Lee Moses
A favorite hymn of many Christians is “The Gospel is for All.” It provides a message of encouragement and exhortation to Christian duty. The basic message of the song is certainly Scriptural, as the Scriptures plainly teach that the Gospel is for all (Mark 16:15; Rom. 1:16). But there is an angle of the song that one may not typically consider while singing it. The thrust of the song’s message is on the singers’ mandate to get the Gospel to the lost; which tends to put the singer in the mindset, “The Gospel is for everyone else.” But you do well to remember through every word sung that the Gospel is for you.
If you are presently saved, the Gospel is for you. Some have tried to make a distinction between the Gospel and doctrine, saying the Gospel is for the lost while doctrine is for the saved. But the Gospel is the “form of doctrine” that one obeys to be saved from sin (Rom. 6:17; cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). The Gospel that Paul had initially preached to them was the same doctrine they needed to “keep in memory”—in mind and in practice—if they were going to remain saved.
If you have strayed from your previous salvation, the Gospel is for you. The Gospel does not only contain provisions for the initial salvation of an alien sinner. It also contains provisions for a child of God who has forsaken his salvation. Such is a very grave situation. Yet the Gospel provides reassurance: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
If you come from a clearly non-Christian or irreligious background, the Gospel is for you. When Jesus Christ commissioned His apostles to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” He was not telling them to preach the Gospel to Christians (Mark 16:15). Initially, the Gospel was preached primarily to Jews; but within a few decades, the church was comprised primarily of those who previously came from idolatrous pagan backgrounds. As Paul rejoiced of the Thessalonians, “Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (I Thessalonians 1:9). Why would the same not be true today? One can turn from Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, atheism, or any other conceivable “ism” to serve the living and true God.
If you come from a denominational background, the Gospel is for you. While most denominations express appreciation for and allegiance to the Gospel of Christ, they clearly deviate from it. If they truly adhered to the Gospel of Christ, they would be a church of Christ, not a group separate from it (Matt. 16:18; Luke 8:11). Rather than following the Gospel, denominations follow human creeds and other man made innovations. One living in a denomination is shackled by human traditions and separated from fellowship with God: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). However, no one in a man made denomination has to remain in a man made denomination. As the Scriptures exhort, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17). The Lord receives us into His church when we obey the Gospel at baptism (Acts 2:41, 47).
If you grew up hearing the Gospel but never responded, the Gospel is for you. Sometimes those who “grow up in the church” think they must forge their own paths independent of their parents’ convictions. Sometimes they question whether their belief is truly their own, or merely their parents’ belief. But there is only one correct path to take, regardless of one’s ancestry or upbringing (Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6). It is certainly true that one must believe the Gospel for himself (John 8:24; Romans 10:9-10); but everyone needs to hear the Gospel before one can believe it (Romans 10:14, 17). If one hears it when young, that is certainly not a bad thing. If one hears it from his family, that is certainly not a bad thing. Timothy learned the Scriptures from the time he was a child, and came to develop the same kind of faith that dwelt in his mother and grandmother (II Tim. 3:15; 1:5). But there was no question that Timothy’s faith was steadfast and sincere—Paul called it “unfeigned faith” (1:5). Paul said of him, “I have no man likeminded” (Philippians 2:20). It was through Timothy’s own conviction in and adherence to the Gospel that his life forged such a bold path of salvation.
If you have lived a life of egregious sin, the Gospel is for you. Saul of Tarsus seems like the most unlikely candidate ever to obey the Gospel. Not only did he oppose the Gospel, he did everything he could to destroy it (Acts 26:9; Gal. 1:23). He persecuted Christians, even heartily participating in killing them (Acts 7:58-8:1; 22:4; 26:10-11). Yet the Gospel was for him. It was this man who wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Later in life, better known as the apostle Paul, he wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). Even if you or others view yourself as the “chief of sinners,” Christ came into the world to save you.
Whoever you are, whatever your past or present situation, whatever your future plans, the Gospel is for you!
