A New Great Comission

Because of my location in Australia I do a lot of travelling. To help pass the time I listen to podcasts while driving. For those of who don't know, podcasts are free audio files that can be downloaded onto an ipod. I enjoy listening to sermons that are downloaded in podcast form. I also listen to other podcasts that can help me grow in my ministry.

As I drove home from a prayer breakfast this morning I was listening to a podcast about Christians being involved with unsaved people. Actually the podcast was advertising a seminar that a group would be holding in New York City. They explained the event as something that could help Believers, “redeem the culture.”

Now I am very interested in reaching out to the unsaved people around me. I am also interested in helping those who are in need. What I have an issue with is the fact that “redeeming the culture” has become the new great commission for many Believers. They focus on ministering to the physical needs of the lost and put very little emphasis on the spiritual needs.

What does it mean to redeem the culture? It means to clothe and feed the poor in our community. It means to help provide medical care for those who are not able to afford it themselves. It means becoming actively involved in aiding the needy of other countries. All of these are excellent ways of displaying the love of Christ. But should feeding and clothing the poor be the main goal of our churches?

What Biblical proof is there that makes redeeming the culture so important? Almost every one of the churches involved in this redemption movement will point to Christ's command that we love others as ourselves.1 I have read books written by individuals who focus completely on this one verse and seem to ignore the great commission.2 In essence that verse is their great commission. It is a new great commission for the postmodern world.

But does this passage deserve to be our new great commission? A simple study of the verses context answers that question. Christ told his disciples in Matthew 22:39 the second greatest commandment was to love one another. Therefore there must be a greater commandment than that one! This is to love God above all other things.3 The passage itself shows that this new great commission is faulty.

So where does this new great commission come from if it is not found in Scripture? In many cases it is an attempt of Believers to gain respectof the unsaved. Many of us have turned a blind eye to the great needs of our culture (poverty, famine, disease, etc.). We have not done much better job taking care of the earth that we live in. These acts have earned us the reputation of people who don't care about social issues (a reputation that most of us deserve). Young pastors and leaders, especially in the emerging church movement, have taken it upon themselves to change that perception.

Should we be known as people who don't care about the poor and needy around us? Of course not. But neither should we respond by going to the opposite extreme and resurrecting the social gospel! The great commission is still bringing souls to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Yes it is much easier to do this after feeding the hungry and clothing the needy. But maybe we should think about redeeming the souls of the lost around us through Christ's death on the cross before we try to redeem their culture.

1Matthew 22:39
2Matthew 28:19-20
3Matthew 22:38