photo #7835530

The Gospel & The Great CommissionLuke 24:46-49“And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”This is Luke’s account of what we call the Great Commission of the Church.A question every local church, its pastor and its members must answer is this- Are we doing a good job at fulfilling the commission of Christ to carry and give the Gospel near and far?In this text we have the Gospel summarized; “it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day”.The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Gospel. There is an “and” to our message, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached among all nations…” These two, “repentance and remission of sins”, just like the death and resurrection of Christ, cannot be separated in the Gospel message of the church. Remission of sins is available to all, because the blood of Christ was shed for all, but they both become applied when one acknowledges their own sin, and turning from their sin they turn by faith unto Christ.Verses 45 and 46 may give reason of why the church is failing in going and giving out the Gospel. First, before one can witness for the Gospel they must first “be witnesses of these things”. One cannot give out what they do not first have themselves. Second, we lack “true power from on high”. Fulfilling the Great Commission is not a dramatic performance that we rehearse and then go do. It is going and giving under the power of the Holy Spirit.