Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Consider that for a moment; gates are defensive, which means the church is on the offense. Christ’s church, built and upheld by His grace, is intentionally charging the gates of hell, and Jesus says those gates shall not prevail. As God promised Abraham, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Genesis 22:17). And as sons and daughters of Abraham by faith, this applies to us and plays out as Jesus promises in Matthew 16. And this is all tied directly to what I went over in a recent sermon I preached on the Great Commission.
In Genesis God called Adam and his descendants to the original Creation/Cultural Mandate, to develop culture that glorifies God throughout the earth. Now, in Christ, we are called to a New Creation/Cultural Mandate, to disciple the nations, meaning to develop culture that glorifies God through the ordinary means of grace—reading/studying God’s Word, preaching/teaching God’s Word, singing and praying God’s Word, and the right practice of the sacraments with God’s people—and every aspect of our lives lived intentionally for the glory of Christ, and to spread it to the ends of the earth, slowly but surely bringing every domain of human existence under joyful submission to the Lordship of Christ to the ends of the earth. Just as every Christian family is to bring their children up in the culture of the Lord, so we should seek to take the Christian culture that we establish in our homes and churches and spread them out to the ends of the earth. We are to bring every area of life—family, education, business, politics, law, medicine, art, recreation, and every lawful vocation, etc—under the Lordship of Christ.
Now, some of you might be thinking that it’s fool hearted or overly optimistic to think that we could ever accomplish something like this. But we must remember the bookends of the Great Commission: All authority has been given to Christ, and He will be with us to the end of the age. All authority for all days… This is Jesus’ way of saying He will help us see it all through. We will be successful by His grace because He is Lord of all. So, though we may seem to be in the minority in a world full of darkness, as John Knox once said, “A man with God is always in the majority.” And not only are we with God, but as Jesus promises, He is with us to the very end of the age. Indeed, He will never leave us nor forsake us. So this can be done. And by God’s grace this will be done.
But, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I don’t necessarily mean that we, meaning us personally in this generation, will accomplish this. But Christ’s Church will accomplish this. As 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 lays out, Christ will reign from heaven, and His reign will spread through His church until all His enemies are subdued by His grace, and then He will return and put death to death and make all things New. So whether it’s 10 years, 1,000 years, or 10,000 years… at some point this will happen. Little by little through faithfulness and sacrifice, the nations will be discipled, and the Great Commission will be accomplished. Our call is to faithfulness in our part in our time, right where God has us. But what does faithfulness look like?
What I said in my sermon is that faithfulness for us (Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church, Terrell TX) means starting where we are and working our way out. We are to seek to live out and leave A Gospel Legacy in Terrell to Kaufman County to East Texas to the whole of Texas to the USA and out to and throughout the World. And the way I proposed we do this is through 7 points.
1. True Christians We are to be true Christians—We can’t export what we don’t have…
2. A True Church We are to have a right understanding/preaching of the gospel and practice of the sacraments…
3. Faithful Christians We are to have a deep/meaningful/growing walk with Christ. We are to dive deep into our Confession and Catechisms and the whole of God’s Word, that we might truly know what we believe and rightly live in light of it. We are to be devoted to prayer, reading and studying God’s Word and solid Christian books, worship in the home, worship with God’s people, and living faithfully in view of all of that…
4. A Faithful Church We are to have and practice a rich ecclesiology, meaningful membership, and seek to establish a parish model (small/close) church. The idea is that we should strive to live, educate, work, and worship all in the same area if possible. Again, this is a longterm plan, so don’t feel like you have to quit your job or sell your house. Remember, part of our plan is to plant churches all over, so if you can’t move near the church, perhaps we’ll plant or revitalize a church near you at some point. And given the average size of healthy churches (usually less than 300 members) and the growth in our area (Kaufman County is currently the fasting growing county in the nation), we are going to need many churches. But, if it’s possible we should give ourselves to being fully invested in a community so that we can live every area of our lives there and develop a Christian culture there. A healthy church, as best they can, does life together…
