Evangelism = the Great Commission?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: No, no it does not.


Longer answer: The great commission is usually what the church calls Matthew 28:19-20, which reads "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." It is here we find the distinction between evangelism and the great commission.

Evangelism simply means "the preaching or promulgation of the gospel." A disciple, however, is defined as "a disciplined follower of Christ." The verse above clearly states that we are to make disciples of all nations, not simply evangelize to them (although we must start preaching the gospel in order to build disciples). Even when we think about the subject logically, it just doesn't pan out: evangelism is preaching the gospel, preaching the gospel makes people knowledgeable of the kingdom, therefore evangelism makes......what? the answer is that evangelism makes people knowledgeable of the kingdom; and that's our purpose as Christ's followers right? Wrong! As followers of Christ, we are to build disciplined followers of Jesus Christ, not simply preach the gospel and leave it at that.

Lastly, evangelism is not to happen in the church. The church is strictly for training and disciple-making. Simply put, evangelism takes place outside of the Church, discipleship takes place in the Church.

Any comments?

Words

Words have consequences. Ideas have consequences. Words are the most prominent characteristic of God found throughout Scripture, and being made in God's image, we have been purposefully created with the abilty to wield the power of words. Words have destroyed nations and built empires. How is it that we continue to believe that what we say and read doesn't matter? God records every word that we say, and we will be judged accordingly. Here's a quote from Douglas Wilson's Classical Education and the Homeschool on the subject:

God created the world by speaking. The Fall came through false speech. The Law came in "ten words." Redemption came through the Word made flesh. The Holy Spirit was poured out through the tongues of many nations. And in the end, we will be judged "by every idle word" we speak.

Every word we say and write is of eternal consequence. Each book we read, each prayer we offer, each conversation we partake in is of eternal consequence. Paul tells the Corinthians to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Every thought and every word is either bringing us closer to the kingdom or further from it.

The Kingdom of Heaven

Ok, here I am at work again with a lot of time on my hands, so I figured I'd post another blog. This one is going to be about heaven.

Modern Christianity seems to hold many misinterpreted beliefs in our modern day, most of which are not rooted in the Bible. Consequently, I think the result of many of these beliefs will be harsher than just a slap on the wrist. One of the most common misbeliefs is a false picture of heaven; a heaven designed solely for our pleasure, a sort of magical place where all our dreams come true.

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road" (Matt. 13:19). This verse states that those who do not understand heaven (the kingdom) in its true nature will be snatched up by the enemy, so it is imperative that we don't follow or teach our own ideas of what heaven is. The kingdom of heaven resides wherever God is recognized and served as King; it is God's area of dominion, and it's our job as Christians to bring that dominion here. When Jesus returns, the earth will be joined fully with the kingdom of heaven, and that domonion will be made perfect. "The kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).

Last but not least, is the view of heaven as a deciding factor of the Christian life. We should not think of Christianity as 'do I want to go to heaven?' (and how often does this come along with a pleasure-driven version of heaven as stated above...). No doubt being in God's presence for all eternity is preferable to an eternity of suffering, but that is no reason to follow God. Even the Israelites, having no knowledge of heaven, followed God. Our highest claim as Christians has to be that we follow God because He is true.

Thoughts on Prayer

I've been thinking about prayer for these last few days, more than usual anyhow. Here's what I have to say (or write I suppose):

A question that I've thought to ask myself is 'who am I praying to?' All too often, we aim our prayers at a god who isn't really there; an imagined god who grants wishes, pardons sin without repentance, and a god who is our equal. This is not the God found in the Bible. This God demands obedience, repentance, and a fearful heart. We often take prayer too lightly: meaningless repetition, taking God's name in vain (usually by means of repetition), selfishness, and asking for things we don't really want (most often the request to be rid of a particular sin). All of these things plague our prayers. Basically, it comes down to this: do I take God seriously? do I really want a life of cross-bearing service to Him?

Time Well Spent

So, I have been thinking about what kind of man I want to become. I claim to follow Christ. I intend to obey Him. Now, what to do with these claims:

We tend turn into that which we pretend to be.

This is an elementary principle of humanity. Whoever or whatever you spend most of your time with, you will inherit a growing resemblance to that person or thing. For instance, if you spend most of your time watching television, you will become entertainment-driven and accepting of most of the nonsense that modern society says and promises. If you spend most of your time with people who laugh at followers of Christ and mock the Church, you will begin to do the same. We can be accepting of these imitations, but why not so when it comes to being a disciple of Christ? Only by spending time with godly men and studying truth, will you yourself become a godly man and a man who navigates with truth.

So, the only question here is: 'what will I spend my time doing and who will I spend my time with?' These choices directly determine who you will be, as the end result. The question isn't: 'how can I still claim to follow God, but invest no time in studying His Word or imitating my life after godly men?' It does not work that way. We are imitative creatures. This is how we are built.