Obedience and Love (2)

Review

Last week we started looking at the last 5 verses of Matthew’s Gospel. Today, we’ll finish up these verses. If you weren’t here last week, I encourage you to watch last week’s sermon on YouTube to complete todays message.

We looked at how the 11 apostles, and most likely hundreds of others, met with Jesus on a Galilean mountain where they worshiped Him and how Matthew recorded that there were some who doubted when they first saw Him there. We talked about God being the only one worthy of worship and Christ’s proclamation of this fact and His acceptance of worship is evidence that He is indeed God incarnate.

We have seen that Christ has all authority, given to Him by the Father, proven by Him in His miracles, and by the Holy Spirit in His resurrection.

Having supreme and everlasting authority, Christ can exercise it how he pleases and so it pleases Him to have His followers spread His Gospel, and not by force or trickery, but with the clear teaching of His word.

We talked briefly about worldly wisdom and the trap of buying into lies about how we, as Christians, are to interact with the world, specifically how we are supposed to share our faith with others. Christ’s command to us is very different from anything the world has to say about evangelism. The world would say that we should be loving and therefore we should leave people alone. Jesus Christ, the one who defines love, says He has all authority and therefore we are to Go and make disciples.

Make no mistake, it is a supreme act of love to toil over the souls of men; while many do not like the Gospel, while many despise God’s plan for salvation, it is HIS plan and WE have been commanded to execute it!

Jesus Christ made disciples and has given us the task of doing the same. He, the prophets, the Apostles, and the early church showed us what disciple making, obedience, and love looks like. Our obedience to Him and our love for Him and His children demand we submit to His plan of making disciples.

Out of our own love for Him, we should have a deep yearning to be obedient to Him. Having been made more like Christ, we should share in His love for the crowning jewel of His creation, our fellow man.

Prayer

We come to you this morning, most gracious Heavenly Father, seeking to be obedient to your plan, Lord. We ask for your Spirit to guide us this morning as we strive to learn about you. Your Son gave us a special assignment and we want to serve Him. We love you, Lord; in Jesus’ name, A-men.

Scripture Text

Let’s open our bibles to the 28th chapter of Matthew, verses 16-20. If you don’t have your bible with you today, you can grab one from under the seat in front of you.

Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16–20 NASB95

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Introduction

So, we’re supposed to be making disciples. Now we need to know who we’re supposed to be making disciples of, what we’re supposed to do to make disciples, and what a disciple really looks like. After all, how can we make someone something if we don’t know what they should look like when we’re done; for that matter, we would have no idea when we’re done if we don’t define terms. We know we don’t want the world defining the terms and I’m including you and me in the world here; it is not for man to decide what God is looking for in His disciples. That’s up to Him and we aren’t Him. The good news is that we have the Holy Spirit Inspired Word of God to instruct us.

We’re going to see exactly who the target audience of this disciple making mission really are. We’re going to see what the message is supposed to be. We’re going to see exactly what we’re supposed to do with those who respond to the message. And, finally, we’re going to have our own doubts - any kind of hesitation - cast at the foot of the cross where they belong!

The Pupils

All the Nations (v19c)

ethnos - races - peoples

The promise of redemption was made to the world. God promised Abraham the world would be blessed through him. Gen 12:3 (Cf. Gen. 22:18; 26:4)

Genesis 12:3 NASB95

3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Christ, through both Jews and Gentiles. Matthew 1:2-6

The wise men were gentiles. Matthew 2:1-12 (Cf. Isaiah 6:1-7)

Jesus began his ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles. Matthew 4:12-17; Cf. Isaiah 9:1-2

Isaiah 42:1 NASB95

1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Christ proclaimed salvation for all who would believe. Matthew 24:14; John 3:16;

The Savior of the World has proclaimed and proven His Authority. He has told us what to do. He has told us who to approach and that’s everyone. It doesn’t matter what someone’s background is, we are to make disciples of them. Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics; whatever and whoever they are, it simply does not matter — we are to make them disciples.

Another for this list — (c)hristian — take a moment to think about the people you know who call themselves christians but they don’t bear any fruit. People Craig Groeschel (grow-Shell) calls “Christian Atheists”. They may very well be saved but their deeds will be burned up and they’ll have nothing to give our Lord because they did not live for Him. 1 Cor 3:12-15

I’m not asking you to criticize them — to think less of them or more of yourselves — I’m asking you to be broken over the state of their souls and use that brokenness to motivate yourself to bring them the true gospel — to make them disciples of Christ. At some point that may mean frank conversations with them; that word we spoke about last week, “reprove”. You may have to sit down with them and admonish them. Get them to understand that as Christians they aren’t to be stagnant. That Christ has called them to obedience to His word. Paul and Peter both explained that all Christians should examine, confirm, and prove their faith (2 Cor 13, 2 Peter 1). James has explained that faith without works is dead (James 2).

