Knowing all of the truths of God's word gives us a foundation upon which we can begin to understand the 'Great Commission' God has set before us. First, we must equip ourselves for the battle. We must get on a personal level with God and come to the understanding that we were trapped before we accepted God's gift of salvation. We were under a false ordinance of Satan. He had full control over our lives and was directing us in the ways of himself instead of God, but now we are free and no longer subject to Satan's kingdom. Jesus paid for it all on the cross to set us free. 'Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage', Galations 5:1.
We most assuredly are free in Jesus and are instructed to put on the whole armor of God on a daily basis, '..that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil', Ephesians 6:11b. Although we are free indeed and heirs of God through Jesus, we are still living in a sinful world that is dominated by sins curse. This understanding helps us realize the war we are in and the victory we have in Jesus Christ. We are prisoners no longer. We are free indeed!
We must grasp this understanding of who we are in Christ in order to be able to effectively go out and spread the gospel to every person. If we don't believe that we were in a false reality of bondage that Satan had over our lives before we received Christ, then witnessing becomes just works. It is so much more than works!
Witnessing is considered fulfilling the 'Great Commission' because God chose his kids and joint heirs before the world was even made to do this work. 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together', Romans 8:16-17. Then Satan came and stole what was not rightfully his. Although Adam and Eve did willingly give in to Satan, they started a cycle of darkness that fell over the entire earth. Romans 5:12 says, 'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned'.
There is good news. Ephesians 2:4-5 says,'But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are ye saved'. We see just how much God loved us in Romans 5:8, 'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' We were hopeless without God.
It is so important to understand who we are in Christ as believers. If we do not realize that we were chosen before the beginning of the world, our whole perspective of this entire subject is lost to a false understanding. When we go out to reach the lost, what exactly are we doing? We are reaching the lost children of God, a lost brother or sister, who was predestined before the beginning of the world to become the sons of God just like we were. 'For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren', Romans 8:29.
We are going out to love a lost brother or sister who is trapped in darkness. When you wrap your mind around this concept, the focus goes from our works and their sin, to their bondage and God's love in us for their situation. This is exactly how Jesus approached the world when he came. He went about healing the sick and preaching the kingdom of God, and many turned to Jesus for their healing as a result, as it was foretold in Isaiah 53 that by his stripes we are healed. People are still looking for healing of the hurts sin has put on their soul, minds and bodies. John 14: 6 -- Jesus is still the only way!
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