One of those uncomfortable topics is the anger and wrath of God towards sin. We get uncomfortable when we discuss the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh during the time of the Exodus, or the Exile of Israel from the promised land to Babylonian captivity. When a doubting world asks about the Canaanite conquest, we become silent. We might get uncomfortable when we read about a man who knew no sin and yet he was suffering and ultimately was punished for crimes which he did not himself commit.

When we think of the gospel going out into the world there are a great many things that come to mind. Missions efforts, evangelistic crusades, interpersonal conversations about Jesus, baptisms, testimonies, transformed lives, church plants, sermons, bible translation, and more. Often when we think of the gospel spreading, we think in the present sense. We consider the present global spiritual landscape and then carry on with that in mind. This is a good thing and is in no way worthy of critique. The apostles were dedicated in their lives (during what was their time in the “present”) to the spread of the gospel widely. They traveled afar, and had gospel conversations with people from dozens of cultures, lands, and languages.