Mat 28:19-20 “Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” I have no problem calling these verses by their traditional epithet-The Great Commission. If I venture into any religious institution that lays claim to Christ and ask anyone randomly, “What’s the ‘Great Commission’?”, I am likely to get an accurate response, even if it isn’t quoted verbatim or the exact chapter-verse is unknown. Most can at least say something along the lines of, “That’s where Jesus told his disciples to preach.”
Tag: doctrine
I grew up in what would be considered as an evangelical church by men’s reasoning. We attended as often as the doors were opened. At age 12 I prayed what they called the “Sinner’s Prayer” and I was convinced I was “saved” at that point. I then was baptized many months later when they had a number of others ready for baptism. I was baptized into the evangelical congregation as a “sign of my salvation”. I was completely pleased with my spiritual life for several years. However that changed. In 1978 I met a nice young lady whom I wanted to get to know better. (As a side note we married 1 year later and I have been blessed by her these past 32 years.) I was plainly told by her parents that IF I wanted to be with her on Sundays I had to attend church assemblies, for that was where she would be. I wanted to be with her, so I attended the assemblies of the Pond Creek church of Christ. At first I was more concerned with her than I was with the church.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1-5: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”