1. It’s so good for us to cultivate a heart for the lost! (See Mark)
NOTE: The heart of Jesus becomes our heart, our passion, our desire to see those around us come to know Jesus personally!
• We realize don’t we, that God sent someone into our lives!
• How thankful we are!
• Remember one of the first instructions Jesus gives his disciples is found in Matthew 28:19-20
APP: Christianity is a MISSIONARY faith.
• We have a message and that message is to be shared!
• It’s been said that a church, a believer that does not EVANGELIZE will soon FOSSILIZE!
• It’s not just a calling or command, it’s who we are!
• That’s how you heard, received, believed. (Win-Disciple-Send)
#1 - GO THEREFORE.
• Therefore is an interesting word tying this Great Commission to the appearance of Jesus Christ after His resurrection.
• Because I’m alive. Because I’m who I said I was. Because I’ve conquered death. Because I’m alive forever more!… GO
NOTE: The word “GO” is actually not the command in this passage.
• In the GK it is “GOING”. The command is “MAKE DISCIPLES”.
• So, “WHILE YOU ARE GOING, make disciples.”
• While you’re out there. While your shining your light, flavoring your area… make disciples. Share, pray, help, love.
NOW: A disciple is a ‘learner’. More than just a believer, a disciple is one who is disciplined in the faith.
• A disciple was deeply connected to his teacher. He learned from him and even sometimes lived & worked alongside of him.
#3 - THEN BAPTIZE those disciples.
• Water baptism is such a powerful statement.
• Water baptism is a powerful event in the believer’s life.
• First it’s an outward sign to those watching of the work of God’s Spirit in their life.
• Also it’s an inward sign of obedience as a disciple commits their life publicly to the One that saved them!
#4 - TEACHING THEM
• Every believer is a teacher. Each one of you has been empowered and equipped to teach.
• Isn’t that great? You have something to share, to impart!
• TEACH THEM TO OBSERVE… teach them to obey.
So we open the Letter addressed to the Roman Christians and right away Paul begins to preach the gospel!
• He lays out carefully for us that we are all guilty.
• He begins with the unbeliever, then the moral person, then the religious person, and ends in 3:23…
NOW there is a lot of resistance to the gospel, for sure.
• I know you’ve come up against some of it…
• I don’t believe in the Bible! (I don’t need God.)
• No such thing as God. (I believe everyone goes to heaven)
• You don’t believe in Noah do you? Adam & Eve?
• Well we’ve learned that the answer to those questions goes back to Jesus Christ. He believed and taught us so…
V20-21 here answer a question that is very common…
• What about those who have never heard? OR
• What about the pygmies in the deep dark jungle? (vv16-21)
I. (1:20) WITHOUT EXCUSE
1. The Revelation of God.
a. We’re so thankful God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.
1 John 1:5 (NKJV) 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
• God reveals Himself to EVERY SINGLE human being.
The first light is mentioned here the LIGHT OF CREATION.
• His invisible attributes are CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are made…
NOTE: Paul is not saying that the Gentiles know God as their Creator, but rather everyone knows there is a Superior Being because God has clearly shown them through Creation!
• Let’s flip over to Psalm 19:1ff
Cisero lived around 106-143 BC, wrote: “When we lift our eyes to the heavens, what can be more manifest and more obvious then there must be a SUPREME INTELLIGENCE by whom we are governed.”
• Even pagan philosophers, and there are many more, know that Creation points us to a Creator!
So what does Satan do? Introduce a NEW THEORY on the CLEARLY SEEN attributes of God… he named it EVOLUTION!
• The basic assumption of evolution is that there IS NO GOD!
• Everything you see can easily be explained with time… over time after a BIG BANG came these changes, and well here we are!
• It’s not being taught as a theory, but as TRUTH.
BUT THE TRUTH is that ‘in the beginning’ God created…
• He’s a loving Creator very much involved in His creation
• He jumps into creation & becomes a part of it in person of Jesus
The Bible says we are created by God!
Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
• Evolution says we were created by accident, or fate, or some cosmic unknown explosive power…
• So we’re not created in the image of a perfect, loving God but rather we’re just another animal, maybe a little higher…
• But the more we study the smarter animals get!
THE Bible says you’re not an accident, you’re not here to live on the animal level, but to live a life that pleases God!
WITHOUT GOD, evolution teaches us that there is no real LIFE AFTER DEATH… so live your life, and focus on yourself!
