God’s command for us Christians is to, “GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL.”
Look at that word “GO”. Have you ever been behind a car at a red light and when the light turned green they just set there? After a little while you start talking to yourself “GO MAN! DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT GO MEANS?”
Evidently some Christians must not know what GO means. They have been sitting in their recliners for years while neighbors have been lost, not knowing Jesus.
Jesus' Great Commission applies to all; we must get up and get out and share our faith with the help and strength of God.
• A “witness” (noun) is defined as a person who has seen or can give first-hand evidence of some event, or a person who testifies, especially in a court of law, to events or facts within his or her own knowledge.
• To “witness” (verb) means to see or be present at or know at first hand, to give evidence of or about, and to attest to the genuineness of something.
A witness cannot be someone who says ‘I learned about X from someone, and believe it to be true’; that would be second-hand, what in Law is called “hearsay”.
To be a valid witness, someone must be able to say…
• “I saw it.”
• “I heard it.”
• “I experienced it”.
No one can be a true Christian just because he knows someone else who is one,
• or because his parents were Christians,
• or because any relative is a Christian.
• A Christian is someone who has personal knowledge and personal experience of Jesus Christ, and is individually and personally born again of the Holy Spirit and can personally Witness and testify that Jesus is Lord.
Illus: Among us Baptists there are those who feel you can become a Christian by going to church and shaking a preachers hand.
Listen, if that was true you could go to mechanic shop and shake the hand of a mechanic that would make you a mechanic.
The Lord has commanded we who have partaken of this great salvation that we share it with others.
Illus: One of the primary reasons there are so many lost people in the world today is because many Christians do not witness to the lost world.
Illus: We understand that in the fishing world, that is, a fisherman can not expect to catch fish if he is not willing to go fishing. But that concept seems to have escape Christians when it comes to being fishers of men.
The Lord is not out of the soul saving business. But it is obvious that many of God’s churches are out of the soul saving business.
• There are churches today that can not remember when someone got gloriously saved and baptized in their church.
• Many of the churches today have replaced salvation for church membership.
Illus: Dr. John R. Rice has a book that talks about churches today. In his book he points out…
• No longer do some preachers preach salvation sermons to the lost.
• No longer do some churches have an invitation for the Lost to accept the Lord as their Savior.
• No longer do some churches sing songs that appeal to the lost in their lost condition.
Illus: Now many sing these 7-11 songs that contain seven words and they sing them seven times.
Illus: One day many Christians will stand before the Lord and give account of the souls who went to hell because of their failure to obey this command to witness and it is not going to be a good time in heaven for them.
Think about it, they are going to have to give account to God almighty that He left them here on earth for decades and decades and the only thing they did with their life was selfishly use those decades God gave them for themselves.
It is the command of God almighty that every Christian to win souls to the Lord.
Some Christians understand that and others do not!!!
Illus: One of the greatest soul winners of all time was a man known as Uncle John Vassar.
• In a railroad station one day he saw a lady with a serious look on her face sitting by herself. He sat down and talked to her and led her to the Lord.
• Just as he left, her husband came up and, seeing the tears, demanded to know what was going on.
• She told him that a man had just been telling her of her need to be saved.
• Her husband said, "Why didn't you tell him to go about his business?" said the indignant husband.
• She answered, "Husband, if you had only been here you would have seen that he was about his business." ("Choice Illus." W.W. Clay pg. 48)
The business of every Child of God is to lead men to Christ.
Let me show you some things about THIS GREAT SALVATION SO THAT WE CAN HELP THEM WHO HAVE BEEN BLINDED BY SIN.
Notice, in the scriptures…
I. THE DISCIPLES BELIEVED IT
Illus: In a cellar in Germany, after World War II were found these words on the wall: "I BELIEVE."
• I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining
• I believe in love, even when I don't feel it
• I believe in God, even when He is silent
We all believe in something!
The New Testament Christians truly believed that salvation could only be found in the Lord Jesus.
Look at Acts 4:12. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
The only way you can get to heaven is to come to Christ for salvation.
John 10:9 says, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved."
Notice, the Lord did not say, “I AM ONE OF THE DOORS”, HE SAID, “IAM THE DOOR!”
Listen:
• You can join every church in this town and still be lost
• You can be baptized in every baptistery and every pond in the county and still be lost
• You can do all kinds of good works and still be lost
• You can tithe every Sunday and still be lost
SALVATION IS FOUND ONLY IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
The writer of Hebrews is writing to folks that have, “Received the knowledge of the truth”.
They have received the KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH about Christ, but evidently it has never gotten into their hearts.
You see a person can come to church and hear what the Bible teaches about salvation, but HEARING THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH is not enough.
Illus: They say the distance between Heaven and Hell is the distance from the mind to the heart. A lot of folks have HEARD THE TRUTH! But hearing is not enough.
It starts with hearing but you have to act on what you hear.
Before Christ came, the Jews would offer sacrifices for their sins in the temple.
Those sacrifices represented the ultimate sacrifice of Christ Who was to come.
Notice I said these sacrifices REPRESETED the Lord Jesus. The sacrifices themselves have never saved anyone.
Illus: It is just like when we have communion, communion has never saved anyone…NEVER!
