The Great Commission

[GaussLaw]

For Christians here, what do you consider the Great Commission as? 

It is a requirement for all Christians for salvation or is it simply a challenge that eternal life does not hinge upon? 

With regards to evangelization, what resources do you find useful?  While I do not agree with all of Lordship salvation, though sola fide is also a stretch I think, or literal creationism, The Way of the Master has an excellent evangelism course as well as books and videos which are immensely helpful.  Got Questions is also a good resource for witnessing.  Are there others that anyone here can recommend?

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

I understand the Great Commission as the evangelizing mission given to the Church as a whole, which only applies to individual Christians to the best of their individual and distinct abilities. I don't think we can say there's any one specific type of act of evangelization that's necessary to be a 'true' Christian witness, certainly not to gain eternal life. I'm also not really sure what resources I would recommend because I haven't actually given this much thought at all until recently.

[Never]

As a Christian, I consider the Great Commission to be a command for all believers in Christ to go to others and to evangelize them by telling them about God, as defined in Matthew 28:16-20.

Now, I wouldn't say that it is a requirement for salvation, because the only requirement for salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus, as evidenced in Acts 16:31. Still, not carrying out the Great Commission should probably be viewed as disobedience, as it is pretty clear that it is a command of Christ to Christians. To directly answer your question, I believe that the Great Commission is a command, but that not following it would not cause a Christian to lose their faith (this is partly due to my belief in eternal security, but that is a different story for a different time).

I agree with you that The Way of the Master and Got Questions Ministries are excellent resources for evangelism, but I do have additional recommendations:

- Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) has an excellent Web series on evangelism adapted from Transferable Concept: How You Can Help Fulfill The Great Commission by the co-founder of Cru, Bill Bright.

- About.com's Christian section has an excellent introduction to evangelism by the superb contributor Mary Fairchild.

- Evangelism Is... How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence by Dave Earley and David Wheeler is a great, fast-paced book that explains the fundamentals of evangelism and how to apply them to life. Having read the book and owning a copy, I can personally say that it is a useful investment for any Christian interested in carrying out the Great Commission. It will cost you, but apparently it can be found in e-book and paperback form for less than $10, and it is worth every penny.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

It is preaching the gospel to the world.  And no, it is not necessary for your own salvation; just for others if they're going to receive Jesus for themselves.  Personally, I believe that any tool that bring people to faith is a good one.  My favorite tool is simply preaching the gospel and using words if necessary, if you know what I mean.

[GaussLaw]

As a Christian, I consider the Great Commission to be a command for all believers in Christ to go to others and to evangelize them by telling them about God, as defined in Matthew 28:16-20.

Now, I wouldn't say that it is a requirement for salvation, because the only requirement for salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus, as evidenced in Acts 16:31. Still, not carrying out the Great Commission should probably be viewed as disobedience, as it is pretty clear that it is a command of Christ to Christians. To directly answer your question, I believe that the Great Commission is a command, but that not following it would not cause a Christian to lose their faith (this is partly due to my belief in eternal security, but that is a different story for a different time).

I agree with you that The Way of the Master and Got Questions Ministries are excellent resources for evangelism, but I do have additional recommendations:

- Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) has an excellent Web series on evangelism adapted from Transferable Concept: How You Can Help Fulfill The Great Commission by the co-founder of Cru, Bill Bright.

- About.com's Christian section has an excellent introduction to evangelism by the superb contributor Mary Fairchild.

- Evangelism Is... How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence by Dave Earley and David Wheeler is a great, fast-paced book that explains the fundamentals of evangelism and how to apply them to life. Having read the book and owning a copy, I can personally say that it is a useful investment for any Christian interested in carrying out the Great Commission. It will cost you, but apparently it can be found in e-book and paperback form for less than $10, and it is worth every penny.

Thank you very much.  These are great resources I will definitely utilize in the future. 

[CatoMinor]

The Great Commission calls all of us to be missionaries in some capacity. Though not all of us have the same mission field. Not all of us are called to go to the ends of the world, for many the mission field is their own community or home.

I would not call it a requirement for salvation because salvation has already been purchased at the cross. But if one is called, then the only reasonable response is obedience. Bonhoeffer wrote: "Only the believing obey, and only the obedient believe." (Read his book, The Cost of Discipleship, it is fantastic.)

As far as evangelism goes, the most useful resource is following the methods Jesus used in his ministry. On our campus we go out and meet people where they are at and form small groups. In the small groups there is more than weekly Bible study, there is true fellowship.

[afleitch]

Unfortunately the rest of us are on the receiving end of such eagerness Probably to get this off my chest more than anything here is a rundown of the past six months;

Being screeched at through a loudspeaker.

Being cornered in the street and being asked ‘Have you ever told a lie?’ resulting in a hour long conversation about telling lies before they can get to the second question.

Being told that I need to ‘understand more’ despite telling them I used to be a Christian.

Having to wait for five minutes in silence while, no joke, the preacher conversed with god in his head.

Spending a half hour defending two Muslims and assisting them in explaining the Islamic notion of god.

Asking a church group not to pitch up with their loudspeaker and harass a group of silently meditating Tibetan Buddhist monks in Edinburgh.

Being prayed for despite not asking for it.

Being subjected to an attempted exorcism of my homosexuality through prayer.

It’s a hoot!

[CatoMinor]

Unfortunately the rest of us are on the receiving end of such eagerness Probably to get this off my chest more than anything here is a rundown of the past six months;

Being screeched at through a loudspeaker.

Being cornered in the street and being asked ‘Have you ever told a lie?’ resulting in a hour long conversation about telling lies before they can get to the second question.

Being told that I need to ‘understand more’ despite telling them I used to be a Christian.

Having to wait for five minutes in silence while, no joke, the preacher conversed with god in his head.

Spending a half hour defending two Muslims and assisting them in explaining the Islamic notion of god.


Asking a church group not to pitch up with their loudspeaker and harass a group of silently meditating Tibetan Buddhist monks in Edinburgh.

Being prayed for despite not asking for it.

Being subjected to an attempted exorcism of my homosexuality through prayer.

It’s a hoot!

Where might I ask have you been hanging out around, inside a pentecostal church?

But yeah that's unfortunate . Most of us aren't like that, and try to have manners when conversing with people.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I'll pray for you to be less harassed, Andrew.

[DC Al Fine]

Unfortunately the rest of us are on the receiving end of such eagerness Probably to get this off my chest more than anything here is a rundown of the past six months;

Being screeched at through a loudspeaker.

Being cornered in the street and being asked ‘Have you ever told a lie?’ resulting in a hour long conversation about telling lies before they can get to the second question.

Being told that I need to ‘understand more’ despite telling them I used to be a Christian.

Having to wait for five minutes in silence while, no joke, the preacher conversed with god in his head.

Spending a half hour defending two Muslims and assisting them in explaining the Islamic notion of god.


Asking a church group not to pitch up with their loudspeaker and harass a group of silently meditating Tibetan Buddhist monks in Edinburgh.

Being prayed for despite not asking for it.

Being subjected to an attempted exorcism of my homosexuality through prayer.

It’s a hoot!

Where might I ask have you been hanging out around, inside a pentecostal church?

Did Andrew move to Dallas and not say anything?