Who was the Great Commission given to?

Yes, in order to observe the feast at Pentecost, then they returned home (eventually).

Paul told the Jews, "It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you" (Acts 13:48). The gospel was to 'the Jew first' [Acts 3:26; Ro 1:16]. There was a very serious time line involved for every Jew of 'that generation' alive on the planet. The urgency of the message to 'the Jew first' was 'Save yourselves from this crooked generation' (Acts 2), and 'Every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people' (Acts 3).

Consider what was coming upon 'that generation':

upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. Mt 23:35,36

God made sure that every Jew on earth was given the chance to 'hearken to that prophet' before the wrath came. All the Jews of that generation on earth heard the gospel, and were given the chance to repent and escape the wrath that was to come upon 'that generation', and for their progeny to avoid the curses of the OT [Lev 26; Dt 28 & 31,32] that were to come upon the race. God gave her time to repent (a full forty year generation), but she would not

 

I was raised in a very fervent evangelical fundamental dispensational missionary SB Church. 'The great commission', as some call it, has most certainly been abused, and the awful horrendous lie/burden that slacking soul winners will be responsible for many of those perishing in hell has indiscriminately been placed upon the backs of God's lambs. Even those under the harsh schoolmaster of the law had no such burden placed upon them, and it's totally contrary to Christ's words:

28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Mt 11

 

.....and lo, I am with you all the days -- till the full end of the age.` YLT

The 'consumation of the [Old Covenant] age'.

 

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. No one can be saved without the Lord. I am a definite believer in God's sovereignty, but this thread sounds like an elaborate excuse for laziness.

 

Not at all. Though the Great Commission was directed specifically at the apostles there are other verses for Christians in General Ie... Matthew 25

and again

and again

or how about Matthew 5

or Matthew 6

each of these were directed at the greater audience than just the 12.

 

Maybe I typed my post incorrectly. Let me say it a different way. It is not up for us to decide who to tell about Jesus Christ and the Gospel, we are commanded to go. It is up to the Lord to touch those who we have told. If the Lord does not touch them, they will not respond. God is the Decider, not man. The point I was making, God deciding gives us no excuse to sit on our lazy backside in pew for fifty years like a manikin.

 

I don't disagree. However, I will add that along with our "being ready at all times to give an answer to the hope within us" that acts of Charity must be done as well. Rather than just give money and food to food banks we should be actively helping the poor and the needy.

 

I actually have done that before, even when the church thought the person asking for benevolence was not being honest, on more than one occasion. Once I felt lead to hand over a $20 bill. Maybe he used it for what he said he needed, maybe he did not. I did what I felt was right at the time.

 

quite understandable. I will take a person to the grocery store and by them a couple of weeks worth of groceries. This way I know they are getting food that they need.

 

You are quite correct brother. Yet it is not that difficult to understand even without the evidence of others present it is still a command from Jesus to His disciples, which I am one and any other who claim to follow Jesus Christ.

Disciples of Jesus Christ are commanded to LEARN, CONFORM and TEACH others to do the same, which is all throughout the scriptures.

Matthew 28 is for ALL CHristians. :thumbsup:

 

kyr

You said some good things,however, God does not give chances to repent to men, He gives Repentance to them Acts 5:31

31Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

 

Amen, and any theory comes up with not going as we are commanded is nothing but laziness. God is Creator, Savior, Lord, Counselor, and hundreds of other titles, however, one thing He is not is our autopilot so we can sit on our duffs. If we were destined to be mindless robots, then I doubt the Lord would have given us a brain and the ability to think. It is amazing that man will spend more effort thinking up insane theories about why not to go and tell others about Jesus than to just go and do it.

Picture this, Moses is in front of Pharoah. Pharoah says, "I will not let your people go." Moses says, "I have nothing to say, the Lord wills what the Lord wills." Oh yes, and I remember the story of Phillip saying to the Ethiopian as they passed, "have a nice day." Then a few miles later, the Lord appears with His magic wand, zaps the Ethiopian, and voila, he is saved. And always remember, when the disciples went out two by two, they observed a vow of silence until they returned. My questions, after all the advanced education most on this board have had in Scripture and theology, did they sleep through class and pay the professor for a passing grade? Or is it just sheer laziness?

 

1 And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying,
2 Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Mt 3

From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mt 4:17

22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people.
31 Even so ye also, when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all things be accomplished. Lu 21

And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. Rev 2:21

......Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: Rev 18:4

See:
http://www.baptistboard.com/showpost.php?p=1525607&postcount=11

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish.
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Lu 13

And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. Acts 2:40

And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Acts 3:23

IMHO, there were many of His children who fell away [back to] apostate Judaism and perished in that judgment that came upon Israel.

 

kent

That has not changed anything, God gives Repentance and that is how someone repents ! Paul taught that 2 Tim 2:25

25in meekness instructing those in opposition. Perhaps God will give them repentance, that they may acknowledge the truth,

 

The Great Commission was given for those present and many have taken that to apply to all Christians. Does anyone know of anywhere else in the N. T. where laymen are specifically instructed to preach or teach the Gospel to the unsaved?

 

I have examined your post #43 and have not found anywhere that says laymen are specifically told to witness to the unsaved. I suppose if one assumed that the Great Commission is to include every Christian, then one could come to a general (desired) conclusion that it includes Christain laymen.

With all the instructions to the Christians (laymen and ministers) included in the books after the gospels, one would expect instructions to the Christians would include laymen witnessing to the unsaved, if all Christians are included in the great commission.

Can you find a scripture (other than in the Gospels) that either specifically says or even implies that laymen are directed to witness to the unsaved.

I am not saying that laymen should not witness to the unsaved; I just can't find a scripture to support it.

 

drf

The unsaved were not even the objects of the Great Commission, it was only for the Sheep that had been made Alive by the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead, or Begotten Again 1 Pet 1:3

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

All such ones would be teachable and able to be made disciples ! Just like the ones on the Day of Pentecost that Peter preached to, they had been Begotten Again by Jesus Christ's Resurrection from the Dead Acts 2:32-33

32This Jesus hath God raised up, of which we are all witnesses.


33Therefore, being exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.

They were made Teachable by the Spirit's Work in them Acts 2:38

37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"


38Then Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

These are some Christ meant that they, The Apostles should make disciples and to teach them. And these were Teachable Acts 2:42


42Ad they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine[teaching] and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers.

 

My question was:
"Can you find a scripture (other than in the Gospels) that either specifically says or even implies that laymen are directed to witness to the unsaved?"

The above does not answer the question. So you could not find a scripture that directs laymen to witness to the unsaved. Apparently, there is no scripture that says or implies that laymen are directed to witness to the unsaved. Perhaps someone else knows of a scripture that answers the question.

Of all the instructions that Paul gives to the churches in his letters, I don't think the issue of laymen witnessing to the unsaved is addressed.