Matthew 28:19-20, “God’s Word Saves!”
What is the greatest work a Christian, can do? Jesus commands us (Matthew 28:19-20), “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In Matthew 28:19-20, the participles (going, baptizing, teaching) give qualification and definition to the activity of the verb (making disciples).
The greatest work we can do is to share Christ, for it is a genuine belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that brings immediate salvation from the curse and penalty of sin, immediate discipleship as a believer and follower of Christ, and immediate baptism into the body of Christ:
1Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
It is imperative and clear (Matthew 28:19), that we are to be going, people won't be coming to us.
We are then to share the gospel of Christ and to baptize (total water immersion, baptizo) those who confess Christ as Lord, identifying them with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey God’s Word and to serve God with their lives (Romans 6:4-11).
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name [character] of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:23-24, “ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a 4! !4. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Peter first proclaimed the Word of God in Jerusalem, so that people might repent of their sins and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ (making disciples).
Acts 2:36-40, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.".
What was the result of Peter’s preaching?
Acts 2:41-47, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
True repentance that brings salvation urges a person to devote themselves to four important disciplines, each based on the Word of God:
1. Apostles' teaching - God's Word is to be honored, proclaimed, explained, and obeyed, so that people will be saved, set apart, and equipped, in order to grow and mature in Christ, that they might serve Him.
Ephesians 4:14-16,”Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
God's word is spiritual food for our growth; it is a wasted day when we do not learn something new from or are not affected by God's Word.
Hebrews 5:12-14, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
God’s Word saves us, sanctifies us, sustains us!
2. Fellowship – Through Christian fellowship [koinonia- intimate communion and sharing with one another], we stimulate one another toward love and good deeds.
When so-called believers isolate themselves from other Christians, failing to participate in the local church, they are in direct disobedience to God’s Word. Hebrews 10:23-27, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
True Christians are not independent agents but members of one body, serving Christ together.
1Corinthians 12:14, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” 18 “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” 27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
3. Breaking of Bread – The celebration of the Lord's Supper by all believers, is to remember what Christ has accomplished and given through His own sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection from the grave.
1Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
The Lord's Supper is essential for all believers, it causes us to exam our own heart attitude toward God, God's Word, and God's People, seeking unity in Christ. Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Remembering what Jesus did on the Cross should move us to confess our sins to God, allowing Him to purify us for His service, serving together in His Church. 1John 1:5-10, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
4. Prayer – When we come before God, acknowledging Who He is, confessing our sins, thanking Him for all He has done, trusting Him for what we need, it is much more likely that we will ask for those things that bring honor to God, and benefits to God's people.
Matthew 6:9-13, “This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
1Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer is probably the most difficult of our spiritual disciplines, for it is hard work to pray on behalf of God’s Word, God’s Will, and God’s People. Notice, there are no “Me’s” or “My’s” in the Lord’s prayer.
As we are diligent to study and obey God’s Word, to engage in Christian fellowship, to remember the Lord’s death and resurrection, and to continually be in prayer, God will be honored and people will be saved.
We must make and train up disciples, teaching them the Word of God that they might understand, obey, and apply it to their lives where others will see Christ in them, and they too will become witnesses, disciple makers, sharing the good news of salvation from sin’s curse, and eternal life with God in heaven.
Jesus promises (v. 20) to remain with us, until we die and go to be with Him, or until He returns to take us to be with Him. Until then we are to seek to fulfill His Great Commission, bringing salvation to the world through the Word of God, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.
John 14:1-6, “‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
God’s Word saves [Jesus is the Eternal Word of God].
John 1:1-4, 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” 12-14, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 18 “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.”
- pastor mike