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The Mission of the Church of Christ                              by Danny Dodson               

 

In Luke 19: 10, Jesus stated that his two-fold mission was “…to seek and save the lost.”  Jesus accomplished the “saving” of the lost when he willingly offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, and died on the cross of Calvary to redeem the sins of those that would obey Him.  Yet, in his death, his physical presence was taken away from man.  How, then, is Jesus able to accomplish that part of his mission concerning the “seeking” of the lost?  In Christ’s absence, seeking the lost is accomplished by His church.  It is accomplished by Point Mallard Parkway Church of Christ; and, it is accomplished by other missionary-minded churches of Christ.

 

In Matthew 28, the resurrected Jesus was preparing to ascend back to the Father to reign at His right hand.  Just prior to his ascension, Jesus gave these instructions to his apostles in verses 18-20:

 

18.  Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19.  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20.  "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.''   (NKJ)

 

Mark 16: 15-16 renders the final instructions of Christ in this way:

 

15.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16.  "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”  (NKJ)

 

The apostles were instructed to seek the lost throughout all the world; to teach them of salvation in Christ; to baptize those who believed into the body of Christ; and, then, to teach baptized believers to observe all the things that Jesus had commanded them.  Obviously, one of the fundamental things which the apostles were commanded to teach the new converts to observe was to “seek” and “teach” the lost.

 

Notice, that in His final words on earth, Jesus created a process that would insure that his mission of seeking the lost would be accomplished throughout all the generations to come.  The church of Christ is the means by which that mission continues to be accomplished today.

 

There is a beautiful old hymn entitled The World’s Bible written by Annie Flint.  The words of the first verse aptly explain the role of the church of Christ in teaching the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.

 

Christ has no hands, but our hands, to do His work today;

          He has no feet, but our feet, to lead men in His way;

          He has no tongue, but our tongues, to tell men how He died;

          He has no help, but our help, to bring them to His side.

 

At Point Mallard Parkway Church of Christ, we are striving to be the hands, the feet, the tongue, and the help of Jesus.  Christ has done His part; and, we must do our part. 

 

If you are in the Decatur, Alabama, area, and currently looking for a congregation to worship and work with, we hope you will give Point Mallard Parkway a try. 

 

Thanks for viewing our web site.  May God bless you with success as you strive to serve Him daily.