5. Christian Education What we see in the Great Commission is that being a disciple is about all of Christ for all of life… it’s about a Christian worldview and living out and developing a Christian culture. As Abraham Kuyper put it, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” So as faithful Christians and as a faithful church we are to be about the work of equipping and teaching people to do this. We are to teach people to observe all that Christ has commanded. So obeying all of God’s Word in all of life for the glory of Christ. Every domain of human existence is to be joyfully brought under the Lordship of Christ. So, in education that means Christ-centered reading, writing, and arithmetic. It means God-centered grammar, logic, and rhetoric. It means helping boys and girls, men and women know, love, and live in light of what is true, good, and beautiful. And this means, in part, equipping parents to raise up their children in the nurture/culture and admonition of the Lord. Which implies helping them educate their children, through God-centered homeschool, or a God-centered school(s). Part of my dream/hope/prayer is that we would start a Classical Christian School (K-12) to help those who can’t or for whatever reason don’t want to homeschool. And who knows, maybe we’ll be able to open multiple schools at some point. And who knows, maybe we’ll go beyond that and start a Christian university one day. Christian education across the board is a critical part of the Great Commission. Along with all of this we will also seek to make strategic use of media for evangelistic, education, and edification purposes. Lord willing we will publish articles, sermons, and books, along with posting audio and video of sermons, podcasts, and the like. Perhaps the Lord will allow us to start our own publishing company one day… who knows… Again, I’m sure many think I sound foolish. But, as John Newton once said, “Thou art coming to a King, so with thee large petitions bring! For His grace and power are such, that none can ever ask too much.” In other words, we serve a BIG GOD who answers big prayers, so let’s dream and pray BIG…
6. Christian Vocation We tend to think about Christian vocation merely as ministry, but that’s not what I mean. If we are to live all of life for the glory of Christ that means we are to see every lawful vocation as inherently Christian (this is why I’d like us to start a Christian university one day). There is no neutrality. It’s for Christ or it’s for nothing. But that doesn’t mean that we just do evangelism and Bible studies all day; it means we do everything for God’s glory, realizing we are serving Christ in everything we do. So we do whatever we do with excellence for God’s glory in strategic places so that our Christian lifestyle might influence the world around us. So we need Christian engineers, Christian teachers, Christian CPAs, Christian welders, Christian plumbers, Christian doctors, Christian homemakers, and so on… And if possible these things should be done near where we live and worship. Again, all of Christ for all of life. We should seek to establish businesses and practices, lead, and serve right where we are if we can. But if you can’t, remember, this is a longterm plan. Perhaps you’ll be able to one day. For instance, maybe you have to drive to another area to teach right now, but if/when we open a school you can work here in Terrell. Who knows what the Lord might bring about over time…
7. Christian Multiplication Lastly, we are to pursue intentional church planting and revitalization. As I said earlier, given the average size of healthy churches (usually less than 300 members) and the growth in our area (Kaufman County is currently the fasting growing county in the nation), we are going to need many churches. And if we are going to intentionally impact areas for Christ we are going to have to strategically plant and revitalize churches, and possibly schools as well. So, as I said, we will likely plant and revitalize churches as need and opportunity arises… meaning for instance that if we have enough people coming to Cornerstone from Scurry we will seek to plant or revitalize a church in Scurry, or wherever one is needed, so that those people can be all in where they are for the cause of Christ. But also, in each area, starting in Terrell, we want to strategically plant and revitalize churches as well. If Terrell was the shape of a square we want a church in all four corners and right in the middle. And given that these churches are to be parish models, we will likely need many more to keep up with the growth. And with that, we want each of the churches partnered together in networks to help each other in ministry, education, evangelism, and missions here and to the ends of the earth…
That’s the vision… Are you with me church? Are you willing and ready to give your life for living and leaving a gospel legacy? That’s my vision for us. That’s my hope for us. That’s my prayer for us. So for the next 10-10,000 years, or however long the Lord tarries, may we give ourselves to this mission and be found faithful come what may. No doubt, we will receive much pushback and possibly persecution. No doubt, we will go through many ups and downs. But if we are faithful for the long-haul we will see gospel-transformation here and to the ends of the earth.
Remember, there is no neutrality. Which means every thing we do, every act of faithfulness, everything done for the glory of God, even cooking, cleaning, and changing diapers, if done for God’s glory, is pushing back the darkness and advancing the light of Christ. So, do not underestimate everyday faithfulness. As the missionary father, Husdon Taylor, once said, “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.” So, let’s give ourselves to great things by being faithful in the little things, even while praying that God would do great things. And let’s begin dreaming and praying big for God’s glory and the good of the world. I can’t help but think of that other great quote from Husdon Taylor, “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” May that prove to be true by God’s grace.