The Five Points of ‘Christian-ism’
During the years the Lord has put me in
the ministry I have been consulted and confronted on numerous occasions
concerning the five points of Calvinism. Although this topic appears to be at
the forefront of many discussions in the Christian arena, it is my desire to
emphasize the subject that I believe the Lord Jesus Christ would rather we
discuss and that is what I call the Five Points of ‘Christian-ism’ which in
reality are the Five Great Commissions! These commands were and still are at
the very heart of our Saviour and therefore must be at the very heart of the
Christian if they are to be Christ-like in their daily ongoing conduct.
The first
is found in Matthew 28:18-20:
‘And Jesus
came and spoke unto them, saying, All power [AUTHORITY] is given unto Me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’
The
unique emphasis of this First Great Commission is the AUTHORITY that Christ has
over the earth, and His command to us in view of that AUTHORITY. Because we are
His representatives here on earth, and He has vested in us His AUTHORITY by and
through this command, we must therefore simply obey and go, teach, baptize in
His name!
Christ is
Lord, He is in charge, He has the right to act, to exercise AUTHORITY and He has
given it to us so that we can carry out His work here on earth of spreading the
precious Gospel of Christ throughout the world! The first Great Commission then
provides us with the AUTHORITY of the Lord Himself to do His work here on
earth!
The Second
Great Commission is found in Mark 16:15, 16 where Jesus gives us a similar
command with another unique emphasis: ‘And
He said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that BELIEVETH and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
BELIEVETH not shall be damned.’
Here Mark gives us the first part of the Gospel
message which is believing. Yes, before man can repent of his sin he must have
faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and so Mark’s emphasis focuses
on the first part of the Gospel message, BELIEVING in the Gospel Message.
The Third
Great Commission emphasizes the second part of the Gospel Message and that is
found in the third Gospel:
‘Then opened
He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, And said
unto them, Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day: And that REPENTANCE and remission of sins should be preached in His name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’ (Luke 24:46, 47)
The
progression of the Gospel Message here includes REPENTANCE after one has
believed. The necessity of REPENTANCE can not be over-emphasized for it is
through REPENTANCE that the soul is cleansed as the Holy Spirit accomplishes
His regenerating work, thereby creating a ‘new
creature in Christ’, the born-again Christian!
In the
Gospel of John the Lord proclaims multiple truths for the believer as He puts
the GO into the GOspel Message:
‘Ye have not
chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should GO and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask in
My name He may give it you.’ (John 15:16) The focus here is on the word GO!
There
must be the activity of GOing into the highways and hedges and compel them to
come in, just as He taught and demonstrated Himself, there must be action put
to what we believe! Matthew 10 and Mark 6:7-13 give us the principles necessary
for the church to go ‘house to house…two
by two’ witnessing to those the Lord has given us to minister this powerful
Gospel Message.
If we
truly believe that our friends, relatives and neighbors are dying and going to
hell as the Bible clearly teaches, we should be willing to GO out into the
highways and hedges and compel them to come in with the life changing, soul
delivering, glorious Message of the
Gospel!
And last,
but by far the least, of the Five Great Commissions is the one found in the
book of Acts chapter one verse eight:
‘But ye shall
receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be
witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth.’
POWER
from the Holy Spirit is the believer’s privilege, it is the believers promise,
and yes it is and should be his POWER to go forth and to proclaim the message
of the Gospel. God never commands His people to do anything that He does not
supply the POWER to get it done! With most of us, the fault lies in our never
preparing our hearts and asking Him for the Holy Spirit’s POWER to witness!
Seeking
and saving those who are lost was the focus of the Lord while He was here in
Person, if we are to be Christ-like, it too should be the reason for our very
existence here on earth…to glorify Him by being what He commanded us to be, and
that is His witnesses…under His AUTHORITY, proclaiming His message: BELIEVE and
REPENT…GOING and bringing forth fruit…with His POWER to accomplish it all! This
then should be our focus, our goal, our life emphasis, ‘The Five Points of
Christian-ism’, fulfilling God’s will, allowing the Lord to walk in us, that He
might continue to truly seek and save that which is lost through us!
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