Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer for faithfulness to teach obedience to all that Christ has commanded is right and pleasing to God, and I join my own prayer to yours.
You have spoken truly that the Great Commission is not only to go and to baptize, but to teach them to observe everything Christ has commanded. We cannot pick and choose what we bring as good news, especially when a soul is at risk and when sin, if left alone, spreads like disease through the community which is the Bride of Christ. The Scripture calls us to call to repentance, to pursue holiness, and where needed, to practice discipline within the church for the sake of salvation and so that others may be fearful of sinning.
You are also right that we speak whether they listen or not. God warned Adam and Eve knowing they would disobey, and the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. God told Moses to speak to Pharaoh though He said Pharaoh would not listen. The prophets rose morning by morning and spoke, Thus says the Lord, whether the people heard or refused to hear. Our Lord Himself came to His own and His own did not receive Him, though the world was made through Him. He sent the seventy knowing some cities would reject them and told them to shake the dust from their feet as a testimony. Our task is not to run for popularity or public opinion, not to be seeker sensitive in a man centered way, but to be God centered, to bear witness faithfully. As it is written, the word which Christ has spoken will judge on the last day, whether people receive it now or not.
This work of witness requires boldness. We are witnesses from God, bound to bear witness to all that there is a resurrection and that Christ died even for those far off. His part was done. He bore witness to the truth of the Father even unto death, and that suffering was a testimony offered in due time. If those who hear do not believe, it is because they would not, yet we must still speak. Whether by life or by death we are not to be put to shame, for to be bound for Christ is no shame, but to betray what is Christ's for fear of bonds would be shame. Even in chains we can pray as the apostle did, that God would open a door for the word and give us boldness to speak as we ought, withholding nothing. God Himself bears witness with His word through signs and wonders, but He also bears witness through the life we lead, for a holy life quickly persuades many.
The church is like a testament. It makes heirs of those who believe through the word and it calls all to receive and to do what is commanded, for Christ said, a new commandment I give you. A testament must have witnesses, and Christ said, you shall bear witness, and promised the Comforter to testify of Him. When we live and speak this witness together, friendship is more closely riveted, and those who live among us are not left without purpose. A house that was like a theatre becomes a church. The devil is put to flight and Christ enters, and where Christ is, there are the angels also, and where Christ and the angels are, there is heaven and a light more cheerful than the sun.
So let us pray together that God will strengthen you and all His people to repent and believe the gospel, to fear God and keep His commandments, to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth, and to carry out all He has commanded through the Scriptures with faith and obedience. May He give you wisdom to practice discipline not in harshness but in love, for restoration, and may He give you a mouth and wisdom which adversaries cannot resist. May He guard your heart with His peace and grant you boldness to speak the truth in love, whether they listen or not, knowing that He is with us even to the end of the age.
You have spoken truly that the Great Commission is not only to go and to baptize, but to teach them to observe everything Christ has commanded. We cannot pick and choose what we bring as good news, especially when a soul is at risk and when sin, if left alone, spreads like disease through the community which is the Bride of Christ. The Scripture calls us to call to repentance, to pursue holiness, and where needed, to practice discipline within the church for the sake of salvation and so that others may be fearful of sinning.
You are also right that we speak whether they listen or not. God warned Adam and Eve knowing they would disobey, and the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. God told Moses to speak to Pharaoh though He said Pharaoh would not listen. The prophets rose morning by morning and spoke, Thus says the Lord, whether the people heard or refused to hear. Our Lord Himself came to His own and His own did not receive Him, though the world was made through Him. He sent the seventy knowing some cities would reject them and told them to shake the dust from their feet as a testimony. Our task is not to run for popularity or public opinion, not to be seeker sensitive in a man centered way, but to be God centered, to bear witness faithfully. As it is written, the word which Christ has spoken will judge on the last day, whether people receive it now or not.
This work of witness requires boldness. We are witnesses from God, bound to bear witness to all that there is a resurrection and that Christ died even for those far off. His part was done. He bore witness to the truth of the Father even unto death, and that suffering was a testimony offered in due time. If those who hear do not believe, it is because they would not, yet we must still speak. Whether by life or by death we are not to be put to shame, for to be bound for Christ is no shame, but to betray what is Christ's for fear of bonds would be shame. Even in chains we can pray as the apostle did, that God would open a door for the word and give us boldness to speak as we ought, withholding nothing. God Himself bears witness with His word through signs and wonders, but He also bears witness through the life we lead, for a holy life quickly persuades many.
The church is like a testament. It makes heirs of those who believe through the word and it calls all to receive and to do what is commanded, for Christ said, a new commandment I give you. A testament must have witnesses, and Christ said, you shall bear witness, and promised the Comforter to testify of Him. When we live and speak this witness together, friendship is more closely riveted, and those who live among us are not left without purpose. A house that was like a theatre becomes a church. The devil is put to flight and Christ enters, and where Christ is, there are the angels also, and where Christ and the angels are, there is heaven and a light more cheerful than the sun.
So let us pray together that God will strengthen you and all His people to repent and believe the gospel, to fear God and keep His commandments, to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth, and to carry out all He has commanded through the Scriptures with faith and obedience. May He give you wisdom to practice discipline not in harshness but in love, for restoration, and may He give you a mouth and wisdom which adversaries cannot resist. May He guard your heart with His peace and grant you boldness to speak the truth in love, whether they listen or not, knowing that He is with us even to the end of the age.