• You’re the highest priority. Look out for #1.
• It’s the survival of the fittest you know!
• But the Bible teaches that your spirit is created eternally and that God is the highest priority…
• God is an all-powerful creator and God should be honored in public life, in our personal life.
So what has man done with the LIGHT OF CREATION, darkened it with the LIE of EVOLUTION!
• Take creation away and you begin to undue society.
• When people are taught they are just animals, then they go out and live like animals…
• If there is no God then there no accountability to Him.
• Without excuse Paul says…
• The mountain’s majesty… remind us of God…
• The blue skies… Our loving creator.
• The water floating above us in the clouds, the sands of the seashore… our loving God!
II. (1:21) WITHOUT GLORY OR THANKS
1. They knew God…
a. This brings us to the 2nd Light God has given.
b. The first one was external, Creation.
c. This 2nd one is INTERNAL, its’ man’s CONSCIENCE.
NOTE: Every human being on the face of the planet has been born with an innate sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Let’s take the example of those living in the deepest, darkest jungle on the farthest corner of our planet.
• Do they pass the Creation test? Yes they do. Creation teaches them externally that there is a GOD!
• What about the Conscience test?
• Well let’s say we have 2 tribes living in generally the same area.
• Tribe A decides one night to go over to Tribe B and destroy their animals, their crops, their houses and kidnap the wives & kids.
• So they do one night and leave the village in shambles.
• As Tribe B thinks about it, what do they decide?
• MOST LIKEY THEY DECIDE REVENGE! Why? Because what was done to them was JUST WRONG! BUT How did they know that?
• God placed it in them internally… They know!
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit uses our conscience to:
• Convict us: John 8.9 & Confirms us: Acts 23.1
• Reveals God’s Righteous Judgment: Romans 2.14-16
But Paul says man did not glorify Him as God… (NOT THANKFUL!)
• So they became futile (or empty) in their thoughts
• Which led to their foolish hearts being darkened.
So to the one who has the light of Creation.
• Comes the light of Conscience…
• Until finally, the light of Christ shines upon their hearts.
• Flip over to John 1:9-13
Sure, we see today EVOLUTION has taken root.
No wonder our kids act the way they do.
• Their whole life they’re taught that they are this slime ball that has evolved with no real purpose, no real accountability.
Guys… listen…
• God is going to hold you & me accountable to what you know about Him. If you choose to follow Him, good choice.
• If you choose to reject Him, He will hold you to your choice.
Let’s say you and I are trapped in that same deep dark jungle and all we have are 2 machetes. We’re lost & it’s dark.
• We decided to split up & cut our way through the dark jungle looking for any glimmer of light, of hope to get out. So we leave.
• I slice. You slice. Hours we cut & cut giving updates along way.
• I finally find a glimmer of light and yell out for you to come…
• You don’t believe, you don’t care, you keep going in your direction while I cut at that light.
• As I follow that light, it opens to a clearing and I’m safe.
• But your decisions to go in your direction leaves you lost, and hopeless, and dead.
What about those that never heard? They do hear every day.
• They hear from creation… do they follow it?
• They hear from their conscience… do they listen?
• If they do, we know God will reveal His Son in them and to them and by faith in their Messiah they will be saved!
So the WHOLE WORLD is held accountable to God!
• God has placed ETERNITY in their hearts & in every person’s heart is a desire to know their Creator
• AND there is ample evidence of a Creator.
• But as Paul said earlier, it’s pushed down & suppressed.
BY THE WAY… Ever heard of the Nukak-Maku tribe?
A group of 80 of them recently emerged from the Amazon jungle, where they and their ancestors have lived in primitive splendor for thousands of years. They announced that they were ready to join the civilized world! With Marxist guerillas constantly harassing them and cocaine dealers continually giving them trouble, they said they were tired of spending all day searching for food and coming home only to have to fight.
So as one Nukak named Ma-be tells a New York Times reporter, “We want to stay near town” where they say, the Colombian government will help them live lives among the other city folk. (The Week, May 26, 2005 – William Falk)
But… what about you? That’s the question really.
• Those in the deep dark jungle have a choice… & so do you.
• You have the full revealed Word of God in your hands telling you that you must be born again to receive forgiveness of sins!
• You know what is says. You know of the conviction of sin.
• please, don’t love the darkness more than the light.
• Come to Him today… and receive the love and forgiveness and acceptance and freedom that you’ve longed for your whole life!
