Tuesday, October 01, 2013

The Gospel Commission, Michael Horton

If you are on the search to find out what the Lord really meant by "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," then you need look no further than this volume by Michael Horton.  Each phrase within the Great Commission is teased apart and masterly applied to the life of the church today.  There are three main sections to the book: The Great Announcement; The Mission Statement and The Strategic Plan.  These three sections are covered in a total of ten chapters.  In the opening section the writer sets the scene of the Lord's charge to his church by setting out a Biblical summary of the kingdom of God showing why all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ.  In the middle section the command to go is investigated,  contextualisation wisely handled and the goal of making disciples is unpacked.  The final section is the largest and contains most of the practical material of the volume.  In this section the chapter entitled The Great Commission and the Great Commandment is one of the most helpful.  In this chapter the modern day emphasis on mercy ministry is given a careful rebalancing as we are reminded that the primary purpose of the church is to preach the gospel.
There is much in this volume that is wise and an important sound for the church today.  Well worth the read and a good volume for any seminary course on mission and evangelism.