I heard a man recently say that it may be that God has blessed us with all this technology at a time when the world's population is at its highest. He was specifically talking about the use of social media, which includes Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and others. He said that Christians can use this form of communication and reach a whole lot of people with the saving gospel of Christ. I totally agree with him as it is reported that the number of users of these networks is in the billions.
There is no doubt that some people use these networks for evil, but it can also be used for good. Imagine sharing a video on your Facebook page from the Gospel Broadcasting Network, such as Preaching the Gospel by brother Cliff Goodwin, and your old high school buddy who is not a Christian watches it on his lunch break. You may have invited him to worship before and he declined. But now he is able to hear the truth, the seed is planted, and he might start to seriously think about his eternal destiny. Or perhaps another scenario happens in which you share this video publicly, and someone watches it whom you do not know. Now you have gotten into a total stranger's house with the gospel!
God has blessed the age in which we live with certain technology. This age has been deemed "the information age." At the click of a button, people have access to vast amounts of information that their grandparents could not fathom. Why not use this technology as another way to further the gospel? The apostle Paul asked for prayers from the Thessalonians, specifically writing, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you (2 Thessalonians 3:1 NKJV). I don't think the apostle had Facebook in mind when he wrote these inspired words, but living in this age, that is one of the things I think of when contemplating this verse. Bauer's lexicon defines "run" as to proceed quickly and without restraint.
There have been three ages in which people have lived from the beginning: the Patriarchal Age in which the fathers of each family administered worship to God; the Mosaic Age in which God made a covenant with the Hebrews which terminated at the cross, and the Christian Age under which all live today, of which the New Testament is our authority and by which we will be judged (cf. John 12:48). What is God's will when it comes to the teaching of the gospel of Christ? [He] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). The Lord is... not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b).
What must we do then to do the Lord's will? Teach the gospel, for that is the only way for others to be saved and not perish in a burning eternal hell. When Paul wrote this statement, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans 1:16), he previously stated that he was under obligation to everyone to tell them about Jesus (v. 14). Why? Because Jesus had saved him and entrusted him with the gospel so that Paul could teach others and have the same opportunity to be saved from their sins. How about us? Have we been saved by Jesus? Do we have His word in our possession? Then are we also under obligation to teach others? Think about it, and ponder on the verse found at 2 Timothy 2:2.
Brotherly, Jamie
