What Future for an Apologetics Ministry in 2021?
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:6-14 (ESV)
With the passing of a year that has been...interesting, everyone wants to know what awaits us in 2021. Things that seemed permanent have proven to be fleeting and our seemingly stable world has been deeply shaken.
But this should be no surprise. Jesus told us that the character of the Church Age would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecutions… But of all these things that seem to signify the end of the world, Jesus said, "This must take place, but the end is not yet."
All man's kingdoms will fall. All man's plans will come to an end. As the psalmist says:
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.Psalm 33:10-11 (ESV)
What continues throughout this age of difficulties - the Lord's plan that must succeed before the world can end - is the proclamation of the gospel to every people in the world. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
In 2021 God's program has not changed. We will persevere in proclaiming freedom to the captives of sin (Luke 4:18), in contending for the true faith (Jude 3), in pleading with every person to be reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:20). And so I'm excited about this new year, to seize every opportunity to proclaim, explain and defend the good news of Jesus Christ. As you know, we are preparing to go to France with the goal of establishing an apologetic ministry for college students, and while pursuing this, it's my ambition to keep on proclaiming through blogs, podcasts, and videos.
It's always the right season for an apologetics ministry, and so I would like to take this moment to invite you to participate in ours. Would you consider supporting us in this mission through prayer or financially? With one heart let's pursue God's saving mission in this fallen world.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
2 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV)
Photo by Ximonic, Simo Räsänen – Own work, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12100926