The Great Commission is NOT simply Doctrine

Hi Everyone,
Happy new year!

.Hi Everyone,

Happy new year!

 

So let us start the new year with a Gospel-centered conversation.

 

I once heard a great sermon, but I noticed the teacher articulated the great commission as doctrine. Doctrines are disputable ideologies based on belief. In Christianity, a healthy doctrine is based on the exegesis of scripture. Some things in scripture cannot be considered simply a doctrine, such as the Gospel. To call the Gospel a doctrine removes it from its intrinsic factual foundation and makes it a disputable concept. The Great Commission is in the same boat as the Gospel when demoted to simply being a doctrine.

 

I'll explain, The Great Commission is God's intrinsic goal of the Gospel; that people from every tribe of the earth would come to know Him and follow Him through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This reality is not a disputable ideology as it is present from the very first time the Gospel is preached, which Paul shows us in his letter of Galatians that refers to Abraham in Genesis as the first time the Gospel is preached and is preached by God himself to Abraham.

 

You're probably asking, why is this a big deal? The deal is that when we remove the goal of the Gospel, we make the gospel more introspective than it is designed to be. When we leave the Gospel the way God designed it, we start to care more about others and their eternity over anything in this life, as it is the intrinsic focus of the Gospel that we accepted. If we have the Gospel misrepresented and, in doing so, the Great Commission misrepresented, then we end up serving a self-made view of God, also known as an idol. This Idol is usually our wants and dreams. Suppose we have the Gospel appropriately presented, which also includes the goal of the Great Commission, then we live lives that truly reflect God's character. These lives will typically give up everything to reach the lost, and many will even relocate to the ends of the earth to ensure eternity for others.

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