Are The Great Commandment and The Great Commission Incompatible?

Romans 1:16-17 (New International Version)

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[a] just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

I cannot agree with trying to pit one scripture against another. As our Lord said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Yes of course we must love our neighbors and also we are called to make disciples. If we just love them and remain silent about the gospel, we run the risk of never giving them the most loving information they need - that Jesus is the Way, the truth and the Life. If Jesus is the best thing we have then sharing him in word is just as important as sharing him in deed. How do you do that without being judgemental - you do it with humility - as one broken person to another. Sin is stil the biggest killer of all and we all have it in our life what we all need is the cure. It is not about some magic evangelism words but it is about loving someone and being open and honest about what we believe while at the same time admitting that God is still working on us too. It is possible to be a loving evangelist. Read Pippert's - Out of the Salt Shaker & Hybels Just Walk ...

John brings up a good point, one that I identify with.I used to be an atheist. When Christians would tell me that I had to change, I resisted and resented their message. Even when the messenger was my wife. She was saved 3 years before me. It's the "I'm holier than thou, therefore better than thou" attitude that really got to me. When a non-believer hears, "I love you" followed by "now change," the latter negates the former and reinforces the non-believer's preconceived notions about Christians. Many Christians, and I include myself, have a tendency to judge non-Christians...which Jesus told us not to do. When the change message comes from a judgemental point of view, it is not received well, if at all. An earlier post talked about being an example. That is what we need to do. We need to be the miracle. We need to be compassionate. We need to preach the GOspel...and sometimes even use words. Let our light shine through so that people see it is our Father in Heaven who is at work.

the message "I love you, now change" is the wrong message. We can't change - we don't change - God changes us. As another post said, we all have sinful natures that we have been redeemed from (yet still struggle with). No one is perfect. It's only after salvation that we have access to the Holy Spirit that indwells and guides us into all Truth (John 14) So, the message isn't - Ilove you, now change but I love you, because I've been loved. I'm the person I am today because of what God has done and is doing in my life. No matter how good you are, God can and will make you better. Who doesn't want to be better than they are, to not struggle with addictions, to not worry and be anxious about security (both in this life and the one to come), to have a purpose and focus to life and not feel like you don't make a difference. Guess what, God offers all that. Peace with God. That doesn't come from a works oriented pathway to inner peace . .it only comes from God. That's the message, that's love

I think this dude has unconditional love mixed up with unconditional acceptance. It's simple: a parent can love a disobedient child but that doesn't mean any behaviour is accepted, in fact the bible says in Proverbs: "He who spares the rod [of correction/discipline]HATES his son". So we are to love others as they are, but love them enough not to leave them there. Are you going to let a rapist look after your kids and call it "love for the rapist"? That's a 2-pronged spear right there. Part of love is also warning of impending punishment: "wide is the path that leads to hell and many follow it, but narrow is the path to life and only few find it". Love would say "you're on the wrong path heading toward a lake of fire", not "you're doing great, keep it up and it'll all be fine".

I would first think "what makes this person so qualified to tell me such things, and if he/she loved me, he wouldn't judge me as such. He/She doesn't know what I been through" So I say, let your walk in Jesus be your way of preaching, teaching the gospel. Let the love of God that has reign over you life be ever so evident in your everyday life, your everyday attitude, your everyday character. Explain what salvation is to your neighbor and the benefits of it. Not so much in a scary sense (although those who are not covered by the blood of Jesus...it is scary) but in a loving sense. Express how everything that they have experience that is not of God can be wipe away....The new joy and peace they will receive....We know as believers AFTER READING HIS WORD AND LEARNING HIS REQUIREMENT OF US, that life is worthless with out him. But we only realize this once we met His Son at the foot of the cross, not when we were non-believers!!!

Thank you for posing this question...this thought...You are not alone! I too have thought about this very same issue. I believe when Jesus says to love our neighbors that that love consist of the type of love that we have for ourselves and more. If you think about loving yourself you must put yourself in the shoes of your neighbor. Think back to when you were a non-believer or before you matured in Christ and knew exactly how God wanted you to live. You only began to learn these things once you read His word. There were probably certain things that you were doing that you didn't know should be done or certain ways you should behave not knowing that it's the way you're suppose to behave. Now imagine your neighbor coming to you (when I say neighbor, I'm not simply talking about the person next door, but a christian, believing in the Son of God)and you not knowing anything about the Father, His Son, or The Holy Spirit and he/she saying to you. I LOVE YOU BUT YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR WAYS!!!

Are The Great Commandment and The Great Commission Incompatible?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

To love your neighbor as yourself means that ultimately you are concerned for your neighbor's eternal soul. Without Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they will not make heaven their home. Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, THE Life. There is no other name under heaven whereby we must (can) be saved. Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay his life down for his friends. This can be applied to our own lives where we lay our lives down in service and sacrifice for the winning of other precious eternal souls that they too would come to the saving knowledge of jesus Christ. So, you fulfill the Great Commandment by obeying the Great Commission.