Protestants emphasize the Great Commission:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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. Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).
Kenneth Gentry has written a short book on this comprehensive assignment to the church. You can download it here.
The book shows that these "marching orders" are not confined to the institutional church. They apply to every area of life.
Those who argue that the Great Commission applies only to individual souls, the family, and the institutional church, but never to the civil government, need to prove their position exegetically. They never do. They assume that the state has an exemption granted by God.
In this book, as in his detailed book, He Shall Have Dominion, Dr. Gentry asks this question: "In what areas of life is sin not reigning apart from Christ's life, death, resurrection, and ascension?" Sin reigns everywhere, he argues. Next question: "In what areas where sin reigns is Christ's redemption irrelevant?" His answer: none.
What are your answers to these two crucial questions? If they are the same as Gentry's, then you must necessarily conclude that the Great Commission applies to the whole world. Christ's redemption is comprehensive.
What's that? You say you haven't ever heard a sermon on the greatness of the Great Commission. Somehow, I am not surprised.
You really do need to read both of Gentry's books. But The Greatness of the Great Commission is shorter.
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