Connecting in Community
Matthew
5:17-20; 22:34 -40
Part Two
Preserving the Holy Character of God in Christ by Fulfilling the Law
Again, the first portion of today’s scripture records the Lord’s denial
that He came “to abolish the law of the prophets.” Our Heavenly Father is a loving and most
merciful God but He is also a holy God whose perfect character cannot be
tempted by evil. The Law was given to
help us relate to His holiness. The
prophets were sent to preach about God’s desire that we live as just, righteous
and merciful people. Jesus came to show
us how to do so. He is the human
fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, living a perfect, sinless and
righteous life. To solidify His point,
the Lord says that not even a comma will fall from the Law before it is
fulfilled. In fact, He predicts that
heaven and earth would cease before the Law would. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus expresses His
commitment “to complete” the Law and the Prophets by establishing the new
covenant of love through the gift of His shed blood and broken body.
In the second portion, an expert in the Law, the Jewish Torah or the
first five books of the canonical Old Testament, tests Jesus by asking Him to
state the greatest commandment of God. Jesus
replies by first citing the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5) which the Jews said aloud
twice daily. “Hear, O Israel
Put forth by an expert in the Law, the question about the greatest
commandment arises because Jesus had silenced the Sadducees. In response, the Pharisees, who believed in
the resurrection and equaled the other half of the ruling religious council,
the Sanhedrin, sought to demonstrate that this carpenter could not best their
years of training. With this test, they
resort to religious tradition and conventional wisdom. They rely upon rituals, religiosity and
righteousness as found in the study of the black letters of the Law. In contrast, Jesus emphasizes the importance
of relationship with God and people. As
one strives to leave in love and with integrity with Almighty God and one’s
neighbor, one inevitably fulfills the Law.
Perfectly Fitting a Hand in a Glove: The Great Commandment and The
Great Commission
We preach the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
We emphasize the responsibility that each disciple has to further the
gospel of Christ and expand the kingdom
of God 22:37 -40).
Additionally, fulfilling The Great Commandment and The Great Commission
inevitably leads to direct service ministry and concrete outreach missions work
in the surrounding community, state, region and the world. Essentially, obeying the mandates of The
Great Commandment inescapably fulfills The Great Commission and vice versa.
In Matthew 25, the Lord Jesus declares that we best serve Him by caring
for the most vulnerable citizens: single mothers, impoverished children,
physically and mentally challenged, senior citizens on fixed income and facing
major health challenges, and the economically disadvantaged who lack health
insurance. In accordance with the
biblical mandate to advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, I
contend that the Church intervenes in governmental affairs, policy decision
making and the distribution of resources to prevent the further dehumanization and
marginalization of this segment of the population. The Lord characterizes these citizens as “the
least of these.” Very unfortunately, many Christian clergy and laity support
policies that denigrate the very people that they serve. In some sectors of the Church, the lines
between a devout Christian and a social conservative have been so blurred that
public discourse fails to make critical distinctions. The values of privatized, consumerist
capitalism emphasizing “rugged individualism” arguably are very different from
a biblically based worldview that centers upon social advocacy and justice.
Providing service with the dual purpose of meeting direct needs of
people and advocating for social justice is an effective method for a church to
immerse itself in its local community.
In accordance with Isaiah 61:1-3, Matthew 25 and James 1:26 -27 and 2:14 -26, a local church utilizes its resources
to directly redress the embodied needs of the people in the surrounding
community. These direct service programs
may include food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, healthcare,
employment training, and marital and familial support. The local church bears some responsibility
for empowering congregants to join citizens in advocating for the removal of
socio-economic and socio-political hindrances to a more just and equitable
society. This combination of programs
and purposeful advocacy offers the most productive means of community involvement.
I hasten to add that a local church’s community involvement must be
grounded in The Great Commission. The
favorable trend toward missiology which recommends that we fulfill our mission
as we address the personified needs of people, offers the most strategic
approach. I suggest that we use the
research and knowledge of social scientists and demographers to ensure the
intellectual respectability of our strategies.
This social scientific approach does not denigrate the overarching
importance of Matthew 28:16-20.
Practically speaking, we will examine the most evident needs of the
community as the Lord reveals them through the lives of the people we seek to
serve.
Ministry and mission fit like a hand in a glove. Ministry inevitably leads to the fulfillment
of The Great Commission which is the primary goal that the Lord leaves with the
local church. Central to the purpose
driven lives of all believers is their personal contribution to accomplishing
The Great Commission. Each believer has
a responsibility to evangelize and share his resources to create a society
consistent with the teachings of Christ.
The latter requirement means meeting the direct and embodied needs of
people. Effective ministry necessarily
leads to missions.
Churches complete The Great Commission by implementing missions
programs locally, nationally and internationally. In Acts 1:8, the Lord directs the apostles to
begin in Jerusalem Samaria Judea and then travel to the uttermost
parts of the world to preach the gospel.
Similarly, churches’ mission programs start in their very own back
yards. Each week, I drive by an
established and historic Baptist church, with more than a hundred years of
history, which has experienced substantial decline in membership and programs. The members of the church insist that they
want to change and grow. Interestingly,
the church sits adjacent to a university campus community which includes
nineteen thousand (19,000) students and six thousand (6,000) employees. The church has a ripe mission field directly
across its street! It would be silly for
that church to implement national and international missions programs to the
detriment of ignoring the most obvious local opportunity. Not surprisingly, a mega church in town and
another church near the campus have made incredible inroads into recruiting and
evangelizing members of the university community. This example substantiates the obligation
that local churches have to local missions in addition to regional, national
and global outreach. More significantly,
I contend that ministry and missions are two sides of the same coin as it
relates to a church’s purpose.
Ignorance of the scriptures precludes the development of a vibrant
relationship with the Lord. Evangelism
inevitably suffers when believers do not understand The Great Commission. They fail to commit the resources of time,
money and service to actualize this crucial purpose of the Church. It stands to reason then that countless lives
remain untouched by Christ’s love. Additionally,
disregard for disciplined study of the Word of God creates vulnerability for
the average believer who may be exploited by the crass commercialism practiced
in several sectors of the Church.
Theologically vapid and biblically ignorant sermons encourage spiritual
versions of “rugged individualism” and the American dream to the detriment of
serving God by sharing His love with others.
This gospel of wealth and health, in addition to spiritualized
motivational speaking, tends to be apolitical and ahistorical. Thereby, it detracts from the prophetic,
biblical command to advocate for a more just and equitable society. The Church can redress all of these dilemmas
by reclaiming its uncompromising biblical roots.
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