I am preparing for some upcoming teaching and have really started reflecting on a couple of truths. The first one is found in the statement by Christ in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Let it be known upfront that I do not affirm that Jesus meant He would build His church on Peter. Rather, I think He's referring to the truth that Peter had just professed in verse 16, "Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'." Anyway, what I want to mention is the promise that Jesus says He will build His church. This is a great promise. In a time and age when we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of ideas and gimmicks to 'build the church' or 'grow the church', I find it refreshing that Jesus didn't ask us to build the church. Jesus promised that He would build His church. There is no way to stress enough that we must rest assured that Jesus is sovereign and able to do all that He has proclaimed.
The second truth, however, helps us to see the means by which He will build His church. When you look at Matthew 28:18-20 you will read what has become known as The Great Commission. In this passage the emphasis is on making disciples of all nations. That is the command from Christ. We are called to make disciples. But doesn't that put the emphasis on us doing the work? How is it that Jesus can say He will build the church AND tell us to be the ones who go and make disciples? This question misses a very important connection. First of all, making disciples (verse 19) is rooted in the fact that Jesus has all authority (verse 18). So, Jesus has the authority to send us out to make disciples. Now, if we think that it's our going out that will enable us to grow the church, we have once again mistaken. I say that because Jesus has already stated that He would build His church, and then at the end of the Great Commission He promises that as we go and make disciples that He will be with us! We are not the ones building the church with our creative ways of reaching the culture. We are the instruments used by Christ, but He is the One building His church! Beloved, may we not ever think we can build His church. May we trust that He will build His church trough us and that we are simply called to be faithful in the proclamation of the gospel (which is how we make disciples!).
Now, more could be (and needs to be) said for what it means to 'make disciples of all nations.' For this post, however, I will mention just a couple of things. First of all, it does not mean that we need to get someone to pray a prayer. That is nowhere to be found in Scripture. Secondly, we do not need to get people to 'do' something for their salvation (in terms of any kind of work for their salvation). Finally, we do need to proclaim the gospel and call people to repent of their sins and thrust themselves completely on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. We need people to know that Christ has all authority over them. We need them to see that they've offended the Holy God of the universe. We need them to see that apart from Christ they have nothing to offer God. And we need them to see that becoming a disciple is about becoming a follower, or pupil, of Christ. That is why we teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded. He is Lord! He builds His church by His power and authority. We are simply instruments or tools in the hands of the redeemer.
Showing posts with label Great Commission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Commission. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Going to Haiti...with Christ and His Gospel
My trip to Haiti is coming up this weekend. God-willing, we'll leave VA on Friday and head to stay with my in-laws on Friday night because our plane leaves at 6:00 Saturday morning. From there we will fly to Miami and then to Santo Domingo before driving into Haiti. This week I had an interesting encounter after talking with someone about this trip. He/she looked me in the eyes and told me I was wasting my money and my time for going. He/she said I should have given that money to the Red Cross because they could have used it to do a better job than I could.
Before I go any further, this person was not a church member. However, it does represent (I think) the thinking of many people who are on the membership roles of churches all over the place. And, to be fair, if I am only going to help those who are suffering, perhaps the Red Cross (or several other organizations) could do it better. Maybe this person has a legitimate pattern of thinking. In the moment, however, I looked back at her/him and said, "except Jesus told us to go."
Now, was I wrong? I mean, Jesus didn't actually tell me to go to Haiti. Of course I was speaking generally about the command to go, but is that even the case? In the Great Commission passage it's about making disciples. The command in Matthew 28:18-20 is not "go", but it is "make disciples". So maybe this particular person was correct in saying what he/she said. It could be stated that we are called to make disciples where we are. That is certainly true. But we must also realize that the gospel is be proclaimed to all nations.
Let me get back on track here. My main point here is that if we go to Haiti (or across the street, or anywhere else in the world) with the intentions of only helping people, then there are many organizations that can do it better than we can. However, by God's grace, I have been saved and am now part of His church. And the church has been empowered to take the gospel to the nations. And not only have they been empowered and entrusted with the gospel, but they have also the promise that Christ is with them. So when I think about going to Haiti to help, I must remember that the Red Cross cannot do it better because they have not been entrusted with the gospel of grace. I wonder how many people (and churches) miss that when we involve ourselves with mercy ministry (here or abroad), that we are serving so that we might get the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are still lost in their sin. To make disciples of all nations begins with sharing the gospel in all nations. May we go forth with boldness realizing that we have both the gospel and the Christ of the gospel with us.
Before I go any further, this person was not a church member. However, it does represent (I think) the thinking of many people who are on the membership roles of churches all over the place. And, to be fair, if I am only going to help those who are suffering, perhaps the Red Cross (or several other organizations) could do it better. Maybe this person has a legitimate pattern of thinking. In the moment, however, I looked back at her/him and said, "except Jesus told us to go."
Now, was I wrong? I mean, Jesus didn't actually tell me to go to Haiti. Of course I was speaking generally about the command to go, but is that even the case? In the Great Commission passage it's about making disciples. The command in Matthew 28:18-20 is not "go", but it is "make disciples". So maybe this particular person was correct in saying what he/she said. It could be stated that we are called to make disciples where we are. That is certainly true. But we must also realize that the gospel is be proclaimed to all nations.