That could be offensive to people. I know it. Christ knows it. We’re still called to do it. We’re still responsible for what we have done with the gift of grace and the command to disciple others.

I have a friend who regularly counsels young men in various aspects of life. I have no doubt this man believes in Christ; we have spoken of our shared faith and even about the condition of the world because it doesn’t know and trust in Jesus. My friend recently told me he changes his counseling of youth depending on the faith of the child or his family. If the kid is muslim, he will quote the Quran. Jewish, he’ll stick to the Old Testament. Hindu, he’ll try to figure out what kind and then do research to understand the particulars so he can talk about the kids faith with him.

Beloved, this is not what making disciples is about. Christ does not want us to make people disciples of false gods. He doesn’t want us to confirm false religion. He wants us to spread His Gospel. We are to make disciples of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, for the Glory of God alone.

How are those children my friend works with supposed to come to Christ without hearing of Christ? Christ didn’t tell us to hide the light and hope someone else doesn’t.

Paul gave us a great example of how to handle this. In Acts 17, we read about how Paul noticed that the people of Athens had an altar to “the unknown god”. They had 12 primary gods, each who was responsible for something, but they recognized the possibility that they could be leaving out an important god so out of fear of offending this god they created a temple for it. Paul used this to the advantage of the gospel and told them that the god they worshiped in ignorance is actually the only God and that God is calling all the world to repentance.

There’s a popular phrase in the evangelical world today, “Meet them where they are.” It’s meant to remind Christians to seek out everyone, regardless of their situation. This is a good thing. The other part of the phrase needs to be “but don’t leave them there.” Paul met the people of Athens right where they were in their idol worship. He used their worship of some ‘unknown god’ to preach the gospel. He didn’t leave them in their idol worship, he brought them knowledge of God, His Son, and Holy Spirit; calling them to repent and believe. Some sneered at him but others listened.

Meeting someone where they are and leaving them there is saying to them “I’d rather not offend your mind. I want you to like me. I’m going to ignore your soul.”

How sad it would be to know a person without faith in Christ and to have tasted that faith yourself but to not bring them that very same faith.

So, yes, “meet them where they are but do not leave them there.” We do this through the Word of God.

On the cover of your bulletin this morning is a verse from Romans.

Romans 10:17 NASB95

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

John MacArthur points out in his commentary on Romans 10 “that a clear presentation of the gospel message must precede true saving faith. True faith always has content—the revealed Word of God. Salvation comes to those who hear and believe the facts of the gospel.”

Their Confession

So, Christ has told us to Make Disciples of everyone. We’re going to get to the part where Christ explains what a disciple looks like in just a minute. For a few minutes, let’s leave it at this: to make a disciple of Jesus Christ, we have to teach people about Jesus Christ. That sounds simple doesn’t it? It really is that simple. The part where so many go wrong is they make up their own Jesus that doesn’t offend anyone. A Jesus that is all about love and absolutely nothing else. But, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

If we’ve made someone a disciple, the next step, and if you look at verse 19 and 20 here, along with so many in the book of the Acts, it’s quite clear what that next step is; there is no doubt that the next step is Baptism.

Baptizing (v19d)

baptizo - to immerse

Baptism is an act of obedience to Christ and defiance to the World. It is the believer publicly acknowledging his need to be made right with God, his inability to do so of his own works, and his belief in Christ as the Son of God and sacrificial Lamb necessary to atone for his sins.

Acts 2:38,41📙

Acts 2:38 NASB95

38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41 NASB95

41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

REPENT - metanoeō (meta - no - A - o) - to repent, change one’s mind, to turn back to God

Acts 22:16 — After Paul encounters Christ on the road to Damascus, Ananias ministers to him, tells him God has a grand plan for his life: to be a witness for God. The first thing Ananias tells Paul to do though: Get up and be baptized!

Acts 22:16 NASB95

16 ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

A quick note on this because a lot of people get this horribly wrong. Grammatically, “calling on His name” is before “Get up and be baptized.” Salvation comes by calling on the name of the Lord, not from being baptized. (Cf. Romans 10:9-10,13, Joel 2:32) Baptism is done in obedience to Him whose name we call, Jesus Christ.

This was a big deal to the 1st Century Church. Christians are being persecuted - literally, they’re being killed for their belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Public profession of faith could mean a mortal death sentence.

Today, in America, it doesn’t mean that. Sure, it could mean some people don’t want to hang out with you anymore but it doesn’t mean death. In other parts of the world today though, it very well does mean a death sentence.

