Is the Forerunner Message a Gospel Message?

The heart of a forerunner is burdened with discerning what is transpiring in our culture and warning others from a biblical perspective; however, the heart of a forerunner is not content merely to sound the alarm. A forerunner is also burdened with seeing the systemic change in both individuals and society that Jesus had in mind when He said, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matt. 28:19–20a, NLT).

Jesus’ great commission frames our Christian responsibility and is at the heart of our forerunner mission. Jesus has called us to make new disciples and to teach them to obey God, thus our task, as forerunners, of bringing people’s thinking on moral matters into conformity with God’s instructions is fundamentally a gospel mission.

Never did Jesus confine our gospel message to a proclamation of His death, burial, and resurrection. Instead, we apply this proclamation. We declare the risen Jesus to be our rightful Lord who has the authority to determine how we ought to live our lives—both privately and publicly. Thus, our warning and our call to respond in faith are both firmly rooted in our gospel mission.

This article comes from Heart of a Forerunner: How to Be a Relevant and Influential Voice in a Wayward Nation.