The Gospel & Salvation: Salvation Makes Us Witnesses

Salvation Makes Us Witnesses

Matthew 28:18-20

 Last week we looked at John 15 and we learned that the work of salvation makes us to become spiritually fruitful. We, who are the branches, abide in the Vine, which is Jesus Christ. We draw life from Him. His life working in and through us will make us those whose lives bear fruit. His design is that our lives bear much fruit so that God is glorified.

This is part of an overall series on salvation which began at the beginning of the year. We have examined the problems of sin and the solution which is found in Christ. In recent months we have been looking at the impact of the work of salvation on those who are genuine converts and followers of Christ.

I want to follow up on the idea of the fruitful life of Christian. At the conclusion of the service last week we baptized Laney. I explained how she is an example of the fruit which is produced in the life of faithful Christians. I want to further examine the idea of fruitfulness. I want us to consider the New Testament teaching which calls us to be fruitful by being witnesses for Christ.

Early in this series on salvation we came to understand that the gospel is “good news.” What do we do when we receive good news? We want to share the good news with as many people as we can. It is to be so with the good news of salvation. God saves us and transforms us and calls us to be witnesses. God wants us to be sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

This truth is clearly established in the New Testament. Turn with me to Matthew 28. Let’s stand together and read verses 16-20.

Last words tend to be important. The last words of Christ recorded in the book of Matthew tell us exactly what Christ wanted His disciples to do. These words are commonly known as the Great Commission. With these words Jesus handed off the responsibility for making disciples to the disciples He had made Himself. 

Acts 1:8 is Luke’s account of the final words of Jesus just before He ascended into heaven. Jesus said, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Immediately after saying these words Jesus was taken up into heaven and a cloud received Him out of their sight. So with His final words Jesus tells His disciples what they are to do. They are to be witnesses. They have a mission. They are to take the gospel to the world. They have a message. The message is the good news of salvation. Jesus was very clear as to what He wanted His followers to do.

I submit to you that this was not just the mission of those original disciples. It is called the Great Commission because it has been the mission of the church throughout the church age. The church age is still going on. So must the mission of the church. Grace Bible Church is part of the larger, universal body of Christ. We are part of the Bride of Christ. We are to be engaged in this mission. Our duty is to be witnesses for Christ and messengers who take the good news to those who need to hear.

As we examine verses 18-20 today there are four points we will make. 1. Who did Jesus call to this mission? 2. By what authority do we accomplish the mission? 3. What exactly is involved in the Mission? 4. Where does the power come from to carry out the mission?”

Who did Jesus call to this mission?

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying…”

“Them” are the eleven disciples who are spoken of in verse 16. They were the disciples of Jesus. Most commentators believe there were many more than just the eleven. Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to more than 500 at one time and many suspect that the eleven were so excited at the sight of the resurrected Lord that they spread the word and brought many other disciples with them. I don’t know for sure. If it was eleven or eleven hundred one point is clear. Jesus calls those who are His disciples to go and make other disciples. This means that Jesus calls you and me to this mission.

It was evident in the passage I read for Scripture reading earlier that the expectation of this mission was not confined only to those first disciples. In verse 18 of John 17 Jesus prayed, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” And in John 17:20 Jesus prayed, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word…” In a post-resurrection appearance recorded in John 20:21 Jesus said, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” As the head of His church, Jesus Christ has been sending His disciples into the world to make disciples.

Let’s be honest . Most Christians are hesitant to share the good news with others. We make many different excuses as we look for a way to opt out of this part of following Christ. We might claim that we aren’t gifted with the gift of evangelism. We might contend that we don’t know any non-Christians. We might confess how unprepared we are to share and therefore afraid to share the gospel. All excuses aside, we are all called to this mission. We are to be Christ’s faithful and obedient servants in His plan to redeem the world to Himself.

We have studied the gospel and the work of salvation extensively throughout the last 9 months or so. If you have been here you have learned enough to share the good news of salvation with someone else. God calls us to share the good news and to make disciples.

God initiated a plan by which He restores sinful men and women and children to righteousness. God uses His people to carry out His plan of redemption. God is still in the business of executing the plan He initiated. He is still initiating the details of that plan in the lives of people today. People are coming alive to their need for salvation. He has us moving about day by day among those people. He places in our path people whom He is calling to become disciples of Jesus Christ. He calls us to be participants in His plan.

