Two Required Elements For Fulfilling The Great Commission

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). The power of that statement is probably lost by the frequency of its citation. Intellectually, we know this verse, probably having memorized it early on in our Christian life. Yet, heartfully, its application is sometimes pushed aside by the emotion of the moment. It's interesting how much the heart and mind make up the Christian life.

The truth our Lord Jesus Christ uttered in Matthew 22:37 (see also Mark 12:33 and Luke 10:27) defines what it means to follow Him. It is a truth meant to explain the entirety of the Christian life. It's interesting how much the Christian life is defined by the mind and the heart. From the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5) to the New Testament (Romans 12:1-2), the transformation and exertion of the heart and mind are paramount. If the heart and mind are critical to the Christian life, it stands to reason that they are integral to effective evangelism as well and something we need to consider as two required elements of the Great Commission.

The Mind:
The Apostle Paul tells the Romans to be transformed by the renewing of their mind (Romans 12:2). What goes into your mind comes out in your life. This premise, that transformation comes through the renewal of the mind, was an accepted principle by the philosophers of Paul's day, and even they would have agreed with him on this point. The formation of the mind and the transformation of life begins by setting one’s mind on the things above, from which both wisdom and knowledge are developed within the Christian (Colossians 3:1-2; cf. Proverbs 1:7, 9:10).

With the mind, our understanding of the gospel is cultivated so that not only does it lead us towards salvation, but by that same knowledge, the Lord uses us to lead others to salvation. If the gospel has not permeated our minds, we lack the ability to recite it to others. With the mind, we memorize Scripture references, rationalize how to respond to questions and create explanations and illustrations. At the same time, we must remember that God has imposed limitations upon the human mind. It lacks the ability to know all things about all things. And yet, we have confidence that though our knowledge is incomplete, it is not insufficient. The Lord has given us all the knowledge necessary to obey Him. In His goodness, He will not lay out expectations like the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 without equipping us to do it. The mind is an integral aspect of being able to fulfill the Great Commission.

The Heart
Often presented alongside the mind in Scripture is the heart. The two are conjoined together, forming who we are as God's creation. Jeremiah 17:9-10 reminds believers that the heart is impacted by sin, which is why the Lord uses the prophet Ezekiel to speak to Israel about their need for a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27; see also Deuteronomy 30:6; Psalm 51:10). Like the mind, the heart is integral to the transformation of an individual and living in obedience to Christ, making it critical to one’s engagement with the Great Commission.
A heart rightly oriented towards the Lord has three effects on our Great Commission engagement, that include:

• A Desire to Please God: It’s no wonder that the whole content of the law rests on the notion of loving God. One who loves God will seek to please God. This means it drives our desire even to fulfill the Great Commission because a heart that desires to please the Lord will seek His honor and glorification in all things (see 1 Corinthians 10:31), specifically by seeking to make disciples.
• A Desire to Proclaim Truth: A heart oriented toward God, seeking to please God, will seek to be careful and accurate with the truth of God.
• A Desire to Persuade Others: Finally, a heart that is right before the Lord will desire to see others come into a similar relationship with Him as well. In that way, the heart leads one towards loving others by pointing them to God’s truth.

The heart draws us nearer to the Lord, and by doing so, draws us to participate in God’s plan . . . in this case, the Great Commission.

The Mind & The Heart
However, you need both. Critical to evangelism is both the mind AND the heart. A mind oriented towards God is filled with knowledge of God, while a heart oriented towards Him is filled with love of God. A mind oriented towards God with a heart that is not will be a person who becomes puffed up with knowledge and conceited (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:1). Such a person will come across as unkind and unloving. On the other side, a heart is oriented towards God with a mind that does not lack knowledge, creating the potential to lead people astray. One who does not know the gospel cannot lead others through the gospel, making knowledge necessary.

Scripture draws out the connection between the heart and mind for us, just as God intended to do, I'm sure since He is the author of all Scriptures. It becomes an essential aspect of the Christian life and if one side is favored over the other (or if one lacks) then our walk with Christ may be lopsided. This influences both our ability and willingness to engage in the Great Commission. Therefore, as we think about the heart and mind in our lives, we are reminded of the need to cultivate both so that we may better glorify the Lord by serving Him in the Great Commission.

,