CHBC Connect for October 18, 2024
A Great Command and a Great Commission:
At Capitol Hill Baptist Church our ultimate goal is to develop fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ who live by the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) and who fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Everything thing we in choosing ministries, activities, and fellowships are focused on helping one another love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, love our neighbor as ourselves, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing, and teaching them.
Loving God is where it all begins. When we commit ourselves to love God as called upon by Scripture, we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love.” Obedience to loving one another is evidence of genuine faith.
Not only will we love one another – remember love is doing something, not feeling something (see 1 Cor. 13) – but we will love those who do not know Christ and desire to see them come to repentance and faith. We will actively pursue ways to share the gospel with those who are now separated from Christ. We will pray for those who are lost, we will give so missionaries make it to places where people need to hear the gospel. That will include our neighborhoods, our workplaces, the halls of our city, state, and national government.
Loving God means loving neighbor, believing and unbelieving. It means learning more about God, becoming more like God, and acting more like God. The ramifications and applications are deep and wide. Christian men and women in the workforce will give their best at work as serving the Lord, so that God is honored, people benefit from their work, and co-workers and clients see a living gospel.
Christian moms and dads will parent in such a way as training their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Providing food, shelter, and clothing. But also providing love, nurture, correction, and discipline, so their children are cared for in this world, but are also aware of their need of a Savior for the life to come.
Believing retired adults will want to use newfound hours to spend worshiping God, serving His church, and investing in generations who are coming behind them. Their love of God will flow out to one another, as well as younger adults by showing themselves as an example of service in the church, faithfulness in marriage, and ongoing missional living.
No age or stage of life is exempt from living by the Great Commandment or fulfilling the Great Commission. It is up to each of us to discover how that is to be lived out where we are today. It is not something we get around to someday. It is what we do every day.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
