THE MANDATE OF THE CHURCH

• Mandate is an official authorization given to someone to carry out a particular task.
• When we talk about the mandate of the church, we mean the task or the work that Jesus has commanded the church to do.

• In Matt.28:19-20, Jesus speaking to his disciples said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world". From this scripture, it is clear that Jesus commissioned the church to evangelize the world. Soul winning is the major work that Jesus has mandated the church to do.

• Jesus, in the house of Zacchaeus said, "For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). The same work Jesus came to do is what he has commanded the church to carry out. In John 20:21, Jesus said, "As my father hath sent me, even so send I you". If Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, the church is also mandated to carry out the same work.

• Furthermore, in Mark 16:15, Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". Preaching to every creature is the heartbeat of our Lord Jesus Christ. He want's the church to make sure that the gospel is heard by every creature. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, he asked them to follow him and that he would make them fishers of men. They left their fishing profession and became fishers of men(Matt.4:19-20).

• More so, Luke in his account said, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem"(Luke 24:47). The church is to preach the gospel to all nations. Without the preaching of the gospel, men will not come to the consciousness of their need for repentance. Repentance brings about the remission or the forgiveness of sins.

• Finally, Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments"(John 14:15). Without love, the church will not be able to carry out God's commandments. Matt.22:37 says, "Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind". The church should be committed to the preaching of the word and world evangelization. By doing this, it shows that they love God and they are committed to the accomplishment of the great commission.