This article is based on Pastor Adrian Rogers' message, There’s No Omission in the Great Commission.
Jesus’ final words spoken on Earth were His marching orders for His Church. No one is omitted from the Great Commission; it is an all-inclusive command, and the mandate is active today.
The Great Commission is the circulatory system of the Church; without obedience to Jesus’ Commission, the Church would become a lifeless body.
Providentially, this will never happen; Jesus directs the Body, so the Church cannot and will not fail. His power lives in believers and enables them to circulate the life-giving Truth of the Gospel and grow the Body, bringing spiritual life where once was death.
Just before His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus initiated the Last Supper, telling believers that His body and blood were to be symbolically ingested so that we would remember His death and take His life into ourselves.
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
Why do we need to “ingest” the power and presence of Jesus? We are Jesus’ hands and feet. The Gospel is powerful unto salvation, but believers—who form the Body of Christ—are responsible for carrying it into all the world. This is the Body’s primary purpose.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).
How do we carry out our Commission? We reach our own personal spheres of influence, being alert to the opportunities God provides during our day-to-day interactions with others. We belong to local bodies of believers, seeking to attract the spiritually thirsty to join us. And we partner with organizations such as Love Worth Finding that have the mass communication capabilities to reach the ends of the earth with the Gospel.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ—His life, death, and resurrection—solidified “Kingdom Authority.” At Creation, Man originally had authority from God to carry out His purposes on Earth. Sin in the Garden of Eden—Man’s choice to attempt to rise above God—stripped that authority from all people because as descendants of Adam, “all have sinned” (see Romans 3:23). In The Great Commission, Jesus reminds His disciples that because of His victory over sin and Satan—a victory that belongs to all who are “in Christ”—Man can now carry out God’s purposes. After Jesus declares His authority saying, “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth,” He gives His command to go.
Jesus said, “Go, therefore.” Go because we have authority to go! Locally, we can go into our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Further from home, we can go into our cities to minister and share the Gospel, perhaps through an evangelical inner city outreach program. We can go also into the regional territory around us, perhaps on a mission trip to share God’s hope with victims of natural disaster.
Jesus commanded His followers to start where we are and expand the circle:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
What is your Jerusalem? Your Judea? Your Samaria? Love Worth Finding, through support from its partners, has the privilege of going to "the end of the earth” with the capability to reach as much as 70% of the world’s population. This is possible because of current broadcast technology and because we have translated core teaching material from Pastor Adrian Rogers in 13 non-English languages native to significant populations worldwide. We are calling this effort the “Beyond the Tent” campaign.
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2).
We hear from people all over the world who are able to better understand the Gospel and grow in their faith because Pastor Rogers’ messages are drawn straight from the Bible and are presented in understandable terms. We call this “Profound Truth. Simply Stated.”
God uses Pastor Rogers’ unfiltered truth and practical application to speak to my heart. Truth with legs to fulfill the Great Commission. —John
Hello, greetings from Medellin, Colombia: I have made the beautiful salvation prayer so I can face the storms. I listen to you daily on my small radio and I read your digital booklets on ElAmorQueVale.org. Thank you for being a beacon of light for my life in these moments of cloudy storm. —Anna
For more about Jesus’ command to evangelize, read the article, Fulfilling the Great Commission Through Evangelism.
Every Christian responding to the Great Commission must have concern not only for evangelizing but also for disciple making. We are in line with Scripture when we follow up after people become Christians and mentor them to encourage spiritual growth.
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17).
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).
See also, Titus 2:3-5, Acts 16:1-5, and Hebrews 10:24-25.
Disciple making takes place on an individual basis and requires personal attention. You can reach out to others in your local church, in your neighborhood, in your children’s schools—anywhere you can encourage other believers. You can also help make disciples as you support organizations that provide resources and support on a national and international basis.
At Love Worth Finding, we approach “making disciples of all nations” through a whole world lens. Sharing the good news on an international basis is aimed at bringing people to Christ AND helping them grow in the faith. We especially desire to support pastors by providing online training through the Adrian Rogers Center for Biblical Learning. We provide printed resources as well—some of the discipleship materials we provide in other languages are literally backpacked into communities where digital broadcasting is unavailable.
For more about discipleship as the natural outcome of fellowship with other believers, read the article, Make Disciples, The Heart of the Gospel Message.
Jesus Himself baptized no one in Scripture. But He commanded His followers to baptize people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (see Matthew 28:18-20).
While people may differ about the method of baptism, Jesus’ command to baptize is clear. He wants His disciples to take responsibility for holding new believers accountable for this step of obedience and public declaration of faith. Pastor Adrian Rogers made it clear why Scripture specifies water baptism by immersion to symbolize the death and burial of a person’s old life and a rising up in new life through Christ Jesus.
There are two kinds of baptism taught in the Bible: Spirit baptism that takes place when you’re saved, and water baptism that takes place after you’re saved. While baptism is not necessary to salvation, baptism is necessary to obedience, and obedience is necessary to fruitfulness and joy in the Christian life. What does baptism require? Water. Much water. Going down into the water. Burial beneath the water. Coming up out of the water. —Pastor Adrian Rogers
So strong was Pastor Rogers’ belief that Scripture teaches only baptism by immersion that he once called for emergency help to make it happen:
I remember in a church in Florida when I had prepared for a baptismal service, I had invited the folks to come. It was in the afternoon, and people had come from afar off to be baptized. And I looked into the baptistry, and it was dry as a bone. And we had a pipe about as big as my thumb that fed water into that baptistry, and it took a half a day to fill it up. I said, “O Lord, what are we going to do?” And the Lord told me what to do. I went into my desk and called the fire department. I said, “Do you specialize in emergencies?” They said, “We do!” I said, “I have one. Send your pumper truck over.” We filled that baptismal pool up in just a, a short time, and I was able to baptize. And the water was a little rusty, but they got baptized. It takes a lot of water to baptize.
Jesus’ final words in the Great Commission—His final words to believers before His ascension—should command our attention:
...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:20).
Everything He has asked us to do, He does with us. As disciples of Jesus we have the privilege of being yoked to the Lord Jesus. He will pull with us through every circumstance as we carry out His work on Earth. And He will pull us through to the other side when our work on Earth is finished. His promise is sure. His love is unending. Let it anchor or worldview and propel us to carry out His commands from now until He comes again.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know” (John 14:1-4).
For more about living your personal life in line with Matthew 28:18-20, read the article, Your Role in the Great Commission: Living a Mission-Minded Life.
