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The Great Commission


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What is the Great Commission? And how do we respond to it?

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

How are we to make disciples of Jesus? The first part of Matthew 28:19-20 deals with leading others to salvation (that is how they come to be "baptized" into the Trinity); the second part is leading them forward in Christ once they belong to Christ.  Verse 20 explains to us that this is done "by" *teaching them*.  After all, a [disciple] ("mathetes") is a "learner" and an adherent of the truth which the teacher is teaching. Jesus is our Teacher and the Gospel, the entire realm of all of God's truth about the Kingdom contained in all scripture, is what we are supposed to learn, not merely in an academic way, but in a deep and intrinsic way, believing it through the ministry of the Spirit, living it,  and helping others to do the same through the proper function of our individual spiritual gifts.  Much damage has been done to this passage by those who have a false view of what "discipleship" is (generally it involves some "teacher" or "mentor" taking away one's free will which is absolutely anathema to genuine Christianity). This passage is completely consistent with all other scripture which makes it our mandate as Christians to grow spiritually, and then to help others to do likewise once we become spiritually mature and come into the full function of our own particular gifts.

Not everyone is called to be a missionary, but all believers are called to spread the truth of the Word of God -- and to teach all nations ("ethnos" or nationalities; races, etc.). Those who have made it clear that they are not willing to listen to our words of truth and want no more part of them are not going to be persuaded by us getting more aggressive. That is the very definition of casting pearls before swine -- and we know what the outcome of that ill-advised procedure is.  So we ought to take care not to allow ourselves to be trampled, but keep on praying.  What we cannot do, the Lord can surely do.  He knows very well how to get a wayward believer's attention -- and He will, at just the right time and in just the right way. There is not much more we can do beyond this point, except to keep praying. 

God Bless!

 

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My apologies, Jordan. The Lord have kept me extremely busy ministering to so many loved ones who are literally on the brink of Eternity. There have also been those whom I have placed in my care (gave them a place to stay and food to eat) that have tried to murder me to support their sinful habits. One example is of a man who at one week gave off the appearance of being "godly" -- and the next week or so they became an enraged, demon possessed man. The Lord had to "supernaturally" remove an enormous knife from the clutches of a supposed "born-again" believer in my care who tried to murder me when he came to me drunk after going for a long walk.  I had to physically restrain him and throw him out of my house, and come at him with a wooden rod that just so happened to be in front of my door as if placed there by God. . . and so he fled like a coward after he saw me coming at him.  I still pray for this man because I never give up hope on individuals regardless of how vile we may think that they are. We know that Christ came into this world for sinners like us; and that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds -- so we continue to pray for these folks!

God Bless!

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