Most of us will probably think of what is often called the Lord's Great Commission in response to that question, and well we should. For that Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 is probably the key passage for establishing the mandate or duty of the church to carry the Gospel to those who have never heard.
There were many indications of God's desire and purpose for the world-wide extension of Gospel labours long before the Lord spoke His Great Commission. It did not come out of the blue -- disjointed from all of God's revelation before. It was also true that before our Lord uttered the Great Commission, the possession of the revealed Word of God, and the true worship of God were primarily limited to physical Jews and a few Gentile proselytes. Even during His ministry on earth, Jesus' labours and those of His disciples were mainly limited to Jews.
So let's take a look at the Gospels and the Book of Acts to see how this changed.
Mark 16:15-16 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Luke 24: 46-49 - "And said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1:8 - "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.”
Matthew 28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
John 20:21-23 - "Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
On what basis do we turn to such a command and view it as having application to ourselves?
Observe two things in our texts which indicate that this command still applies to Christians today:
A. First, the fact that these eleven disciples were told to teach new disciples of Christ to observe all things that He had commanded them certainly appeared to demand that the new disciples obey the same commands given to the original eleven unless clearly indicated otherwise. And of course one of those things commanded the eleven was this very Commission.
But furthermore, there is in this Commission itself a clear indication that it was to remain binding upon the church of Christ throughout its history on earth:
The Lord promised His presence with those carrying out this commission on earth until the present order came to an end with His return. Clearly He intended that His church on earth with her leaders continue to carry out these marching orders until the present age had ended. The Great Commission was not limited to just the Apostles, but was initially given to them as the highest leaders of the church of Christ which was to be established.
The Great Commission continues to be just as applicable to those of us who are disciples of Christ today and members of His church, as it was to the original eleven Apostles. So we had better pay attention to it. It is the will of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Triune God for us to carry out.
Thanks Val - you risked sharing this and glad you did
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