Bible Verse of the Day Wednesday October 27th 2021

Acts 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

This verse of scripture comes from an account of Peter's visit to the house of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion in Caesarea. Cornelius had received a visit from an Angel of the Lord with instructions to send for Peter, who himself had just had a visit from the risen Christ Jesus and instructed that the food restrictions of the Jewish people were no longer in effect. Thus, the representatives of Cornelius came to Peter with an invitation to visit Cornelius shortly after Peter's vision. Although this encounter was not a chance meeting, it was strategically planned out by God so that Peter and the world would know the Gospel of Christ Jesus was for all people (Galatians 3:28; Acts 10:34; John 3:16).

When Peter tells us that Christ Jesus commanded us to preach the truth of the Gospel, he was not just referring to the pastors and teachers because all followers and believers in Christ Jesus are ministers of the Gospel. When Jesus spoke His last words on this earth (Acts 1:8) and told us to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, he meant all who profess Him as their Lord and Savior.

The day is coming, which is imminent, that Christ Jesus will judge the living and the dead, the ones who believe in Christ Jesus and the unbelievers as well. As His children, believers, and followers of Christ Jesus, He instructs us to teach this to the world. The Judgment of the dead is those that do not have Christ Jesus in their lives as their Lord and Savior, referring to the spiritually dead. The Judgment of the living is the ones that have put their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the spiritually alive. Many do not speak of the principle of Judgment, but it is central in the Word of God. Father God has appointed the Son, Jesus, to judge the world and hold all accountable for their actions.

This Judgment is why all followers and believers in Christ Jesus must tell the world of the great Love of God and His grace and mercy. Furthermore, to point the world to the Cross of Calvary, where the world's sins have been covered, paid for by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. We are to teach the world that to miss the Judgment of the dead, which is an eternity apart from God in an awful place called Hell, all that is required is answering the knock on our door by Christ Jesus (Revelation 3:20).