Cutting The Great Commission Short- Guest Post by Kreig Durham

A note from Curtis: My first week in college I was scared and lonely. I didn't know anyone on campus and my family was all the way on the other end of the country. On the bus ride to a Dodgers game, I sat with my roommate and we got into a fun conversation. A guy in the row in front of us turned around and started talking with us. He was funny and friendly. We ended up spending the entire time at the game together, and long story short, he became my best friend. His name is Kreig Durham. In the future, I plan on having more guest writers on my blog, but I decided that the first person to have should be my best friend. Kreig is very intelligent, and in his writing he gives insight that others normally do not see. I believe this post will be a blessing to you. If you enjoy his writing, stop by his blog at assortedbagofcandy.wordpress.com. Happy reading!

Matthew 28:18-20, "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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." 

Jesus gave the church marching orders. He gave us a mission. He gave us a Great Commission. We've all heard many excellent messages about how we must go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). Many people have been burdened to share the message of the Gospel by sermons from the passages containing the Great Commission. It's an excellent truth that we all need to follow better!

But are we doing all of it?

That is to say, are we fully obeying the Great Commission, or are we just focusing on part of it? I would go so far as to say that many churches are focusing on the "preach the gospel" part, to the neglect of the much larger plan laid out by Jesus.

The Great Commission doesn't end after someone receives Jesus.

In Matthew 28, we find Jesus giving a detailed plan for the church. It was the plan which they were to be consumed in doing. In fact, it is the entire mission of the church. And it includes so much more than just seeing people believe on Jesus Christ. Don't misunderstand, we should strive to introduce as many people as possible to the Savior!

But it doesn't end there. When Jesus told us in Matthew 28 to "teach all nations," the words we've translated into English mean not just to teach, but to make disciples. Then we are to baptize those we are making into disciples, which means they've come to the place where they want to publicly identify with Jesus and the church. Then we are to continue to teach those disciples everything God has commanded us.

The Great Commission is a lifestyle, not a program.

So what does "making disciples" mean, really? When you read the Gospel accounts, you find different groups of people following Jesus around for different reason. The Pharisees, scribes, and Saducees followed Him around to defame Him. The multitudes follow Jesus to experience His miracles and hear His revolutionary teaching. But the disciples followed Him to become more like Him. They wanted to learn from Him. They wanted to be in on everything Jesus had for them. They weren't perfect, and they certainly weren't always faithful. The disciples were, however, close to Jesus. And because of this closeness, this committedness to Jesus, they were changed.

Disciples aren't just passive consumers, nor are they skeptics always trying to find fault. Disciples don't just want to be near Jesus. They want to be with Jesus. To be a disciples, you must forsake your way, your will, and follow Jesus, wherever He goes. For the church to fulfill the Great Commission, it has to make disciples. Making disciples means bringing those who have accepted Christ from being newborns in Christ to being maturing, committed followers of Christ. And the only way to do this is by making it our lifestyle. A passing interest will not bring people along the path of discipleship— it has to be a fully integrated lifestyle of teaching new Christians to become mature believers.

When we cut the Great Commission short, we endanger baby believers.

Ephesians 4:14 explains, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" Baby Christians, those who are new in the faith or just very immature in their faith, are more easily deceive by false teachers who seem to have the truth. Without the strong support of a church that is constantly making disciples (not just converts), they will be eaten alive spiritually!

Imagine a newborn baby, so small, so defenseless, so needy. He's so young and small that he needs every single one of his needs met by someone else. He is totally incapable of taking care of himself, and will be for quite a while. He needs to be cared for, watched over, protected, taught, and led by people who will not deceive him or hurt him. Someday he will be old enough and mature enough to care for himself. But right now he's totally and completely dependent on others.

Now imagine that this baby's mother abandons him mere days after he is born into this world. What do you think his chances of survival are? Now imagine we aren't talking about a literal baby, but a new believer. Imagine his church is very good at preaching the Gospel, but have no plan for people after they meet the Savior. What do you think will happen to these new Christians?

The Great Commission is everyone's job.

In order for this all to come together, for the whole mission of the church to be fulfilled, we have to remember that the pastor isn't the only one responsible to obey it. The church is a body. The church is people. Everyone, no matter their place in the church, must choose to obey the marching orders given by Jesus.

Otherwise we'll just continue to cut the Great Commission short.

Additional note from Curtis: Stay tuned for a new series coming soon. It's called Lessons I Learned from My Dad. There are a lot of interesting things that I really would like to talk about.