Great Commission and laymen

[arapahoepark]

In what sense is the Great Commission for laymen (in a non Theonomic sense)? Evangelicals at large tend to believe not sharing the Gospel with everyone you run into is a dereliction of duty and that makes one feel enormously guilty regardless of circumstances.

 

[W.C. Dean]

Just today I was considering posting something about this. I have always been in churches where the great commission is completely applied to every believer and it is to your shame if you do not share the Gospel. I lean towards believing that the Great Commission is for those intended to be Shepherds, or ministers in some fashion. In John 21 Jesus tells Peter to feed his flock. The average congregant cannot feed the flock, or baptize.

I do believe that every believer should be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within them ( I know it's in one of Peter's epistles, just forgot which verse). I think it is good and should be encouraged for a believer to share what they believe and how Christ transformed them, but I believe the command to make disciples, baptize and teach is applied to those who are called to minister.

 

[Von]

Read "The Trellis and the Vine". It's not a puritan tome and very practical in relation to your question.

 

[Ben Zartman]

The GC is for laymen in that it is our duty as such to support the church's efforts toward taking the Gospel to all nations. It is the church which sends out preachers, therefore we must be a vital part of the church. Faithful in attendance; generous in giving; watchful unto prayer. There are many even dear friends of mine who think that we must all be engaged in "street preaching" or we're failing. Somehow the measure of a man is whether he's harangued innocent strangers on a subway platform. It's pathetic, and it distracts from the real work, which is to nurture godly men in the church who can be trained and called and sent out as ministers or missionaries.

 

[Solparvus]

I agree with what's been said already, that the primary spear-heading is to be done by pastors, so I won't expand on that.

Still, the command "Love your neighbor as yourself"--particularly expressed in, "You shall not murder" (see WSC on 6th commandment)--force all laypersons to ask to what extent they may be involved, and to lovingly and zealously involve themselves to the fullest extent possible. That includes personal evangelism.

Whatever the bounds of our duties, this much you can say: every person you meet with is going to be judged. They will stand before God, and either all their sins have been paid for in Christ and they will enter into the most extraordinary eternal joys, or they will be confined to insufferable torments forever and ever. If you can explain the Gospel, you have the bread and water they need to live. You have the key they need to be found at Christ's right hand at that Last Day. Who would want to withhold it?

Not everyone is commissioned/authorized to preach. However, no one needs a license--or even an argument--to pull the donkey out of the pit.

Tracting, talking with strangers, coffee meetups with lost coworkers, having the unconverted in your house, open-air preaching within the bounds of Scripture and rules of session, inviting lost family members and friends to the worship service, it's all on the table. Time is slipping away till everyone enters their fixed and unalterable state. It is now or never.

 

[earl40]

A very wise Pastor wrote this a while ago...."Christian friends, shine your light with all your might, testify the rich grace of God which you have received, share your faith with as many as will listen, always be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have; but please do not represent this as the activity of mission or evangelism. Unless a person has gone, been sent, and entered upon the life-course of preaching the gospel, he is not actively and personally undertaking the work of mission or evangelism in the biblical sense of the term. It is the rejection of the biblical concept of mission and evangelism which has led to the very sad state of affairs in the present day where churches are suffering from a lack of men committed to the ministry."

Matthew Winzer