Mission Imperatives and Indicatives

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'" (Mt 28:18-19).

1. What is the indicative and what is the imperative in Mt 28:18-19 (aka the great commission)?
2. What is 
• an indicative?
• an imperative?
3. Identify the indicatives and the imperatives in the following verses:
• Gen 12:1-3.
• Exo 19:4-6.
• Exo 20:2-3ff.
• Lev 11:44-45; 19:2.
• Dt 6:4-5.
• Mk 1:15, 17.
• Mt 22:36-38, 39-40 (aka the great[est] commandment); Mk 12:28-30, 31; Dt 6:4-5; Lev 19:18.
• Jn 3:16; 13:34.
• 1 Jn 4:19.
• Phil 2:12-13.
• Col 3:1-2.
• Tit 3:5.
4. What is the difference between these 2 questions:
1. Where does God fit into the story of my life?
2. Where does my life fit into the story of God (and His mission)?
5. Do you "apply the Bible to your life" OR "Do you conform yourself to the Bible?"
6. Are you trying to be a "better version of yourself" OR to "be the person that you already are in Christ" (2 Cor 5:17)?
7. How would focusing on the indicatives (without neglecting/ignoring the imperatives) help you to live a more wholistic and liberating Christian life (Jn 8:31-32; 14:6; 10:10b)?

An indicative is simply a statement of reality (or it claims to be). It is an affirmation or declaration or proposition: this is so; this is how things are.

Biblical imperatives are characteristically founded on biblical indicatives. Stated in another way: "The imperatives are built (based) on the indicatives, and the order is not reversible." This principle emphasizes that Christian behavior (what one must do) flows necessarily from Christian doctrine (what God has done).

• It is "not reversible" because you don't become a child of God by obeying; you obey because you are a child of God.
• This is crucial for Christian teaching, preaching and living; it ensures that believers understand their actions are a response to God's transformative work, not a means to earn it, highlighting the balance between who God says we are and how we are to live.
• This prevents works-based salvation (legalism) and also avoids antinomianism (lawlessness) by keeping both essential. 
• Religion (Works-Based): You try to be good enough to earn God's favor. It's a conditional relationship, often leading to anxiety and self-righteousness, as you're always striving to meet a standard.
• Gospel (Grace-Based): God accepts you because of what Jesus did on the cross, not because of your obedience. This unconditional acceptance frees you from earning favor and empowers you to obey out of love and joy, wanting to please the One who has already loved and saved you. 
• The motivation for obedience changes: from a fearful "I must do this to be accepted" to a grateful "I want to do this because I am accepted".
• It's a fundamental shift from earning God's love to responding to His freely given love. 

My 1st blog post (2010): The Imperatives are Based on the Indicatives.