The Mission of Christ

Have you ever thought about what the mission of the church really should be? Is it social, or political, or economic? Is it the purpose and mission of the church to feed the hungry, or to solve all the political problems of the time? Is it to raise the people to the top of the social ladder? This is something that all of us should think about. I would like us to think back to the purpose of Jesus’ mission in the world. Why did Jesus come to earth? John 10:10 says: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Luke writes: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Now that is a mission statement if I have ever heard one. We should be able to determine from that passage of scripture that Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to save man from sin so that we can have eternal life if we obey what He has asked of us.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). He also said: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Jesus came to save man from sin. That was His purpose for going to the cross. Now, the gospel is God’s power to save. Romans 1:16 says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Our preaching must be directed to that end. I would encourage you to take a look at the church where you attend. Can it be said that the mission of that church is the same as that what Jesus taught, “to seek and save the lost?” 

Jesus Came to Save Man from Sin

When Jesus came to the world, mankind was in sin without a way of salvation. True, the law of Moses pointed to the way of Christ, but up to that time the Jews relied on the law - which was God’s law - but it could not take away sin. The Bible says, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect” (Hebrews 10:1). It took the blood of Christ to take away sin. Jesus came for that purpose, and when we preach the gospel today, it is for the purpose of telling mankind about the saving power of God and to make men know of the Christ who came to die for sins. Our mission is not to entertain or preach philosophy. It is not to teach economics, but to spread the good news that Jesus died for our sins, and in believing and obeying Christ, we can have the salvation of our eternal spirits.

Only Jesus could do what He came to do - to die for man’s sins. He was both human and divine. He was and is God’s Son, being deity Himself, the one who could save. Jesus came to save us and left a message (the Bible) for us to deliver to the world. Christians are the ones responsible for spreading the message of salvation. Thus, our message is a spiritual one. It is our sincere conviction that our preaching must be to try to get men to listen to Jesus, the savior of the world. Such is the true mission of the church.