With seven plus billion people on planet earth, the relationship between each individual and God is different depending on the levels of maturity and obedience between that person and Him. We are not all simply saved or not, although that is the basic division.
The human race begins at the point called the “sea of humanity” where the Natural Law governs. Isaiah says,
Isaiah 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Isaiah 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
The symbol of waters and the sea is consistent in both Old and New Testaments. This makes sense because we know that water is the original element out of which God made everything. It should come as no surprise that we find water on distant planets, even dead ones, since this is the original building block of the universe.
Your Path to the Kingdom
The one constant for all men is that they are given a “measure of faith” as in
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
This measure gives each person the capacity for responding to God as He is presented to them individually. So God can say that man is “without excuse.”
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
This is just enough information to permit God to save them if they respond, but it leads to nothing more.
A Chosen People
The chart does not leave humankind in this state. God selected a Chosen People out of the sea of humanity in which to deposit his truths and programs. He did this based on the response of Abraham, the first man who realized that the God of creation was an intelligent being, not an idol made with clay or wood, or angelic being, both good and evil, which was the god-choice of all other ethnic groups. This group is the Jews, an ancient people of the Middle East. No matter where you start, you are called by God at that point.
Servants
Out of the huge family of Abraham that moved to Egypt came the Hebrew people who were miraculously saved from slavery and sent to the Eastern desert to learn the ways of God. For several thousand years they lived and disobeyed the Law and the prophets teaching rules for marriage, divorce, civil law, worship and service. Moses, representing the law, was the leader.
This level is called Servants. They settled in their promised land and just generally messed up. More importantly they did not fulfill the commission God gave them to evangelize the rest of the world. Just the opposite. Because of continued persecution which continues until this day, they cut themselves off more and more.
Friends
Into this came the savior, Jesus whose death freed them from the command to save their souls by way of legal restrictions and commandments and permitted a forgiven people to work in concert with God to evangelize of the world. So Jesus could tell them.
John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Based of the crucifixion of Jesus, this way was opened to his believers to evangelize the whole wold which is occurring now. So the Church Age began. That age is now coming to an end and the people of God move into the Kingdom Age.
The Path to Intimacy
For individuals however, the closer relationship to Christ is always available. The steps shown on the graph above are based on commitment, dedication and obedience. “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus.”
Its true. From here the individual, depending on the seriousness of his quest for a personal relationship with God, moves from the position of friend, to the title Sons. Sons is not a reference to the gender of any person At the kingdom level everyone is equal.
Life in the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is not a place in the natural but in the spiritual.
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
You can have righteousness, peace and joy anywhere, anytime. It is not confined to this world or to the next. And it is available to all.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
You will know you have entered the Kingdom when the outside of people is of no more concern to you or them.
Children, according to Jesus, are already in the kingdom and enjoy it for a while, until they mature.
Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
The Kingdom people are a Little Flock, their land is spiritual not physical. Out of this group comes the five virgins and finally the Bride of Christ. Large number of believers today are quite satisfied with sitting in church, or not, and being content with a future life in heaven, but for those who want to know a personal Jesus the steps into his presence are clearly given in the scriptures. After salvation holiness, then learning the Bible, increasing faith, entering into spiritual warfare and learning to rule oneself and the enemy and the enemy’s kingdom – all ahead of the person eager to see His Face.
The future is yours.
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Recent data on worldwide evangelism. Christianity long ago stopped being
“white.”
See also: Convert to Christianity and List of people who converted to Christianity
- Pew Research estimates that 40 million people are expected to convert to Christianity between 2010–2050, and 106 million people are expected to leave Christianity during that period (resulting in a net loss of 66 million).[3] This is in contrast to most other religions, including Islam and Hinduism, where the number converting in is roughly similar to the number converting out.[3]
- According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, approximately 2.7 million people convert to Christianity annually from another religion, with Christianity ranking first in net gains through religious conversion.[10]
- According to “The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion” between 1990-2000, approximately 1.9 million people converted to Christianity from another religion, with Christianity ranking first in net gains through religious conversion.[5]
- According to “The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion”, in mid-2005 approximately 15.5 million convert to Christianity annually from another religion, approximately 11.7 million leave Christianity annually, and most of them become irreligious, resulting in a net gain of 3.8 million.[6]
- Studies estimate significantly more people have converted from Islam to Christianity in the 21st century than at any other point in Islamic history.[11] Conversion to Christianity has also been well documented, and reports estimate that hundreds of thousands of Muslims convert to Christianity annually. Significant numbers of Muslim converts to Christianity can be found in Afghanistan, Albania,[12] Azerbaijan,[13][14] Algeria,[15] Belgium,[16] Bulgaria,[17][18] France,[19] Germany,[20] Indonesia,[21] Iran,[22][23][24][25] Kazakhstan,[26] Kyrgyzstan,[27] Malaysia,[28] Morocco,[29][30] Netherlands,[31] Russia,[32] Saudi Arabia,[33] Tunisia,[34] Turkey,[35][36][37][38] Kosovo,[39] The United States[40] and Central Asia etc.[41][42] Many of the Muslims who convert to Christianity face social rejection or imprisonment and sometimes murder or penalty, for becoming Christians.[43]
- Data from the Pew Research Center show that, as of 2013, about 1.6 million adult American Jews identify themselves as Christians; most are Protestant.[44][45][46] According to the same data, most of this group were raised as Jews or are Jews by ancestry.[45] Data from 2013, show that 64,000 Argentine Jews identify themselves as Christians.[47] According to 2012 study 17% of Jews in Russia identify themselves as Christians.[48][49]
- Conversion into Christianity has significantly increased among Korean,[50] Chinese,[51] and Japanese in the United States.[52] In 2012, the percentage of Christians in these communities were 71%, 30% and 37% respectively.[53]
- Due to conversion, the number of Chinese Christians has increased significantly; from 4 million before 1949 to 67 million in 2010.[54][55]
- Due to conversion, Christianity has grown in South Korea, from 2.0% in 1945[56] to 29.3% in 2010.[54]