Share Jesus to the World

According to the U.S. census and other reporting data, Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the United States. The estimated population in Texas this year is 29.2 million people. Texas averages an addition of 1,000 people every day. Houston overtook New York as the most diverse city in the nation years ago. There are over 300 people groups in the state. You can go to a place like Houston and eat at a different restaurant every week and not encounter all the ethnic communities those restaurants represent. The nations have come to Texas.

As good Baptists, you have no doubt heard the Great Commission over and over again your entire lives, but it bears repeating. Our mission is to share Jesus to the world. That mission is a reflection of what Jesus commanded his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Turn with me to Matthew 28:16-20.

Matthew 28:16–20 NASB95

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “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 commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

After Jesus had risen from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and others numerous times over a forty day period. Jesus instructed his disciples to meet him on the mountain, to which they obeyed. When they arrived at the mountain, they worshipped him, but Matthew reports that some were doubtful. We are not sure what exactly they were doubtful of, but it seems doubtfulness of the resurrection is not at play here. Jesus has shown himself numerous times at this point. Maybe there were some of the eleven who responded in worship and the others were unsure how to respond and that’s what is meant here. Maybe they were unsure of what happens next. Whatever the case, there seemed to be some hesitancy among the group.

Before we dive in to what Jesus commanded, I want you to see something important here. As Jesus gives the command to go and make disciples, he first establishes his authority. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” In light of that reality, go and make disciples.

For a quick grammar lesson, there are many types of verbs. The imperative verb is a command. This may come as a surprise to you, but the only imperative verb in this passage is make disciples. When we read verse 19 in English, the word go looks like and sounds like a command, but it is not. It is a participle, implying ongoing action. The act of going is assumed in the command. So it could read, “As you go,” or “In your going,” make disciples. If we are going to fulfill the great commission, the focus is on making disciples.

Then he follows the command with a promise to be present with his disciples to the end of the age. So the command to make disciples is sandwiched between a proclamation and a promise.

Armed with the authority of Christ and the promise of his presence, we have everything necessary to share Jesus to the world today.

Everything you need to fulfill the great commission is already there. You go with the authority of the king of heaven and earth and his promise to be with you always. We cannot share Jesus to the world without remembering his proclamation and his promise.

Our mission is to share Jesus to the world. I have good news for you. The world has come to Texas. Spoiler alert: I intend to organize and lead a mission trip in Texas in the summer of 2022. We must take our mission statement seriously, or we need to change it. I vote for the former. The mission to share Jesus to the world is exactly what the great commission calls us to do.

The mission to share Jesus to the world is a call to make disciples.

Making disciples begins with evangelism. Evangelism is the process of sharing the truth about God from scripture combined with your own story of how Jesus changed your life. If we really believe that heaven and hell are real, and that anyone who does not come to faith in Jesus before they die are lost forever, we must act with a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing the truth with our friends and loved ones.

It does not matter what gospel presentation you use. You can use the Roman Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosion, or the GOSPEL acronym I taught you several months ago. Whatever the method, we must be faithful to the process. To make disciples, we must call people to become disciples.

The truth is that God created us to be in relationship with him but our sin has separated us from God. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds, so, paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again paying the penalty of sin, which is death, but claiming victory by rising from the dead. Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone for salvation has eternal life, and that life begins now and lasts for an eternity. That is the amazing truth of the gospel. We alienated ourselves from God because of our own sinfulness, but God sent his son to pay the penalty of our sin by dying on a cross for us. Jesus took the punishment we deserve so the relationship between us and our Father could be restored and every Sunday morning we come together to celebrate that reality.

Our task is to call people to turn from their sin and follow Jesus. The beginning of the great commission is evangelism.

Baptism is the first act of obedience to Jesus.

As we see people come to faith in Jesus, the first step in obedience to him is baptism. We see this pop up several times in the book of Acts. In response to Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost, the people called out to him saying, “What shall we do?”

Acts 2:38 NASB95

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.

Verse 41 then says,

Acts 2:41 NASB95

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

When Philip was preaching in Samaria, the Samaritans started coming to faith in Jesus. It is reported in Acts 8:12-13 that following their profession of faith, they were baptized.

Acts 8:12–13 NASB95

But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

When Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch and he believed, Acts 8:36 says,

Acts 8:36 NASB95

As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

As soon as Paul’s blindness was lifted after the Damascus road experience, he was baptized.

Acts 9:18 NASB95

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;

Upon the profession of faith by Cornelius and his house hold, Peter says in Acts 10:47-48:

Acts 10:47–48 NASB95

“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Over and over again in the book of Acts we see baptism following a profession of faith.

The Baptist Faith and Message, which is our statement of faith, says this concerning baptism:

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.

As baptists, we believe in baptizing only those who make a profession of faith in Jesus. Therefore, we do not baptize infants or anyone else too young to understand the action in which they are about to take. We also believe that baptism is not necessary for salvation, but a symbol of the salvation one already has. But we do believe that baptism is a prerequisite to church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. We believe in regenerate church membership, meaning only those who have made a profession of faith and have been baptized following such a profession are eligible for membership in our church.

Evangelism is followed by a process of discipleship.

The end goal of Christianity is to be conformed into the image of Christ. That is the goal is to look like Jesus. Now, ultimately this process will not be complete until we receive our incorruptible glorified bodies in eternity. But the “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” portion of this text is leading others in the process of discipleship. Evangelism is not the end of Christianity. Discipleship is. Evangelism is not the end goal. It is not the finish line. It is the starting line. If someone comes to faith in Jesus and we baptize them, the job is not done. It has only begun.

On the one hand, discipleship is never complete this side of Heaven because you and I will never be perfect until we have received our perfect and imperishable bodies. Yet on the other hand, God calls us to holiness through the transformation of ourselves from the inside out brought about by the power of the Holy Sprit, who convicts us of error and teaches us all that Christ has commanded. The more we look like Jesus, the more we act like Jesus. The more we act like Jesus, the more we will fulfill his command to reach the nations. Every person who enters these doors must have the opportunity to hear the gospel and respond to the gospel. But once they have, we must also remember that the job is to show them how to live the gospel.

Our Sunday school classes and our Wednesday night programs do not exist merely to give people who can teach something to do or to give us the opportunity to brag about how any people we have coming to any given event. Our goal is to train up people who will continue the ministry of the church long after we are gone. Our goal is to raise up people of all ages to embrace their God-given identities and use their gifts and talents to share the message of hope with others, leading to life transformation. If there is a point in which discipleship is complete, it is when you have evangelized someone who then learns under you what it means to be a Christian, then goes out and evangelizes someone else and the process starts all over again.

Discipleship is the process where we submit ourselves to the teaching of the Lord through the study of scripture. We then apply these biblical principles to our lives, seeing the result of a transformed life, then look for others who will commit to walking through that process with you. We must never forget the why of the things that we do.

APPLICATION

Do you need to begin the journey?

Do you need to follow in obedience through baptism?

Do you need to embrace the task God is calling you to?