Category: New Testament & Psalms 2019

“Notice that the passage I quoted above is what we call the “Great Commission.” What is the motivation for us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, et cetera?” It is that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to our Lord and he promises in v20 to always be with us to the end of the age. We do not make the Great Commission work. We do not save people from there sins. We do not provide the means of salvation to anyone. No, we obey what our Lord commands here and he his with is in the midst of it and it is him working through that that good works are done.”

Mike, good point. I actually find the Old KJV captures the passage best. As you look at v19 we are called to go and teach….it’s not us who make disciples, it’s God who does that. But we are part of his means.

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

BTW I always like to examine also the Luke 24:44+ verses as part of the context of the commission Jesus gave to the church. There one sees the emphasis on understanding the Scriptures quite clearly.

Mike, I found the article insightful, and the comments equally so. You really hit a soft spot here. I live in an off and on want to be church like that. The current model is on Service, others call it Missional…the modern definition. What I do observe is that in these churches there is a good deal of prayer effort and good intentions. But often the seminary training or conference driven models, or even “managerial” consultant influence dominates the decisions. And of course numbers do matter: whether to reach the so call “unchurched” or hold on to the “heavy” givers…..nobody really wants to drive them out. And more are always desired.

And often these churches actually become like clubs with member benefits, of friends and activities that are hard to leave behind, even if one finds that small Bible church not too far away. I know of one about 30 minutes away, but they are limited in supply….and almost impossible to influence people to check it out.

Mike makes a good point here, but this remains difficult to communicate.

“This love for one another is a description of our Christian fellowship. It is a consequence of being truly born of God. Those who claim to be Christians, but exclude the brethren who are not ecumenical, political, or liberal enough fail this test. With whom do we fellowship here? Is it all professing believers? No, it is those who are born of the same spirit as us. We can discern the apostasy and the disingenuousness in those who refuse to repent when they are confronted. No, that is not who John is talking about. We are to love and fellowship with God’s people, those born of the Spirit like us. They will reflect the same love as us and we will see it being manifest amongst us. Also, we will know those not born of this spirit who will have a huge problem with our walk on the narrow path of obedience rather than the broad way of tolerance and ecumenicalism. Those professing Christians who demand tolerance for the ways of the world and ecumenicalism we rebuke. We tell them the truth, but they prove through their worldliness and refusal to repent that they are disingenuous so we do not call them “brethren.””