THE GOSPELS

In this section:

MATTHEW 28:20

MATTHEW 28:20

The context of Matthew 28:20 takes place directly after Jesus has been crucified and has risen from the dead. He is talking to His students. As we read Him giving His missionary commission to them, He tells them to go out and make students of people from all the nations, and He says to be,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 ESV)

According to the typical NEST interpretation, it is declared concerning Christ's words to His students that He commissions to herald His crucifixion, resurrection, and soon return to Israel, that the key to Christ being with saved people always, is if they contingently observe, as a matter of works, all that Christ commanded His students.

The NEST is wrong, and it is easy to see why. This is not a contingency statement at all. Instead, it is simply a statement of fact. This reflects what Jesus said back in chapter 24,

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:35)

Jesus is telling His students to teach the nations to observe all that He commanded because His words will not pass away. The primary way that He has ordained that His commandments, and words, will not pass away is through the spread of His word by these men. History demonstrates to us that such is the case. We are studying His words and commandments now. They have not passed away. Finally Jesus gives encouragement to the students who are now apostles receiving commission, that He is with them always, even to the end of the age.

With that said, we recognize that we should also teach people to observe Christ's commandments, and the reason that we do so, is because Christ's words, commandments, doctrine, precepts, and wisdom, will not pass away. We who believe in being Once Saved In Eternal Spiritual Salvation, also believe that Christ is the Lord to be obeyed, so we teach His words and commandments for obedience to them. Further, we also recognize that Christ is with us always, just as He stated to His students. Though these things are true of us today, the question concerning Christ's directive here, that we need to ask, is, "what exactly are Christ's commandments that we are to teach?" The answer is not very difficult. Christ's commandments are easy to identify, and they are not very complicated. In simple terms, describing the essential elements of the one commandment, we find that it can be summed in: love and belief. It is the same commandment that the apostle John was commissioned to teach, and so he references it in 1 John 2:6-9. John recorded the belief part where Jesus commanded it earlier in His pre-cross ministry among Israel in John 3 and 6, where Jesus says,

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36 emph. mine)

Notice that Jesus equates the act of obedience to be the same as believing in the Son. There is more to this, as we read,

"28 Therefore they said to Him, 'What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?' 29 Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" (John 6:28-29 emph. mine)

This is a commandment of Christ that we Christians teach, "that you believe in Him," which, is belief that is a supernatural gift from God; actually it is "the work of God" in His enabling of people to accomplish this commandment. We are considering the commandment that incorporates both belief and love, so now this leads us to Christ's new commandment that He gave to His students where He says,

"34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this [new commandment] all men will know that you are My students, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

We have just seen the two commandments summed in the passages given above. There is more. Both of those statues of Christ's commandments are found together in one citation. The same apostle John, (who was there that day when Christ gave the apostolic commission), states in 1 John 3:23,

"This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." (1 John 3:23 emph. mine)

This is the commandment of God that Jesus taught. Paul the apostle lays it out too, where he calls it the "law of faith," in Romans 3:27, and "love," in Galatians 5:14, (cf. Romans 13:8-10). James calls this law of love, the "royal law," in James 2:8. Paul is very specific in Galatians 6:2, where he refers to it as "the law of Christ." Later, we see that John gives the second part again in 2 John,

"5... not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another." (2 John 1:5)

So, here is the commandment that sums up all commandments that we are to teach in the New Covenant:

A) believe in the name of God's Son Jesus Christ, which is equated to loving Him according to John 16:27 (cf. 1 Peter 1:8);

B) love one another.

All who are truly saved, actually do observe these commandments. On the other hand, all who reject Messiah in their sinful flesh bound corrupt natures, do not observe these commandments of Jesus.

With the proper understanding of this final passage out of Matthew, we recognize that the gospel chronicle of Matthew does not have any teaching in it that remotely suggests that one can lose one's salvation, gain salvation through meritorious effort, or maintain keeping salvation secure by humanistic effort.