Atlas’s Excuses – Dropping The Great Commission

Posted: May 8, 2010 | Author: Andrew Robb | Filed under: Reflections | Leave a comment »

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:8-10

Tragically, many Christians abuse the doctrine of election to relieve themselves of vital responsibility.

How many times have we heard someone say (or thought to ourselves): “If he’s one of God’s elect, then God’s going to save him anyhow, so why should I do anything?” Is this what Paul told Timothy? Of course not! Paul was willing to endure anything for the sake of God’s elect, and demonstrated this by the way he lived… and died.

Unlike us today, Paul knew that the doctrine of election enables our responsibility.

The Great Commission

The difference is that Paul understood the Great Commission:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Christians today do not understand their responsibility because they do not understand their Bibles. Jesus does not claim that, since He has all authority, the disciples are useless. Instead, He tells his disciples to go and make disciples because of his authority. There is no explanation, only the command. Jesus will not do it himself; his disciples must. We work in his power according to his will, but we do the work.

This is a monumental task.

No man could bear the weight of the Great Commission by himself if he understood what was at sake. Madness swiftly descends at the thought of men’s salvation depending on our ability. Did I try hard enough? What did I say wrong? Will that person be in Hell tomorrow? Each death is a sinner that you. didn’t. save.

Stronger than a Giant

Paul knew that the promises of election transform the Great Commission from a nightmarish weight into a shoulderable responsibility. Jesus tells us in John 6:44 that no one can come to the Father unless the Father draws him, yet previously he said, in verse 37, that all those the Father gives to Him will come. No one who the Father has not elected will believe (for we were all lost in our sin), yet neither will any of His elect be lost by His disciples’ bumbling incompetence. We have this assurance precisely because of the authority given to Jesus.

Without the power of God, we might as well have Atlas’s responsibility of holding the world on our shoulders. Atlas could bear the weight of the world because of his massive strength; Jesus’ upholds the weight of the entire universe by His very word. It is this strength that enables and guarantees the completion of the work necessary to bring in God’s elect.

Paul knew this strength full well; It is why he cried: “The word of God is not bound!” This was his hope in the midst of his chains. Paul knew that because of the power of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, the word which he preached could not be bound by men’s hatred or our weakness. The knowledge that the gospel cannot be hindered gave him strength to endure the cost required to deliver that word to God’s elect. We should be ashamed at the worldliness masked behind our feeble excuses; we are not willing to pay the cost, because we have lost sight of the power of the gospel.

The Great Reward

The cost required is indeed great, yet for those who trust in the power of the gospel, the reward is greater. What awaited the elect saved through Paul’s gospel presentation was the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Because of this Paul scorned the treasures of the world, counting them all as loss, for the sake of God’s elect.

Ephesians 2:7 tells us that we were raised with Christ so that he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. What is to be compared with the treasure of salvation?! Nothing in heaven or earth can compare with a gift such as this! How greatly is the glory of God displayed in such lavish blessing! How can we shirk back from delivering the Gospel to the world when such great things are at stake? We have lost sight of the immeasurable worth of the glory of God, blinded by our own comfort and security…

We cannot abuse election to excuse us of the task Jesus laid on our shoulders. Instead, election confirms its feasibility; the power of God will ensure that his elect are saved through our proclamation of the gospel. Election is not a reason to let evangelism to roll off our backs, it is the reason we shoulder it without going mad.

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