We know we are called to live for His glory. Our chief end is to glorify Him. Our lives bring Him glory when we bear much fruit. God is glorified in the redemption of lost souls. It makes sense that if God wants to be glorified in us, and that He is glorified as He works the miracle of redemption of lost people, that He would want to use us and be glorified in us as He leads us to people who need to be redeemed, and whom He wants to rescue from judgment. Jesus is our example. Luke 19:10 tells us that He came to “seek and save” the lost. 

This is our supreme mission and the primary reason we are left on earth after our salvation. We are to seek the lost with the desire and intention of glorifying God by helping them become disciples of Christ. All we do as a church in fellowship, teaching, praise and worship, and prayer is to prepare us and equip us to reach the lost. Too often what we do leads us to become so inwardly focused that we forget about the primary purpose of the church. We are to reach out to others to invite them to become disciples of our Lord.

By what authority do we accomplish this mission?

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

I believe there is a two-fold significance to this statement. The first is rather obvious. We are sent because Christ has the authority to send us. He is Lord. He is the head of the church. He tells us to go and we go. This authority belongs to Him as God our Savior. The authority of Jesus to give us this commission means that obedience to His instruction is not an option. Jesus said “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go…” He means “go.” Go and make disciples. It is well within His right to send us to make disciples. Obedience isn’t an option. It is our supreme obligation.

When we look at the rest of Scripture at what Jesus said about His authority we gain insight into something else significant about this statement. When Jesus says, “All authority has been given Me in heaven and on earth” He is explaining to these first disciples that He has the authority over the mission of making disciples. In other words, the results come under His authority. What do I mean? As I have studied this concept from the balance of Scripture I have decided that Jesus must mean that He is the authority over the decisions of men.

Look at the words of John 3:35-36. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” This tells us that the authority to judge has been given to the Son.

Matthew 11 contains a series of accounts regarding rejections. In verses 2-15 is the account of the rejection of John the Baptist. In verses 16-19 Jesus was rejected. Verses 20-24 describe the rejection of Jesus by entire cities. To these rejections Jesus responded in verse 27, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” 

The word “authority” describes the right and the power to do something. It combines the ideas of right and might. The authority and the power – all authority and power were given to Jesus Christ. To Him was given all dominion, authority and rule over all people, over all the forces of darkness, over Satan, and over the decisions of the hearts of men. According to Paul in Ephesians 1:20-22 when Jesus was raised from the dead He was “seated at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” Colossians 2:10 tells us that Jesus is “the head over all rule and authority.” Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:22 that Jesus “is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

The point I am making is simply the point Jesus makes with His first words in the Great Commission. He has been given all authority. “All” means all. Authority means the right and the power to rule as He sees fit and to decide according to His sovereign, divine will. I can live with that. I also think it helps me in my struggles as a disciple maker.

What does the authority of Jesus mean to us? I think it makes our witnessing and disciple making easier. Because Jesus is the One with all authority then He is responsible to change the heart. If they respond it is because He has chosen to reveal Himself and the Father to them. He even had the authority over the decision to place us and them on a collision course. If He wishes to put those in our path who are ready to hear and respond, great. If He chooses to place in our path those who aren’t ready to hear and respond, that’s “OK” also. Jesus has all authority.

My experience is that most will not hear the truth and respond favorably to the gospel message. Jesus said that the path leading to destruction was wide and crowded. The path leading to life was narrow and few find it. Still, it is our responsibility to tell others the truth and leave the results up to God. We can’t change people’s hearts. Jesus Christ has the authority, the right and the power to change their hearts.

What exactly is involved in the mission?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you;”

We are to “go.” This implies that the responsibility is ours to take the gospel message to the lost. We aren’t to sit here in the church and wait for them to come to us. We aren’t to just continue to live the faithful life and hope they will see the difference and ask us why we are so different. We aren’t supposed to wait for the perfect circumstances. People aren’t kicking my door down and asking me to help them become disciples. We need to be going to them.

The Greek construction is an aorist passive participle. This construction indicates that going is the action that precedes the action of the main verb. The main verb of this sentence is “make disciples.” This could be translated “as you go” or “having gone” or “along the way of your going, make disciples.”

There are very few places we go where we don’t encounter people. As we encounter people we are to make disciples of them. Some will become disciples if we are faithful to do our part. Most will not. None will ever become disciples if we never try. My trying, or the lack thereof is convicting. I tend to look for excuses not to share the gospel rather than look for opportunities to ask important questions and share the truth.

“Make disciples” is at the heart of the Great Commission. The Greek word is “matheteuo.” The word carries an important combination of meanings. In this context it relates to those who place faith and trust in Jesus Christ and who follow Him in a life of continual learning and obedience. 

