The Commands of
Christ
Sermon # 1
So first of all
let’s turn to the Great Commission and read again what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age."
The central core
of the purpose of the church is outlined in these verses. First let’s dispel the
erroneous thought that the command in this verse is that we “go.” Certainly “going” is an essential part
of carrying out the Great Commission. If we don’t go, then we can’t tell. But the fact is that this is not the command associated with the Great
Commission. “Going” is assumed for all genuine dedicated followers of Christ.
The text literally says, “even as you go.”
The three components of the Great Commission then are; Evangelize,
Incorporate and Disciple.
First, Jesus
says “go, therefore
and make disciples of all nations.” The
KJV says, “teach all
nations” in fact it uses the word “teach or teaching” twice
in this passage. But the word translated “teach” (v. 19) (mathetheusate) literally means “make
disciples.” We have to reach them with the gospel, we have to evangelize.
The second thing
Jesus says that we must do is “… baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit…” In the command
to “baptize”
we see the importance of not only reaching the lost with the message of the Gospel but the
need of incorporating these new believers into the body of Christ. If we are to establish
fruit that will remain we must see new believers led to an involvement in the life of a
local church.
The final part
of the Great Commission could be called discipleship, “… teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you.” The word “teaching”
(didaskontes) means
“instruction.” Instruction in “observing” or “keeping” the
commands of Christ. But just what is it that we are to teach these new
believers in Christ?
Some believe that we are to teach them a list of rules, the do’s and
don’t, if you will. Tell them, “If you keep this list, then you will please
Christ.”
Others believe
that we should teach these believers social responsibilities. Or as one little girl said, “Jesus
wants us to be nice.” But that is hardly words to live by.
Some Christians
want to focus on social programs and social problems. There was church out west that I
heard of that put on a program about rain forests and how we should save them…..as a
part of a worship service. All of those issue oriented things may be good but they are not the purpose of the church.
I heard of
another woman who was giving part of her tithe money to “Save the Wildlife”
organization. That is probably a noble project, perhaps even worthy of support but if you
want to give don’t give out of money that belongs to God.
Is there a sense
that discipleship is being conscious of the “all
those things commanded by Christ?” Tonight I want to embark on a study of just
exactly what did Jesus command us to teach? Bill Gothard in his study has identified 49
general commands of Christ found in the Gospels. I am not telling you that we are going to
spend the next 49 weeks in this study, how long we continue will depend on what I hear
from you.
Early in Jesus
ministry when he hears of the imprisonment of John the Baptist, in Matthew 4:17, he says “From
that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Repentance is not a
one-time act. It is a continual attitude of a humble and contrite heart toward God and
others. It begins by changing our minds about what is right and what is wrong. There are
two aspects of repentance in the lives of believers. The first aspect is the repentance
that leads us to salvation. But there is still an ongoing need for repentance in our
lives. Repentance in the believer’s life is characterized by a daily confession and
forsaking of sin. 1 John 1:8-10 directs the believer, “If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10)
If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
David
demonstrated picture of true repentance in Psalm 51(1-2, 17). “Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot
out my transgressions. (2) wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin
… (17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart
– these O God, you will not despise.”
A good example of
what repentance is and is not is seen in a comparison of the experiences of David and
Esau.
Esau’s
actions are said in Gen 25:34 to demonstrate that he “despised his birthright.” He demonstrated this
when exchanged in for a meal with his brother, Jacob. The writer of Hebrews (12:16-17)
tells that Esau, “for
one morsel of food sold his birthright. (17) For you know that after-ward, when he wanted
to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he
sought it diligently with tears.”
Likewise, David
also sinned when he saw Bathsheba bathing from a rooftop and he allowed lust to overcome
all the good things that God had done in his life. The Bible says his adulterous
relationship revealed that he “despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight. You
have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your
wife….. (13) Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord…
” (2 Samuel 12:9)
There are many
similarities between the experiences of Esau and David. Both satisfied a physical desire
in a wrong way. Both despised the commands of God by their actions. Both exchanged
spiritual treasure for earthly pleasure. Both wept over their sins. But only one of them
repented.
Whereas Esau
wept bitter tears of regret over the loss of the blessings of God, David wept tears of
repentance over the damage to his relationship with God. This is the essence of true
repentance.
Tonight I would
like to share with you the four attributes of true repentance.
The confession
that is the beginning of repentance is not just recognition of a made a mistake that we
have sinned, but it is the understanding that we have offended God. In Psalm 51:3-4, King
David recognizes his sin is an offense against God when he says, “For I acknowledge my
transgressions, and my sin is every before me, (4) Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done this evil in your sight.” David
is not saying that his sin has not involved anyone else or hurt anyone else, it most
certainly has. The phrase “against
you, you only” is literally “against you and you in particular”
it is recognition that all sin is first and foremost a sin against God.
When we see our
sin from God viewpoint, we realize that our sin is not excusable. We realize that we are
much worse than we thought we were. With repentance comes the awareness of the seriousness
of our sins and a corresponding desire to get this problem taken care of.
Think of a
husband and wife in a car making a trip, he’s driving she is navigating. The wife
tells the husband to make a right at the next inter-section but instead he makes a left.
(I know that has never happened to you, but try to stay with me!) When he realizes what he
has done, He says, “I am sorry dear, I turned the wrong
direction.” But if that it is all he does, it isn’t enough. His
admitting he went the wrong way does get them any closer to where they need to be; it
isn’t even preventing them from getting even further away. To get to where they need to go he is going to
have change directions that he is traveling. That is repentance.
When we realize
the consequences of running our own lives, we should be grieved. But this is more than
regret, regret is not enough. In Matthew 27:3 we are told that Judas “… seeing that he had
been condemned was remorseful..” (KJV says repented)” but remorse or
regret is not repentance. Our American prison system is full of people that full of
regret, but it regret for the consequences of their sin, not repentance for their sin.
4. True
Repentance Ripens Into Lasting Change.
It there is no turning from what
we know is sin; there is no repentance, no matter what we say. It is not enough to say
that we are sorry that we have sinned. If we
have not changed our minds enough to walk away from sin, we will return to it. An
essential part of genuine repent-ance is that it leads to a changed life. Paul bears
testimony in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
are passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
When John the
Baptist dealt with those who had come in repentance he said to them, “bear fruits worthy of
repentance” (Matthew 3:8). This is can be understood to mean “fruit in
keeping with repentance.” The
surest evidence of true repentance is a turning from that which know to be sin.
J. Edwin Orr, a
professor of Church history has described the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during
the Welsh Revivals of the nineteenth century. As a result people did all they could to
confess their wrong doing and to make restitution. But it unexpectedly created serious
problems for the shipyards along the coast of Wales. Over the years workers had stolen all
kinds of things, from wheelbarrows to hammers. However, as people sought to be right with
God they started to return what they had taken, with the result that soon the shipyards of
Wales were overwhelmed with returned property. There were such huge piles of returned
tools that several of the yards put up signs that read, "If you have been led by God
To return what you have stolen, Please know that the management forgives you and wishes
you to keep what you have taken."
We need that kind of repentance in the church today!
When Christ
commands us to “teach
them to observe all the things he has commanded,” one of the first things
he has commanded is that we should “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Recognizes How Sin Relates to God
Reflects A Change of Direction
Rouses A Sense of Grief In Our Hearts Over Sin
Ripens Into Lasting Change
[The Commands of Christ: The Curriculum of the Great Commission. (Oak Brook, Illinois:Institute in Basic Life Priniciples, 2002).
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