Christian Goals
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesOne of the reasons why the church is not growing spiritually (or numerically) as it did forty or fifty years ago is simply because the church of today is not responsive to the goals outlined in the New Testament designed for its continued growth and development. Without goals (purpose and direction), any organization or organism will eventually stagnate and die.
The word “goal”, according to Mr. Webster, is “an object or end that one strives to attain; aim.” Within any organization (either corporate or non-corporate), one will usually find a “Strategic Plan” for that particular organization. Within that Strategic Plan one will find the “goals” of that organization to be achieved. Likewise, within the pages of God’s Word (His Strategic Plan), God has outlined certain goals that each Christian (who make up the corporate body – the church – Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Corinthians 12:12,20,27; Ephesians 4:25; Ephesians 5:30) is responsible for achieving. In this article, let us look at three main goals for the Lord’s church found within the pages of God’s Word.
Goal #1 – Teach All Nations – (Matthew 28:19)
Since Christianity is a “taught” religion (Acts 1:1; Acts 4:18; Acts 5:28,42; 1 Corinthians 4;17; 1 Corinthians 14:19; Colossians 2:7; 1 Tim. 1:3; 1 Tim. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Tit. 2:4; Hebrews 5:12), members of the Lord’s church have the goal of “teaching” the saving gospel of Christ to all mankind (Matthew 28:18; Colossians 4:6; 2 Timothy 2:25; 1 Peter 3:15).
Note: The apostles achieved this goal in the first century according to Romans 10:18 and Colossians 1:5-6,23. Does not God expect Christians living in the twenty-first century to achieve this same goal as well? Let us remember that God does not require us to achieve something that is impossible to achieve (cf. Acts 11:29).
Goal #2 – Baptize Them By The Authority Of The Godhead – (Matthew 28:19)
Since all Persons in the Godhead are involved in the salvation process (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Hebrews 10:7-23), it stands to reason that they (God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit) have the authority to determine the means that is to be used in the salvation process. They have chosen the element of baptism as the means by which our sins are forgiven and washed away (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Peter 3:21) providing entrance into the Lord’s body – the church (Romans 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27; Acts 2:47; cf. Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:23). Thus the goal of “baptizing all nations” by the authority of the Godhead is a required goal for all Christians to achieve.
Goal #3 – Teaching All Nations To Observe All Of The Lord’s Commands – (Matthew 28:20; cf. Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19; Acts 3:22-23)
This would include all of the spiritual principles, precepts, instructions, exhortations, commands, etc., that make up the whole body of teaching within the New Testament law of Christ (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3; Romans 8:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:21; Gal. 6:2; 2 Timothy 3:16; James 2:8; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Conclusion
Goals give us purpose and direction in our lives both physically and spiritually. Our heavenly Father wants us (as Christians) to know that our purpose (as the church) is to tell everyone we come in contact with (“all nations”) about the saving gospel of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Colossians 1:5-6,23) so that mankind’s direction will be pointed (aimed) toward heaven (John 14:1-4; Colossians 1:5-6; Colossians 3:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3-4) and not toward hell.