The Great Commission (making disciples through the gospel) and the Great Commandment (serving our neighbors through loving works) can neither be separated or confused.
via Live at The Gospel Coalition – White Horse Inn Blog.
Right, because one would never want to confuse “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” with “love God” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus never taught that, right? So it is not something included in the Great Commission, right? One moves on from the Great Commission and adds obedience to the Great Commandment. Don’t confuse them, whatever you do.
It is so wonderful that Evangelicals can be saved from simple Biblicism by the sophistications found in the mysteries of “confessional” (sure, whatever they say) Reformed [sic] Theology ™.
(Yes, I realize I’ve had my own problems with those who could be described as “Biblicists.” The label is flexible. Much like describing the quotation above as “Reformed.”)
There’s this constant strain running through this kind of argument that seems to suggest that you can be obedient “outwardly” in a “non-gospelly” sort of way, and that “obedient” really is the word for doing that. Or that doing good works to your neighbors in some spirit other than that of the gospel is actually “loving” them.
But it seems to me that it’s as unReformed as it gets to call this sort of hypocritical outward stuff “obedience.” Why not just take it at face value — obedience, REAL obedience, partakes of and communicates the gospel? Why do we have to pretend that there’s such a thing as “obedience” or “obeying Christ’s commands” that is really just faithless works-righteousness, when that’s categorically impossible?