According to OpenDoors (https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/), more than 380m Christians suffer high levels of persecution for their faith. 4,476 Christians were killed due to their faith and 4,744 were imprisoned in 2024!

Persecution of Christ’s Church is alive and well. Satan has lulled Americans into a very false belief that being a Christian is safe in the 21st Century. We don’t experience the kinds of persecution our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world experience so we often think it just doesn’t exist.

But, if we know that over 4,500 Christians were murdered for their faith and another 4,744 were imprisoned in 2024, we know that each and every one of them had to make a public profession of faith. That’s true faith. That’s putting your trust - your very life - in the arms of your savior.

Trinity

Okay, we’re supposed to baptize, and we’re supposed to do it right away. Christ doesn’t stop there. He tells us what we’re supposed to be baptizing these folks in, besides water.

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

This is beautiful isn’t it!?!?

The use of the singular name clearly tells us that this listing of three persons should be thought of as one name. We can clearly see the trinity in this — One God, three distinct persons.

name - onoma - (O no muh) - a person. This is one person.

father - patēr - (pa teerr a) - literally someone’s male parent.

son - huios - (he ohs) - son

holy spirit - hagios pneuma - (ah ee ohs - p-neh-ma) - literally holy spirit - singular

Each word here is in singular form, describing a distinct part of a single God

The Curriculum

Teaching (v20a)

didaskō (dee dasko) - “keep on teaching them”

Again, Jesus is not talking about one-and-done. He didn’t end his command with baptism. We are to teach.

Them who? — looks back to verse 19: everyone. And everyone includes believers. We’re to teach non-believers and each other.

Christ has called all believers to a royal priesthood so that we may proclaim the glory of the one who did not leave us in the darkness he found us in but brought us to His light. 1 Peter 2:9

Now, we know some folks are better teachers than others as the Holy Spirit has gifted some with that particular skill. But, this command is given to all believers so it is very clear to see that each of us can teach someone else something.

No, not everyone is called to get behind a pulpit, lead a small group, or write devotionals. But, Christ did call all believers to make disciples by teaching them.

The most mature believer will be ready to listen and learn, even from the newest member of the family. The disciples argued about who was the greatest and our Lord told them to be as children, humble and willing to learn.

Matthew 18:4 NASB95

4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Acts 18:26 NASB95

26 and he (Apollos) began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

1 Corinthians 12:7 NASB95

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Teach what?

To observe — tēreō (tee-RRay-o) — to keep; to guard, watch, protect; to conform

Teach what? ALL Christ has commanded.

The only place to find that is in the Word of God. There aren’t new revelations. God’s not going to visit you in a dream and give you any kind of wisdom or message that isn’t already in His Word. The only way to know what to teach is to immerse yourself in the Word every day. The more you study Scripture, the more you’re going to be able to answer questions; the more you’re going to be able to stand firm in the Word against heresy; the more you’re going to be able to comfort others.

Some examples

Mark 12:28–34 NASB95

28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Yes, these are the greatest commandments, Christ told us so. He also taught so many other things.

Repentance - Matthew 4:17

Rejoice in Persecution - Matthew 5:11-12

Let Your Light Shine - Matthew 5:16

Honor God’s Law - Matthew 5:17

Be Reconciled to Each Other and God - Matthew 5:23-25

Be Sexually Pure - Matthew 5:27-28

Keep Your Word - Matthew 5:33-37

Beware of False Prophets - Matthew 7:15-20

Do Not Fear Man - Matthew 10:28 - our martyred brethren followed this for sure

Honor Your Parents - Matthew 15:1-9

Await His Return - Matthew 24:42-44

Celebrate the Lord’s Supper - Matthew 26:26-27

Pray - Matthew 26:41

Feed His Sheep - John 21:15-17

MAKE DISCIPLES - Matthew 28:18-20

That’s some list, isn’t it!!! Guess what though, it’s not even half of what Christ taught. Want to know the rest, pick up your Bible this afternoon, start at Matthew 1 and keep going. If you don’t have a Bible, there are free Bibles for you in the little library in the foyer. If there’s none left when you get there, take one from under a chair and keep it. We don’t want it back. We want you to read it until the pages fall out of the spine and you come back to get another one.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Studying the Word of God, being immersed in it, results in a rich and deep connection to Jesus Christ and equips you to do the very things God wants you to do.

Blessed Assurance (v20b)

Matthew wrote his gospel to bolster the confidence of Jewish Christians that Jesus is indeed the Christ.

Here, at the very end of His letter to them, Matthew includes Christ’s own assurance that He is with us.

This bolster our own confidence to do that which He has told us to do.

