FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE!

 

FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE!

What did Christ give us freely and what are we supposed to be freely giving to others? The answer to this question is the subject of today’s blog post. To understand the answer to this question, you must know a little something about Christ’s commissions. Yes, that's right, I said commissionS! Plural! Did you know that Christ gave more than one commission? Keep reading!

CHRIST’S COMMISSIONS
Did you know that Christ gave His Apostles two commissions?

While most people have heard about the ‘Great Commission’, many are not aware that the Great Commission was actually Christ’s second instruction to His Apostles! The Great Commission was given at the end of the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 28:19-20, KJV, emphasis mine):

        19 Go ye therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

        20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

But Christ’s first commission to His Apostles was given a few chapters earlier in Matthew 10:5-8 (KJV, emphasis mine):

        5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

        6 But go rather to the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

        7 And as ye go, PREACH, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

        8 HEAL the sick, CLEANSE the lepers, RAISE the dead, CAST OUT devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE TWO COMMISSIONS?
There are two main differences between these commissions. Let’s review them.

1. DIFFERENCE #1 (what the Apostles were supposed to do): In His first commission, the Apostles were given FIVE instructions but in the Great Commission they were only given ONE instruction.

        1 (a) the five instructions in the first commission were:

            -preach the message: ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand’

            -heal the sick

            -cleanse the lepers

            -raise the dead

            -cast out devils

        1 (b) the only instruction in the Great Commission was:

            -teach people what I taught you

2. DIFFERENCE #2 (who the Apostles’ were supposed to target): In His first commission, Christ told the Apostles to focus their efforts on the Jews (aka the lost sheep of the house of Israel) but in the Great Commission the Apostles were told to expand their focus and teach all nations throughout the world.

What do these differences mean? Simply this. As believers, teaching the whole world Christ's message is the most important activity that we have. It is the most important contribution that we can make. But remember that teaching people is NOT the same as converting people! To understand the difference, go to my website and read my Bible study book on the Great Commission. And BTW, Christ gives us a warning about this teaching- do it FREELY! Christ says: freely you have been given, freely give!

WHAT IS SIMILAR IN THESE TWO COMMISSIONS?
We now know what is different between these commissions. Is there anything that is similar about them? Yes! In both commissions, the Apostles were instructed to preach a message unique to Christ!

The first commission specifically instructed the Apostles to preach the message of the kingdom of heaven. And the second commission instructed the Apostles to preach only what Christ had taught them.

In earlier blog posts, I have explained that Christ’s first sermon (Matthew 4:17) introduced us to the concept of the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Did you know that the ‘kingdom of heaven’ message is mentioned 31 times in the New Testament? That's a lot! But, it is ONLY mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. The ‘kingdom of heaven’ is never mentioned in any of the Pauline books!

As faithful disciples, we are NOT to teach, share or spread messages that Christ Himself did not teach! For example, Christ NEVER taught us the ‘gospel of Christ’ or any other such messages. But do you know who did? The authors of the tares- the members of the Pauline group!

As disciples of Christ, it is our duty to share His message. True believers are not disciples of Paul or Mark or Luke! Remember, it is our responsibility to recognise His true gospel, to share His true gospel and to reject false gospels!

THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES!
You will find Christ’s true gospel in the Apostolic Scriptures. What are the Apostolic Scriptures? They are the wheat without the tares! The Apostolic Scriptures allow you to enjoy Christ’s undiluted message without being misled by the tares. The Apostolic Scriptures are the ten Books written by His Apostles.

        § The Gospel according to Matthew

        § The Gospel According to John

        § The Epistle of James

        § The First Epistle of Peter

        § The Second Epistle of Peter

        § The First Epistle of John

        § The Second Epistle of John

        § The Third Epistle of John

        § The Epistle of Jude

        § The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Learn to appreciate and share Christ’s message of devotion to God and loving kindness to one another.

DOWNLOAD MY FREE GIFT TODAY!
In honour of Matthew 10:8, I am providing free ebook copies of the Apostolic Scriptures! Just visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG to get your FREE copy!

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HARVEST TIME Prophecies’ is the blog post site of TNG Academy. Our blog post site gets its name from Matthew 13:30- the separation of wheat and tares that occurs at harvest time (i.e. the endtimes). Remember, the ‘wheat’ symbolises the things of God and the ‘tares’ symbolise the things of the devil.

The purpose of this blog is threefold.

1. Some of the posts are written to help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the theology of Christ’s core message- i.e. the ‘gospel of the kingdom’.

2. Some of the posts are written for the reader’s personal discipleship journey. We need to understand what God expects from us. After all, all believers should be on a journey of ‘becoming’ our best selves, capable of impacting and changing the world!

3. Finally, some of the posts are written to answer this question:

    What would our faith look like today IF we had fully embraced Christ’s doctrines, as recorded by His Apostles, and rejected the doctrines of Paul and the other false apostles?

If we are sincere about our desire to restore Christianity to its roots, i.e. a return to Christ’s original message, then we must start by admitting that ‘while men slept’ (Matthew 13:25) the enemy planted false teachings (tares) into the New Testament!

Visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG, to see our Bible study books. Which books would I recommend for you to read first? Start with these three-

• WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
• MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN!
• THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES.