The Great Commission

 A preacher saw a friend at a workshop and asked, “Can you keep a secret?” The friend answered, “Yes. But the people I tell can’t.” People sometimes seem bent on telling things they should keep secret and keeping secret things they should be telling. The Bible passage known as “The Great Commission” makes it clear Jesus wants His church to be in the talking and telling business! In Matthew 28:18-20 that commission includes this directive –“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (King James Version). The New King James Version and other more recent translations say, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” Of course, to make disciples requires teaching. Mark’s parallel account of the commission at Mark 16:15 leaves no room for doubt that we have to tell he gospel – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Francis of Assisi famously said, “Preach the gospel all the time. When necessary, use words.” Christians certainly do preach Christ with their lives, but the Great Commission makes clear we must get around to preaching it with our lips, too. In the words of Romans 10:17, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When the apostle Peter rehearsed the conversion of the Gentile centurion Cornelius and his household (which occurred in Acts 10), he told some fellow-Jews in Acts 11:14 that Cornelius had seen a vision and that a man named Peter would come and “tell you words by which you and your household will be saved.” Cornelius was earlier described as a man of sterling character (Acts 10:1- 2), but he was not saved until Peter came and taught him the gospel! Peter spoke words that meant the difference in heaven and hell for Cornelius and his family and friends. You can read the words Peter preached that saved Cornelius in Acts 10:34-48. They included the command to be baptized in water (Acts 10:47-48) – a command enjoined by Jesus in the Great Commission itself (Matthew 28:19b; Mark 16:16). The gospel is God’s power to save the soul (Romans 1:16) – and, bless our hearts, taking that gospel to lost people is the main thing Christ desires His church to do! The Great Commission includes a command for saints to tell the gospel. And it includes a command for sinners to believe that gospel and be baptized in order to be saved. As Acts 2:38 says, “repent and be baptized for the remission[forgiveness] of sins.” And in the words of Acts 22:16 (spoken to a believer who had prayed for three days [Acts 9:3-9]), “And now, why are you waiting? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Those words still save souls today when saints preach and when sinners obey!

 Whether Christians, preachers and congregations ever get around to it or not, the church’s mission is clearly defined. As John R. W. Stott wrote, “This [the Great Commission] is a very comprehensive com- mission. It represents Christ’s standing orders for His church. Unfortunately, many churches . . . have to a large extent neglected it. congregations and clergy seem committed to maintenance, not mission” (The Message of Matthew, p 323). The cross reminds us Christ was committed to His mission to seek and save the lost. God help His church have a rebirth of commitment to that same mission, not just maintenance.

Dan Gulley