JULY 14 &15, 2007
In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to highlight an aspect of the
Great Commission. You know that Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).
I think most of us would consider these verses to be central in any expression of our mission as a church. But, what does the Great Commission to make disciples involve? Well, there are three participles in the sentence. Christians are to make disciples by "going ...," "baptizing ...," and "teaching ...." I'll explore each of these in the next couple weeks. First, we are to make disciples while "going.' The text says "go," but the verb is not an imperative, as I said, it is a participle and can be translated, "as you are going ..." What are we to make of this? Does this grammatical construction weaken the force of the word? No. We shouldn't miss that going is an assumption. Who needs to be commanded? We should make disciples everywhere we go, anywhere we go, and when we are at home as well!
In the first century, Christians started to actually "go" to other nations. They went beyond their geographical boundaries, but they went beyond other walls as well. In the same way, we are charged to cross social, ethnic, political, cultural and linguistic barriers. We must go beyond our comfort zones. This may involve going across the street for Christ's sake. This idea of "going" should challenge our deepest definitions about what it means to be Christian. How do people recognize us? Are Christians just people who go to church? No, Christians should be recognized as those who go into the world with the good news of Jesus Christ! We are to be constantly going with God, everywhere we go!
Great Commission. You know that Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).
I think most of us would consider these verses to be central in any expression of our mission as a church. But, what does the Great Commission to make disciples involve? Well, there are three participles in the sentence. Christians are to make disciples by "going ...," "baptizing ...," and "teaching ...." I'll explore each of these in the next couple weeks. First, we are to make disciples while "going.' The text says "go," but the verb is not an imperative, as I said, it is a participle and can be translated, "as you are going ..." What are we to make of this? Does this grammatical construction weaken the force of the word? No. We shouldn't miss that going is an assumption. Who needs to be commanded? We should make disciples everywhere we go, anywhere we go, and when we are at home as well!
In the first century, Christians started to actually "go" to other nations. They went beyond their geographical boundaries, but they went beyond other walls as well. In the same way, we are charged to cross social, ethnic, political, cultural and linguistic barriers. We must go beyond our comfort zones. This may involve going across the street for Christ's sake. This idea of "going" should challenge our deepest definitions about what it means to be Christian. How do people recognize us? Are Christians just people who go to church? No, Christians should be recognized as those who go into the world with the good news of Jesus Christ! We are to be constantly going with God, everywhere we go!
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