Bible Studies

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Has the Great Commission become the Great Omission?

Part One

Scripture Reference:

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on Earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28: 18 - 20 NASB)."

These marching orders not only told His Church what to do, but how (by teaching) to do it. It's when the Church gets its priorities mixed up, or worse, assumes functions that God never gave it to do, that she (His bride) gets herself in trouble.

The “all” of Matt. 28: 20 includes the Gospel Message encapsulated in John 3:16 & 18, as well as the many principles that He taught during His three-year ministry.

There were 613 ways to sin by breaking The Law recorded in the Old Testament, not to mention all the precepts and traditions of men (Mark 7: 7, 8) that the religious authority of that day had added to them.

There are 300+ ways to sin recorded in the New Testament. Again, there are Church Age precepts and traditions of men that religious authority has added to them, as well.

But as Jesus pointed out in Matt. 22: 36 – 40, if one loves God and loves his neighbor as he loves himself, one will find that he will be in compliance with all that God commands.

The one who loves his neighbor is the one who lives by the Golden rule (Luke 6: 31).

To whom was the job of advancing the Great Commission given?

In Matthew 16: 18-20, we read where the Lord Jesus Christ gave Peter the "keys to the kingdom."

The "keys to the kingdom" is the Gospel Message. Being given the keys to the kingdom carries with it the responsibility to preserve its integrity and the obligation to proclaim it.

The binding and the loosening being spoken of Matt. 16: 19 has to do with the eternal blessings (John 3: 16) or consequences (Rev. 20: 15) regarding the presentation, acceptance, and/or the rejection of the Gospel Message.

In Matthew 28: 18-20, we see the Great Commission being extended to include the eleven remaining disciples (apostles), and via discipleship, to every born again believer of the Church Age.

Participating in executing the Great Commission is what the long-term objective of the post (after) salvation spiritual life of discipleship is all about.


The Two Target Groups

The Great Commission identifies two different groups of people or target groups with whom the Church was/is commanded (not an option) to embrace.

Jesus taught that if someone loves Him, they will obey His commands (John 14: 15). What better place for the Church to demonstrate her obedience than by obeying the commands of the Great Commission and do the primary job that it was given to do.

The Church Age began at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem following the Ascension (Acts 1: 9) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just before ascending He issued His marching orders (the Great Commission) to the Church that was about to be established.

The Church Age, but not the Church, comes to it’s end (Matt. 24: 14) when what theologians call the Rapture (1Thess. 4: 16, 17) takes place. Until this end takes place, the Church that God designed has its commissioned work to do.

The first target group that the Church was commanded to embrace involves of every Church Age member of the human race after each one reaches the age/stage of moral accountability.

Every soul since the Church was established in 33-34 AD is born physically into the Church Age, but is not a member of the Church that God designed until and unless he is born again.

Many religious persons take the position that one should not change the religious status into which he/she was born. No one is a born anything in the spiritual realm.

What we are born into is spiritual death, separated from God. The last thing one should want to do is to leave this world the same way they entered, being separated from God.

Most of the world’s population is individually connected to one form or another of religion or religious beliefs (Psalms 96:5). Most of the world’s population engages in some form of good deeds. Most of the world’s population believes that it is their religious activities and good deeds that will save them from Hell, and or entitle them to divine blessings.

Most who claim to be Christians believe that their chosen denomination or non-denominational church is “the” Church that God designed.

The truth is that if the Rapture were to take place during a worship service throughout the Christian Community of our day, many (Matt. 7: 13, 14) of those present at the pulpit and seated in the pews would be among those left behind when the Church that God designed is raptured away.

In every congregation, there are those who have been born again, and those who have not, even though virtually all of them have gone through or engage in the same religious activities.

The Church that God designed is not a building. It is made up of the souls of those who have been born again. The Church that God designed can be found inside and outside of where the Christians Community gathers together.

There are no denominational or family-coverage plans available. Eternal life is given to individuals, if and when they, as individuals, are born again.

No amount of man-made religion, rituals, or good deeds has ever generated as much as one second of eternal life. If such things were sufficient to obtain, retain, or regain eternal life, then for what purpose was Christ crucified? If the atoning work was “finished (John 19: 30 NASB)” on the cross, as Jesus said it was, then what is the source of all these religious traditions of men, and what purpose do they serve?

What is Jesus going to say to those who base their salvation on Christ and Christ alone? Is He going to say, “Sorry, but you had too much faith in Me?” Would He not be more likely to ask the “religious” one’s, “Why didn't you believe that faith in what I did on the cross was enough to save you?

