At two different times in His ministry Jesus issued a commission to His disciples. Early in His work He sent His disciples forth and told them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6).
Later, just before His ascension back to Heaven, He left His disciples with these words: “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…” (Matthew 28:18-20).
The first is typically called the Limited Commission – the other, the Great Commission. And the difference between the two should be pretty clear. It comes down to the scope of His words. In the Limited Commission Jesus limited His disciples’ work by only sending them among the Jews, even specifically prohibiting them from going among the Gentiles and Samaritans. In the Great Commission Jesus lifted that limitation and sent His disciples to the world at large.
We obviously live under the terms of the Great Commission today. Romans 10:13ff and other passages clearly impose that responsibility on each Christian. But often, we do not accept that responsibility so willingly. At least we don’t accept the fullness of its terms. God has sent us to every soul under heaven. Regardless of race, social class, gender, nationality, or language they may speak, God wants us to go to them all. But sometimes we restrict ourselves from those to whom we go.
In that sense we are limiting the Great Commission. We are rejecting the authority of our God. We are, by neglect, willingly consigning the souls of the lost to hell. But as if refusing to tend to the spiritual needs of those lost around us weren’t bad enough, that only leads into the bigger picture. That is, if we choose to limit the Great Commission in our lives we are not only causing others to be lost, but we will be as well.
How so? The Great Commission is a commandment of the Almighty God. And like any other commandment of the Almighty God, if we refuse to obey we sin. John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). To willingly (or unwillingly for that matter) transgress God’s law means that we have sinned. How would that not apply to our response to the Great Commission?
So often our concept of what will cause a person to be lost is wrapped up in whether or not that person is doing what he/she ought not to be doing. We don’t always pay as much attention to the fact that a person can just as easily be lost for not doing what he/she ought to do. The Great Commission is one of those indisputable responsibilities that falls on the shoulders of each Christian. But when we choose to limit the terms of the Great Commission in our lives we are leading others and ultimately ourselves to be lost.
-Andy Brewer
I’ve often wondered does this mean if we do not go out into ALL the world personally are we going to be lost?