom is declared righteous and saved by her children”. That is definitely not what Jesus was trying to say. In the same way, James is saying that others know our faith is genuine because they see it walk out in our actions.

So we have peace with God because we have been justified by faith, and also because we are no longer having sin imputed to us. Like Paul says in Romans 4:8, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”  We could never have true peace, which is the absence of the threat of war, if we are one big sin or incorrect doctrine away from losing our salvation.  That’s why it is so blessed that the Lord no longer imputes sin to our account! So if you have trusted in Christ for salvation and done what Paul said later in Romans 10:9-10, you are justified and truly have peace with God!

The Warning of Galatians: Adding On

There is a basic and critical question that every Christian needs to answer for themselves: “What am I trusting for my salvation?”

In my youth and some of my adulthood I was taught and promulgated the Five Step Plan of Salvation. What could possibly be the danger in that? Well, we are to trust solely in Jesus for our salvation, and if we overemphasize checking off the boxes in the Five Steps over faith in Jesus, we run the risk of trusting the Plan instead of the Savior! “Trust” is one of the primary meanings of “pistis”, the Greek word translated “faith”.

Let’s see what Paul taught in Galatians 5 on this subject.

(Gal 5:2-6 ESV) “I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.  3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.  4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.  5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.  6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Now many will jump to say that Paul is only talking about the Law of Moses, and they would be half right. Paul certainly has the Torah in mind, but look at the basis for his argument.  Why is it that insisting on circumcision as a condition for salvation leads to a false gospel? Because Paul says that circumcision doesn’t count for anything. The only thing that counts is “faith working through love”. Because circumcision is neither faith nor love (even though someone might endure circumcision to show his love or faith in God), it doesn’t count. As a result, it destroys faith.

Really. Period. “You who would be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.”  Is this because there is something terrible or sinful about the law? No! The Law was perfect. The reason, as stated by Paul, is that the Law is not faith in Jesus.  Paul didn’t say, “You are following the wrong law.” He said “You’re following Law rather than faith in Jesus working through love.”

Adding circumcision to faith in Jesus as a requirement of salvation damns. And that’s a false gospel, as Paul declared in Galatians 1.

So what’s the difference between requiring acapella singing or weekly communion, or a plurality of elders as a condition of salvation? Both add to faith in Jesus. Both make faith insufficient. None are faith working through love.

That is not to say that obedience and works don’t matter, but that they aren’t the path to salvation. They are, rather, evidence of salvation because they are fruit of the Spirit, which only the saved have. We should teach what we believe regarding worship or church organization. But we are not authorized to make those views conditions of salvation. They aren’t faith in Jesus working through love. They just aren’t!  The saved will inevitably seek to obey and be fully committed disciples.

They will get some of it right, and some of it wrong. Perfection will not be achieved in this lifetime, and grace more than covers our mistakes, both moral and doctrinal. Just hold to faith in Christ and let His love work in you as a fruit of the Spirit. But do not add to what is required for salvation. It is faith working through love. Period.