NEW ORLEANS -- In his chapel message at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) Dec. 2, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, issued a simple challenge to believers: follow the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 in its entirety. He aptly titled his sermon “You should never put periods in the middle of God’s sentences.”
Too often, Land said, Christians act as if the Great Commission ends with verse 19 and reads only, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
But the Great Commission doesn’t stop there.
“Now, we haven’t discovered some new or some earlier text that has omitted verse 20. It’s part of the Great Commission. The Great Commission starts with, but does not end with, evangelism,” Land said.
Land said the evangelistic theme in verse 19 is interwoven with the discipleship theme in verse 20, which reads, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
“You cannot separate evangelism from discipleship,” he said.
Land echoed that challenge with regard to Acts 1:8, where Jesus said to his disciples, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Over time, that Acts 1:8 command to Jesus’ first disciples has been applied to all people in all places, with Jerusalem mirroring a person’s hometown, Judea and Samaria referring to a person’s home state or country, and so on. Land said people like to pick and choose which part of Acts 1:8 they are faithful to, instead of seeking to fulfill it all.
“It doesn’t say to do Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria or the uttermost parts of the earth. It says do it all,” Land said.
And failing to be true to the full Great Commission has some stiff consequences, Land said, because it produces immature Christians. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul contrasts spiritual people with “natural man,” or people without the Spirit.
“The natural world is not going to understand us. The natural world is not going to accept us. We are a mystery to them, and we’re going to continue to be a mystery to them. Get over it,” Land said.
1 Corinthians 3 then describes Christians who have not yet reached maturity. Paul describes their immaturity in a matter-of-fact way, saying, “I gave you mild to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.” Today, as in Paul’s day, Christians are expected to experience progression in their spiritual walk.
“God does not hold us accountable for knowing everything. But he does expect us to know more about him and his purpose for our lives today than we did yesterday,” Land said.
Land compared stagnant Christians to an airplane in a holding pattern that flies in circles until it’s time to land.
“It’s like we’re in a holding pattern until it’s time to be with Jesus,” he said. “Our churches are full of people who have arrested spiritual development. They’re middle aged and they’re walking around with their spiritual umbilical cord looking for a place to plug it in. They’re carrying their bottle and diaper bag with them, waiting for someone to fix some formula for them.”
“It’s okay to be a baby when you’re a baby,” Land continued. “It’s okay to be 12 when you’re 12. It’s not okay to be 12 when you’re 40. Our churches are full of crybabies and not conquerors because we’ve put periods in the middle of God’s commands.”
And for the Great Commission, the period doesn’t come until verse 20.
While on the NOBTS campus, Land also guest taught two Christian ethics classes, where he offered an overview of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s role in Southern Baptist life and addressed issues such as Islam in America and what the Bible teaches regarding divorce.
The ERLC, Land said, plays a twofold role in Southern Baptist life. First, the commission has a prophetic role in the church, calling Southern Baptists to stay true to the moral and ethical teachings of the Bible, Land said. Second, the ERLC has a descriptive role by voicing the beliefs of Southern Baptists in the public square.
Land has been president of the ERLC since 1988. He has earned degrees from both Princeton and Oxford and received a master of theology degree from NOBTS in 1972. While studying in the Crescent City, Land served as pastor of Vieux Carre Baptist Church in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
For more information about the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, go online to www.erlc.com.
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