We get ourselves out of whack with worry, don’t we? This will come as a surprise to most but I’m a timid person. I don’t like to approach people. As a little boy in Kindergarten I would hide under Ms. Sweatnam’s dress anytime a new person came in the room. That’s worry. I was a little boy then but even as an adult I would worry about what people would think of me. Today, to some extent I still am, but the Holy Spirit reminds me every single day that I serve the one and only true God and He is with me.

That’s a little bit of worry about something not so serious. The more serious things in life can easily be understood to create worry but the answer is the same. It’s always the same. We worry, BUT GOD, is our rock. God is our assurance.

Romans 8:31-39 outlines the protection we have from God:

Protection based on precedent — God did not spare his own Son. He gave Him up for us all. He will also graciously give us all things, through His Son.

Protection based on legal standing — Christ Jesus is our intercessor (he speaks on our behalf) — who can bring any charge against God’s elect when Jesus Christ is the one defending us?

Protection based on the love of God — Through Christ, who loves us, we are conquerors of all calamity. It is His love for us that we are saved and will be with Him. John 3:16. John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

Psalm 118:6 “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

We know Christ is on our side. We know this because Scripture points it out over and over again. Further, what we are to preach is His Gospel message of repentance for sin and of salvation in Him.

Charles Spurgeon says it so well

The servants of Christ are not to preach repentance on their own authority, or even on the authority of the Church of Christ, but they are to preach it on the authority of the Church’s ascended Head! “Repentance And Remission”, Volume 56, Sermon #3224 - Luke 24:47

Charles Spurgeon

Persecution

Does Christ’s Authority, Command, and Assurance mean we will not face persecution? Absolutely not.

Christ made that clear in John 15. The world hates Him and we are of Him so the world hates us.

John 15:18–20 NASB95

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Stephen

Stephen was stoned to death for fulfilling the Great Commission. He was killed for doing exactly what Christ told him to do. Between Stephen in the 1st century and today there have been a great multitude of martyrs. Those 4,500+ who were killed in 2024.

But, their stories — even their lives — did not end with their death on this earth.

What this means is that we can rest in the assurance of everlasting life with our Savior. One of my favorite hymns is Leaning On the Everlasting Arms by E.A. Hoffman

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, Leaning on the ever lasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, Leaning on the ever lasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:

Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, Leaning on the everlasting arms.

End of the World/Age?

Why not? It is a lie that the end is to be feared by Christians. The end of this broken, sick, sin-FULL world is the beginning of the New Heaven and New Earth. The end of the world is not to be feared but longed for — anticipated with Holy Hope. Christ reigns and is on our side. We will be with Him for eternity. There can be no assurance greater than this. Lets do the work Christ has given us and truly be His workmen to fill His Kingdom with His Saints.

Our Mission

Importance

The Great Commission is described a total of 5 times in the New Testament: once in each of the Gospel and once in Acts.

It’s important to Christ. Would he have ever uttered a single word that wasn’t?

Our Bubbles

To be obedient, we must break out of our bubbles; step out of our comfort zones.

We may find the idea of openly sharing our faith to be terrifying.

We would rather be comfortable, stay out of trouble, and have people like us.

As we have seen, the Lord of the Universe, our Savior, who gave His very life for the remission of our sins, has called on us to do it anyway; assuring us that He is with us.

The Lost

There are lost souls all around us. God has laid out His plan for their salvation and it includes each of us. How marvelous is it that we are called to serve Him in the execution of His Glorious plan?

For the lost listening right now. For those who do not know Jesus Christ. In the words of of the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 5:20 NASB95

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Repent of your sin and follow Jesus Christ. Do it now for the Kingdom of God is at hand and there is no time to waste. Put aside your sin, put on Christ; be at one with the only God of all the universe.

Obedience

For those who follow Christ. Do so as a young child follows her mother; ever behind her and looking up to her. Strive to please Christ. Do all that you can to learn Christ. Make Him your daily bread, your very life. In doing so, obedience will come naturally.

With all Power, Glory, Strength, and Knowledge, God has included you in His plan. He will do the work of saving, that’s not on us, but what is on us is to be obedient to Him. It’s serious business but it’s easy to understand, and it’s the very reason we’re here. It is the calling of each one of us, for His Glory.

We are in this world, having conversations with people, living in the society and time the Lord has seen fit to put us in. The simple and clear truth is that He has us here to bring Him Glory and His Glory is brightest when a soul comes to saving faith in His Son.

Share the Gospel with the people in your daily lives.

Live with Christ every single day.

Tell the ‘Old, Old Story, of Jesus and His love.’

You don’t need an elaborate plan. You don’t need to wait until the ‘time is right.’

We just need to obey our savior and make disciples by sharing His Gospel with everyone.