Golden Age

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash‍ ‍

It’s the golden age right now. Right this minute.

When Peter gave his first sermon, on the day the Bible calls Pentecost, he said, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself,” (Acts 2:39 ESV).

This means there is no special status, no golden era, and no excluded community.

No special status. Peter said the promise of Jesus Christ is “for you.” Who was he talking to? Why, he was talking to killers! Jesus’ killers! “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified,” (v36). When Peter said that, in the climax of his sermon, the listeners “were cut to the heart” (v37). They asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter told them that they could repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus. Yes, even they could. Even Jesus’ killers! Jesus wasn’t spiteful. No special status required. No prior angelic goodness. Caught red-handed, you could still come to God through Jesus Christ!

No golden era. Peter said the promise was for their children. Each subsequent era was invited to Christ. We don’t have to say, “Wow, I sure wish I’d been there. It’s too bad I missed out.” Too often, we think God was only working back in our younger days. Nothing could be more incorrect. If you are alive and hearing the gospel message, God is calling now. There is no golden era as compared to this day right now. God is forgiving and saving and calling.

No excluded community. Peter said the promise was for people who were far off. How far does that mean? It means as far as you can get, whether that was the other side of the world or the most stubborn heart. The most stubbornly self-righteous and the most-stubbornly rebellious are invited to Christ. The most ignorant of the gospel and the most bored with the gospel are invited to Jesus. Nobody is so far that Jesus isn’t right there to call them.

Whatever your status, your era, or your community, it’s a good time to find Jesus. Whatever their status, era, or community, it’s a good time to tell someone about Jesus. It’s the golden age right now, right this minute, because Jesus is here in our midst.