The Great Omission – Now What?

The words of Jesus:

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.” – Matthew 28:19-20 New American Standard Bible.

Now what? Are we going? Are we making disciples of all the nations? Will we baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? Do we have plans to teach them to observe the command of Jesus?

With over 4 billion non-Christians in the world, does your church encourage its attenders to become foreign missionaries? If you’re a church leader, do you encourage anyone to become a foreign missionary? Why not?

The Great Omission – Got Your Lesson Plans?

No teacher would make a presentation without a lesson plan. It might be a mental check list or it might be a written document. Nevertheless, there would be a lesson plan.

The Great Omission – Naming Names

This post is the fourth in a series about the Great Commission, a command that each follower of Jesus is expected to obey. The Commission is recorded in Matthew 28 verses 19 and 20.

“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.” Matt 28:19-20 NASB

In previous posts (click on The Great Omission tab on the menu bar) we looked at “Go” and “make disciples.” In this installment we’ll look at baptizing in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

What does that mean?

Let’s understand what it doesn’t mean.

“the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” is not a magical phrase that spiritually validates baptism. Neither does adding “in Jesus name” to the end of our prayers make them acceptable to God.

The Great Omission – Isn’t That the Pastor’s Job?

 

We’re looking at Matthew 28 verses 19 and 20. This passage is referred to as the Great Commission, and it has historically been considered to apply to all followers of Jesus.

“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.”

Unfortunately, we followers of Jesus have ignored our personal responsibility to carry out this command. We’ve convinced ourselves this command applies only to the paid staff and those who God “calls” to become missionaries.

My last post focused on “Go”. This post will look at making disciples. To view all the posts in this series please click on The Great Omission tab on the menu bar.

Jesus’s command to make disciples is a tall order for us. However, if He didn’t think we, with His help, could do it He wouldn’t have told us to do it.

Why are we overwhelmed by this part of the Commission?

The Great Omission – I Think I’ll Just Stay Here

We’re looking at the final words of Jesus before He ascended into Heaven. Commonly referred to as the Great Commission, it has been largely ignored by American Christians. To refresh our memories, the Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:19-20.

“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.”   New American Standard Bible Copyright The Lockman Foundation, La Habra California.

We’re not going anywhere, we’re not making disciples, we’re not baptizing anyone, and we’re not teaching anybody the commandments of Jesus. We’ve delegated all that to the ministerial staff and those “called” to the mission field.

The Great Omission

“Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment.”

“The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

There you have it. If you’ve ever wondered which of the commandments you need to follow, there they are nicely documented in Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 through 39.

Love God and love others.

One might think that the final words of Jesus to his closest followers might have been a restatement of those commandments. But they weren’t.