In the last blog we briefly mentioned the Great or Divine Commission which is contained in Matthew 28. It is Jesus’ final instructions to his followers.
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 behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
What is of interest is that all of Jesus’ commands contained in the Great Commission are action words—things we are to do. Nothing is said about belief. Jesus did not say to make believers of all nations; he said to make disciples. So why is not our doctrine of salvation the same? Why does our doctrine of salvation only concern itself with our belief in Jesus and his death for our sins and say nothing about the actions the Bible says we are to take?
Now before someone will be a disciple of Jesus or follow Jesus’ command they undoubtedly would first believe in Jesus. However, that still does not negate the emphasis Jesus places on actions in the Great Commission. And as we have shown in this blog and in my book, the entire Bible has the same emphasis; our actions are necessary for our salvation.