God desires that all men be saved (1Tim. 2: 4), but Matt. 7: 14, and Rev. 20: 15 clearly teach that this is NOT going to be the case. Some interpret Isa. 5:14 to mean that Hell was expanded to accommodate the expected crowd.

The Rev. 20: 15 NASB “lake of fire” will be the eternal destiny of many individuals who were religious and did many good deeds. Not because they were not as relatively good as everyone else, or because they had been relatively more evil than anyone else (James 2: 10), but because they rejected the Gospel Message (John 3: 5, 7, 16, 18/Rev. 20: 15).

As each soul reaches the age/stage of moral accountability, the Church that God designed is commissioned to present him/her with the unadulterated Gospel Message. The unadulterated Gospel Message does not bring the traditions of men into the picture.

Religious rituals that involve activities in which an individual has no understanding about what is taking place, run contrary to God’s plan of salvation that requires a conscious act of positive volition.

There is nothing wrong with parents, God-parents, or local congregations making public vows to God regarding the raising of a newborn baby, but the salvation of any soul is determined by the choice that each soul makes for him/herself when presented with the Gospel Message.

Keep in mind that each and every born again believer is called to become an ambassador (2Cor. 5: 20) of Christ.

All such ambassadors can be used of God at any time and in any place to evangelize (present the Gospel Message) to an unbeliever and/or to edify (present Biblical principles) fellow believers. The “baptism” that identifies (Eph. 4: 30) a saved soul as a child of God is the Work of God the Holy Spirit. This baptism takes place at the moment of salvation and does not involve human clergy.

Every person whose baptism in/with water during the Church Age that was recorded in Scripture took place AFTER the individual had already been saved.

2Sam.12: 23 alludes to the eternal destiny of a soul that departs this Earth before reaching the age or stage of moral accountability. David was fully convinced that he (David) was going to *Paradise when he died, and he would be with his departed child at that time.

*Paradise was a section of Hades, aka the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16: 22), where the departed souls of the Old Testament faithful went prior to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. While on the cross, Jesus spoke of this same Paradise (Luke 23: 43).

Every soul that God creates is given the concept of eternity (Eccl. 3: 11). Rejection of this given knowledge is what leads to atheism.

Most individuals believe that “a” god exists, but largely disagree about who the true God/god is.

Neither Judaism nor has Biblical Christianity ever been the choice of the majority of the world’s population. If fact, there are varying degrees of Biblical Christianity found within the various denominations WITHIN the Christian Community at large.

Most of the world’s population agree that salvation (going to Heaven) is the earned by engaging in religious activities and good deeds, but Scripture (Eph. 2: 8) says otherwise.

Many of the world’s population believe that we all worship the same God/god, but call Him by different names. Scripture (Psalms 96: 5/Deut. 32: 16: 17) says otherwise.

Human viewpoint and Man-made religion promote the concept that there are many ways and/or requirements to enter Heaven. Scripture endorses one way (John 14: 6), and one requirement (John 3: 5, 16).

The concept of securing/retaining salvation through religious rituals, good behavior, and/or good deeds vs. faith and faith in the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ is what separates Biblical Christianity from many “Christian” religions. It is what separates Biblical Christianity from all other religions (Psalms 96: 5) of the world.

*The phrase “Christian religions is actually an oxymoron.

Q. How so?
A. Genuine Christianity and Man-made Religion do not mix.

Christian Religion is all that man tries to do make and/or to keep himself right with the God of the Bible in order to receive divine blessings here on Earth and in the life to come, while avoiding Hell.

On the other hand, Biblical Christianity is a matter of placing one's full trust and confidence in what God has done, God is doing, and what God has in store for the *people of faith, now in for all of eternity to come. The *people of faith are those who have been born again.

Scripture teaches that there is a difference between believing that God exists, and being saved by believing in God’s plan of salvation revealed in the Gospel Message. The devil (Job 1: 6, 7) knows and the demons (James 2: 19) believe in the “existence” of God.

I believe that the unpardonable sin of disbelief is committed by those who hear the Gospel Message and then choose to reject it. The eternal consequence of those who commit this sin is made clear in Rev. 20: 15.

The same Gospel Message that assures believers of eternal life assures unbelievers of eternal condemnation.

Church Age believers who take the position that the spiritual status and/or the spiritual well-being of others is none of their business would be well-advised to take another look at Matthew 28: 19, 20 and Ezekiel 33: 6.

I believe that God the Holy Spirit (Heb. 3: 15) sets the stage for the presentation of the Gospel Message to unbelievers.

Human effort, independent of God, that attempts to evangelize a soul that God has not prepared to be presented with the Gospel Message will prove to be an act of futility.

To be continued…

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