God’s covenant with Abraham was intended to bring blessings to all the families of the earth. God told Abraham to leave his country and go to a land where he would make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:1-2), but that was not the ultimate goal that God was working toward. God wanted Abraham and his descendants to be a blessing to others. God said, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). “This promise to Abraham is one of the most significant passages in the entire Bible. It points ultimately to the redemption of the whole world. Abraham’s family became a divinely appointed channel through which blessing would come to all men” (note on Genesis 12:1-3).

The nation of Israel did not fulfill the purpose that God intended for them after the people were given the land that was promised to Abraham. Instead of becoming a shining light that drew the nations around them to God, the people of Israel became corrupt and abandoned God, worshipping idols and following the evil practices of the surrounding nations. God told the people of Judah through the prophet Ezekiel, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring” (Ezekiel 23:35). Jerusalem was destroyed a short while later and the people taken into captivity in Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 24:1-2).

After Jesus died and was resurrected, the Apostle Paul was tasked with taking the good news of salvation to the Gentiles. When he shared his testimony with the Jews who were trying to kill him in Jerusalem, Paul made it clear to them that he had been sent to the Gentiles because the Jews had rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ (Acts 22:18-21). In Acts 22:22, Luke recorded the Jews reaction to Paul’s statement that he had been sent to the Gentiles. Luke said, “Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”

The Jews adamant refusal to accept their responsibility for spreading the gospel to the world around them made it necessary for Paul to work independently, as well as, to rely on Gentile converts like Silas and Timothy to carry on his work after he was executed. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul talked about Christ coming to save sinners and the need for intercession on behalf of all people (1 Timothy 1:12-16; 2:1). Paul said, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). The Greek word that is translated all people, anthropos (anthˊ-ro-pos) refers to the human race and is spoken in reference to a person’s human nature, “a human being, a mortal” (G444).

The truth that God wanted every human being to come to the knowledge of was identified by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5-6:

There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. (NLT)

Paul referred to this truth as “the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:6). The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus proved that God wanted everyone to be saved. The only thing that is necessary for a person to do in order to receive the gift of salvation is to believe this truth. Each person must do that at some point in his or her lifetime.

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “This is what the Lord says: ‘At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you’” (Isaiah 49:8. NLT). Paul repeated this statement in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6:2) and added, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:3). Paul believed now is the proper time for anyone who believes that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for their sins to receive the gift of salvation. If you have never taken that important first step of faith by placing your trust in Christ, I encourage you to follow Paul’s advice and do it now.