The impetus for fulfilling the Great Commission often is presented as the need to save people from Hell and get them into Heaven.

It is true that the wicked are sent to Hell when they die and the righteous go to be with the Lord. But the Lord Jesus did not mention this when He gave the Great Commission and therefore we should not do so when describing the Great Commission. We should try to keep to what the Lord stated as much as possible.

Sometimes little departures from the words of the Scriptures, often innocent enough, eventually result in massive departures from the truth. Little errors have a way of accumulating.

The purpose of the Great Commission is to teach those whom God has called out of the nations to keep the Lord's commandments—not to go to Heaven by grace, but to keep the Lord's commandments! The members of the Christian churches have not made more of an impact on the world than they have because they do not keep the Lord's commandments! We are not doing what the Lord instructed us to do!

The term Hell is not found in Paul's epistles. This is strange if the purpose of the Gospel is to save sinners from Hell and bring them to Heaven!

An emphasis on escaping Hell and gaining Heaven is not found in the Book of Acts. This is remarkable if the purpose of the Gospel is to save sinners from Hell and bring them to Heaven!

The addition of these words may appear to be in keeping with the Lord's will and may seem harmless. It is hardly that! It is destructive of God's purposes regarding His Kingdom. Let us explain why.

Sinners always belong in Hell and always are in Hell, so to speak, even though it is not manifest as yet.

The righteous always belong in the Presence of God in Paradise and always are in the Presence of God in Paradise, even though it is not manifest as yet.

It is a fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners from Divine wrath and bring them into the Presence of God. This is absolutely true. However, the great error in the manner in which we present the Great Commission is by proclaiming that the Lord saves people from the wrath of God through forgiveness alone.

The Lord Jesus did not come to bring sinners into Paradise, except in a secondary sense. This is not the Gospel of the Kingdom. Those who continue in sin shall never inherit the Kingdom of God whether or not they name the name of Jesus.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5)

Rather it is true that the Lord Jesus came to save sinners by making them new creatures, by transforming them so they would be citizens fit for Heaven, for the Presence of God.

Therefore the Great Commission is not to give people a pass from Hell to Heaven but to make them disciples, teaching them to obey the commandments of the Lord.

The difference in spiritual significance between these two concepts, the ticket concept and the new creation concept, is so tremendous as to be hardly describable in words. The ticket concept has led to moral chaos in the churches. The new creation concept brings forth saints of God.

To be continued.