Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church
Some thoughts on what every Christian’s mission is by virtue of the fact that he is a follower of Christ. Whether one is a pastor, a carpenter, a banker or a stay at home mom with small children, what is the mission for every Christian? What is it that God calls every child of His to do? How should believers think of themselves? What should saints busy themselves in doing during the brief time of stay on earth? In a word, many often ask, ‘what is my purpose, or my mission?’
Your Mandate.
The risen Christ appeared to His followers and told them that as the Father has sent Him so also does Christ send them (John 20:21). The Savior Himself provides the mandate for all of His followers. He tells all disciples of His to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19). He elsewhere says that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations (Luke 24:47). The mandate comes from Christ Himself and is clear to all followers of Jesus Christ. It’s a mandate, not a suggestion. All followers are obedient or disobedient to it.
Your Mission.
The simple mission that Christ gives is to go and preach the gospel. He says that repentance must be preached. He tells all believers to bear the ministry of reconciliation as God makes His appeal through believers to the lost (2 Cor 5:20). The mission is to simply and faithfully proclaim Christ’s message: be reconciled to God! God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:20-21). Furthermore, all Christians have received salvation and should proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
Your Method.
The way in which this mission works itself out in the Christian’s life comes through proclamation. The message must be verbalized. It must be spoken. It is a message that requires words to speak truly of God, candidly of sin, honestly of repentance, urgently of hell, and graciously with patience. The method of Christian mission is not showing people God’s love or living on mission if it excludes verbal proclamation. In other words, the method for the Christian mission to be faithfully obeyed demands faithful proclamation of the biblical gospel. If the gospel is not spoken, then the gospel has not been conveyed and sinners cannot be saved. The method that Christ gives His people is to “proclaim” and to believe “and speak” the full gospel message.
Your Message.
Christ did not send Paul to baptize but to preach the gospel -- not in cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made void (1 Cor 1:17). This gospel simply is Christ & Him crucified (1 Cor 1:23). It glories in the righteousness of God imputed to repentant sinners through faith alone in Christ alone. It glories in the substitutionary atonement whereby Christ, the Lamb of God, died in the sinner’s stead receiving the full blow and infinite punishment from God Himself toward sin. God justly punished sin upon the sinner’s substitute, Christ Jesus. This message demands that the sinner respond through faith and repentance. He must turn to God from idols to be enslaved to the living God -- to serve, love, worship, adore, and proclaim Him!
Your Motivation.
Every true child of God has a soul-ravishing ambition: to glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:3). Christians want Christ to be exalted in their bodies -- whether by life or by death (Phil 1:20). The great motivation to live out this Christian mission ultimately has a God-centered, Christ-magnifying, Spirit-given focus. Indeed, the glory and honor of Christ motivates the believer to live on mission by speaking much of God’s character, man’s plight, Christ’s sufficiency and atonement, and God’s demands for a wholehearted response. Furthermore, an unshakeable motivation propels the child of God to cheerfully engage in his blessed mission, namely, the eternal blessedness and joy of Christ to have the full number of His redeemed surrounding His throne in glory. The Lamb will receive the full reward of His sufferings. All His blood-bought elect will arrive in heaven. The reason Christians still live on this earth and have not arrived in the eternal home yet is quite simple: their mission isn’t over yet. So, till He takes you home, your mission is clear. It is given by the wondrous and empowering Savior. So go! Go and speak of Him! Live for Him! Tell of His great deeds! Proclaim His salvation from day to day!
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