Let me get back on track here. My main point here is that if we go to Haiti (or across the street, or anywhere else in the world) with the intentions of only helping people, then there are many organizations that can do it better than we can. However, by God's grace, I have been saved and am now part of His church. And the church has been empowered to take the gospel to the nations. And not only have they been empowered and entrusted with the gospel, but they have also the promise that Christ is with them. So when I think about going to Haiti to help, I must remember that the Red Cross cannot do it better because they have not been entrusted with the gospel of grace. I wonder how many people (and churches) miss that when we involve ourselves with mercy ministry (here or abroad), that we are serving so that we might get the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are still lost in their sin. To make disciples of all nations begins with sharing the gospel in all nations. May we go forth with boldness realizing that we have both the gospel and the Christ of the gospel with us.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Where your Treasure is...is where your Money goes
I have been reading The Treasure Principle and it has been fantastic. I highly recommend it for every believer. It is a small, easy to read book that any and everyone can read. In the book Randy Alcorn brings out much about storing up treasure in heaven rather than treasure on earth. He talks about learning to live off a particular amount (which will vary with people) and learning to give the rest away for the Kingdom. I have been very convicted about this in my own personal life.
However, this post is geared more toward our churches. I think we must think very clearly through this as we prepare our yearly budgets. Where is the majority of your church budget? Of course, this needs to be looked at on personal, individual situations as well, but I really wonder where most of our "Great Commission" churches put their money. I have no intention (or desire) to go and look at everyone's budgets, but wherever the money is going shows what that particular body finds most important.
In the SBC there is a lot of talk about what the state conventions and the national convention puts their money towards, and there should be. They are to represent the churches who give to them. However, my guess is that they DO represent most of the churches who give to them. Maybe I'm way off here, but with the few churches that I've been familiar enough with to say this, my experience is we claim to be Great Commission churches, but we hold our money more for ourselves. I wonder, church, when we will recognize that we belong to Christ and are about His mission to make disciples of all nations.
However, this post is geared more toward our churches. I think we must think very clearly through this as we prepare our yearly budgets. Where is the majority of your church budget? Of course, this needs to be looked at on personal, individual situations as well, but I really wonder where most of our "Great Commission" churches put their money. I have no intention (or desire) to go and look at everyone's budgets, but wherever the money is going shows what that particular body finds most important.
In the SBC there is a lot of talk about what the state conventions and the national convention puts their money towards, and there should be. They are to represent the churches who give to them. However, my guess is that they DO represent most of the churches who give to them. Maybe I'm way off here, but with the few churches that I've been familiar enough with to say this, my experience is we claim to be Great Commission churches, but we hold our money more for ourselves. I wonder, church, when we will recognize that we belong to Christ and are about His mission to make disciples of all nations.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Harvest is Plentiful...
God-willing, this Sunday I will conclude our series entitled "Do We Care?" at First Baptist. My first sermon was about ministry to one another. My second sermon was about ministry to our community. This final sermon is about ministry to our world. It will have an international emphasis, but it's not limited to that. I want FBC to consider the numerous ways we can minister to those local and abroad. The several commissioning passages from Jesus make it abundantly clear that it is not an either/or mentality about who we minister to. We do not minister to those either where we are or across the nations. It is a both/and commission.
This coming Sunday (the following if we get as much snow as they're calling for) I plan to preach from Matthew 9:35-38. This is a very familiar passage for many people, especially verses 37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." There are several things to pull out from this text. For instance, we see the need to pray earnestly. It is a reliance upon God to move and to raise up people to go into His harvest. You can also see that God intends to use people to accomplish this. Those are both fantastic truths from this text. And there are others.
As I am wrapping up my preparation for this sermon, however, I thought about a precious truth of encouragement for this. I asked myself the question, "Why is the harvest plentiful?" Here is the answer I believe the Scriptures give in Revelation 5:9, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The reason the harvest is plentiful is because Jesus, through His death on the cross, through His shed blood, through His wrath bearing sacrifice, purchased a people for God. He has guaranteed through His death that people from every tribe and language and people and nation will respond in faith.
I hope to say far more than this on Sunday, but this is a precious truth. The mission is guaranteed to succeed because Christ has accomplished the success through His own blood.
This coming Sunday (the following if we get as much snow as they're calling for) I plan to preach from Matthew 9:35-38. This is a very familiar passage for many people, especially verses 37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." There are several things to pull out from this text. For instance, we see the need to pray earnestly. It is a reliance upon God to move and to raise up people to go into His harvest. You can also see that God intends to use people to accomplish this. Those are both fantastic truths from this text. And there are others.
As I am wrapping up my preparation for this sermon, however, I thought about a precious truth of encouragement for this. I asked myself the question, "Why is the harvest plentiful?" Here is the answer I believe the Scriptures give in Revelation 5:9, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." The reason the harvest is plentiful is because Jesus, through His death on the cross, through His shed blood, through His wrath bearing sacrifice, purchased a people for God. He has guaranteed through His death that people from every tribe and language and people and nation will respond in faith.
I hope to say far more than this on Sunday, but this is a precious truth. The mission is guaranteed to succeed because Christ has accomplished the success through His own blood.
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