The Primary Mission of the Christian

What is the primary mission of the Christian? What is our reason or purpose for being in the world? God makes our mission very clear in Matthew 28:19-20, when He tells us “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.” Thus, our primary mission is to evangelize, to teach, and to baptize. But, too often, I’m afraid we spend a lot of time on what we call “Christian endeavors” that aren’t necessarily in support of that mission. To clearly understand our Christian mission, it’s also helpful to understand what our mission is not. Our primary mission is not:

1.         Social events with fellow Christians- Fellowship with our Christian brethren is certainly desirable; in fact, it’s often energizing and edifying. However, when we spend more time fellowshipping with Christians than talking to others about Christ and their salvation, our fellowship may detract from our mission.

2.         Taking care of the poor and the widows- James 1:27 tells us that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” So, we absolutely need to take care of the orphans and the widows (and the poor, and the physically ill, and many others). We also need to avoid the stains of sin that the world brings. We can do both and still concentrate on our mission of bringing souls to Christ. When we help others with their physical needs, we need to make sure and try to help with their spiritual needs as well.

We have an example of how the apostles recognized their primary mission in Acts 6, when the first century church faced the problem of the widows being neglected. The apostles gathered the disciples together. They then told the disciples that they (the apostles) had to focus on their mission- preaching the gospel- and appointed deacons to take care of the physical needs of the church. Our primary mission is to spread the gospel- helping others in need can certainly fall under that umbrella.

Preaching the gospel is our primary mission because if we don’t spread the gospel, then others may not hear of God and His plan for eternal salvation. We have very clear directions about that mission in Mark 16:15-16 when we are told “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Jesus didn’t say “Send ye others” or “Help the preacher find lost souls;” He said “Go ye…” Every one of us needs to be prepared to talk about God with others. On Sunday, we will discuss why evangelism is so important and ways that we can share the gospel more effectively.

— Dave May