These two ideas of faith and following were always part of the call of Jesus to His disciples. In John 8:31 Jesus said, “If you abide in My words then you are truly disciples of Mine.” Luke 14:27 says “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Becoming a Christian means only one thing. It means becoming a follower and learner – a disciple of Jesus Christ. John MacArthur writes, “The true convert is a disciple, a person who has accepted and submitted himself to Jesus Christ, whatever that may mean or demand. The truly converted person is filled with the Holy Spirit and given a new nature that yearns to obey and worship the Lord who has saved him. Even when he is disobedient, he knows he is living against the grain of his new nature, which is to honor and please the Lord. He loves righteousness and hates sin, including his own.” MacArthur Commentary on Matthew 28. P. 341.

This command is for us to make disciples. We are the mouthpieces of God to share with others. God brings them to faith and leads them to become followers of Christ. Jesus told His disciples that they would be “fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19) If we are disciples we are to be making disciples. This has been the supreme mission of the church from the day of Pentecost until today. It will continue to be our supreme mission until the Lord returns. There are two aspects of making disciples. We are to baptize followers and teach them to observe all Jesus commanded.

We are to make disciples, baptizing them. The Bible ties believing and being baptized together very tightly. In Acts, on the day of Pentecost when 3000 were saved they were immediately baptized. The Ethiopian who Philip witnessed to stopped his chariot as soon as he saw water so he could be immediately baptized. Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, as soon as he received his sight was baptized. Cornelius and his entire household were baptized as soon as they believed.

These early believers were communicating something as they were baptized. They were publically declaring their intention to become followers of Jesus Christ. This is because baptism was a way of declaring identification with someone. In Acts 19 there were some disciples of John the Baptist who had been baptized with the baptism of repentance. They were identified by that baptism as followers of John the Baptist. The 3000 saved on the day of Pentecost were publically professing faith in Christ and demonstrating their intention to follow Him. Baptism is the outward testimony, the visible evidence that one has placed faith and trust in Christ and is following Him as a disciple.

If you have become a disciple of Jesus Christ, and you have not been baptized since becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, you need to be baptized. Not because baptism saves us. You need to be baptized because this is what Jesus commanded disciple makers to do, to baptize those who became disciples. If you have become a disciple, I am willing to baptize you. However, you must be a willing participant. I don’t drag people into the baptistery. If you haven’t been baptized since believing, you haven’t yet obeyed the Lord. Your baptism is an important step of obedience to the Lord.

The next aspect of our commission is to teach these disciples to observe all the Lord commands us. Our mission is to teach. Christ calls His disciples to a life of obedience and it necessary for disciples to know what He requires. A disciple engages in the continual process of learning and obeying the instruction of Christ.

Jesus never stopped teaching His disciples. He called them to follow and learn. He said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My word.” (John 14:23-24a) The disciple of Christ has a heart to learn and obey in order to please the Lord. Hebrews 5:9 describes this attitude as being synonymous with saving faith by saying that Christ “became to all who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” Paul said of the disciples in Rome, “Though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.” (Rom. 6:17)

Disciples cannot obey what they do not know. This is why we teach the Bible as consistently and thoroughly as we do. For the disciple of Jesus, nothing is as important as knowing what our Lord commands. We need to be taught to obey His commandments. 

Where does the power come from to carry out this mission?

“and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Great Commission would be impossible apart from the presence of Christ in the mission. Christ is the power behind our efforts. The power of Christ is working through us as we seek to make disciples. The word, “lo” is frequently used to call our attention to something important. “I am with you always” is emphatic in the Greek.  Jesus literally says, “I myself am with you.” This stresses the fact of Christ’s own presence with us. Our resurrected, eternal, omnipotent, sovereign Lord is always with us, even to the end of days.

His presence means He is leading us as we go make disciples. His presence means He is enabling or empowering us to do the difficult task. His presence means He is equipping us. His presence means that He is doing the actual work to change hearts. His presence means that the results are not up to us. He is the One who is working in and through us to accomplish His work in the life of the one or ones with whom we share.

Would you like to experience the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in you life? Try making disciples. His promise is that He will be with us until the end of the age.

My intention today is not to make you feel guilty if you don’t share the gospel with everyone you encounter every day. My intention today is to share with you what Christ calls us to be doing as part of our service to Him. He wants us bearing fruit and we bear fruit as we reproduce. A healthy flock of sheep reproduces. A healthy church should be reproducing as the sheep bear fruit.

Let’s pray.