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John Piper
Years ago, I was pondering the Great Commission, especially the second half of it and it occurred to me
that the Great Commission has a second half. It says: “And teach them” — those people that you have
made disciples — “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
It did not say: “Teach them all that I have commanded you.” There’s an important difference. It says,
“Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.” My responsibility as a discipler of the nations is
not just to inform them what Jesus commanded. Rather, it is to speak in such a way, to teach in such a
way, to pray in such a way that people actually do what he commanded.
That makes us feel absolutely helpless, right? How can I so teach that people are transformed so deeply
that they can do the radical things Jesus commanded? Do we even know all that he has commanded us?
And so we pray with Augustine, “God, command what you will and grant what you command.”