• The bread REPRESENTS he gave his BODY FOR US!
• The cup REPRESENTS the blood He shed for us!
And all the sacrifices in the Old Testament REPRESENT THE Lord Jesus who DIED FOR US!
BUT HERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE JEWS!!!
At the writing of Hebrews, Christ had come and had died for the sins of mankind and they were still going to the temple to offer sacrifices.
To continue to do this was to imply that CHRIST'S SACRIFICE was not sufficient.
They had received the knowledge of truth concerning Christ and now they must act on that knowledge or be lost.
After the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE had been offered in the Old Testament they continued offering sacrifices for sin.
But the writer of Hebrews is showing us that Christ's sacrifice is far superior to the animal sacrifices in that it is only offered once. Again, we read, “…There remaineth no more sacrifices for sins.”
Going to the temple day after day to offer sacrifice for sin, would be like some today that keep coming to the Lord for salvation over and over again. HE IS NOT GOING TO DIE AGAIN!
Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Illus: Suppose anyone claimed to be saved five different times. Does that mean that person has been saved five times? No,
• If they were not sincere in CALLING UPON God for salvation in those five times they have never been saved.
• But if they were saved one of those five times they are saved because Christ is only going to die ONCE FOR SALVATION!
Look at Hebrews 6:4-6. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, TO RENEW THEM AGAIN UNTO REPENTANCE; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
If you are saved by grace and you could lose your salvation, then in order for you to be saved He would have to die again.
Look at Hebrews 10:11-12. "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: BUT THIS MAN, AFTER HE HAD OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOR EVER, SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD."
Illus: Now if a person does not believe that and he believes you can lose his salvation, I ask him, “Since you have been saved have you sinned?” And if he is truthful he will say, “Yes.” Then I tell him, “According to what you believe you have lost your salvation.”
But when the Lord saves us, He saves us from our past, present and future sins.
This great salvation that we receive by grace is all based on the ONE SACRIFICE HE MADE FOR OUR SINS.
The disciples believed that CHRIST'S ATONEMENT FOR SIN WAS ADEQUATE.
When we consider this GREAT SALVATION, we see THE DISCIPLES BELIEVED IT and -
II. THE PEOPLE WERE AMAZED BY IT
Salvation in Christ is miraculous! When a person believes in the Lord Jesus, the Bible says he becomes a NEW CREATURE.
• The liar stops lying
• The drunkard stops drinking
• The gambler stops gambling
• The adulterer stops committing adultery
• The homosexual stops his homosexuality
The Bible says when people truly come to the Lord they BECOME “BORN AGAIN!”
Preacher you preach like a person has to become perfect to become a Christian.
No, there is no Christian here who is perfect…NONE!!! But there is a difference between a Christian who sins and a sinner when he sins.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
• A Christian can fall into the lake of sin accidently and he will get out immediately and ask the Lord to help him not to do that again.
• A Sinner can fall into the lake of sin and he will continue swimming around in sin because he likes it.
Many today who profess to be saved are still living in sin because they are not truly sorry for their sins. THEY ARE THE SAME SINFUL CREATURES THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN!
Many in our churches are going to be surprised one day to find out they are not one of God's children.
Look at Matthew 7:22-23. We read, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
We all know a lot of folks who claim they are saved and still live like they did before they claimed they were saved. But it is a BIBLE FACT that if you truly come to know the Lord Jesus, you are A NEW CREATURE.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
These New Testament Christians were born again christians.
Look at Acts 3:13. We read, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
The thing that really got people's attention was they knew those disciples before they were saved but then they could see the change that had taken place in their lives.
In other words they could tell Jesus had rubbed off on them!
When we consider this GREAT SALVATION, we see…
I. THE DISCIPLES BELIEVED IT,
II. THE PEOPLE WERE AMAZED BY IT
and -
III. THE OFFICIALS WERE DISTURBED BY IT
Look at Acts 4:15-22. We read, "But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was showed."
The devil hates and despises this great salvation. He has always had evil men and women who wanted to wipe this gospel from THE FACE OF THE EARTH!
The wicked society in which we live and the Hollywood crowd have nothing nice to say about the Lord.
For example, men like Ted Turner have said some horrible things about Christianity.
• He said, "Christianity is a religion for losers.”
• He also said, “I don’t want anybody to die for me. I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends and if that’s gonna put me in hell, then so be it."
The ungodly want to classify us as the, "RELIGIOUS RIGHT!"
One day they will find out we are RIGHT when it comes to the salvation the Bible teaches! THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO HEAVEN IS THROUGH CHRIST.
The only way to change their attitude and thinking is for us to live a faithful, loving, Christian life and keep on preaching Jesus! They’ll either get turned on to Him or else turned off even more!
Conclusion:
Again, the only way to get to heaven is through the Lord Jesus.
Illus: It is believed that what we call the SINNERS PRAYER has sent more people to hell than any of us can imagine.
Why?
Because some think of the sinners prayer consist of some magic words and when you pray them you automatically become a Christian.
THIS IS WHY THEY ARE STILL THE SAME OLD SINFUL CREATURES THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN!
• Look at what Peter said to this crowd that was convicted of their sins. They wanted to know what they must do to be saved and Peter did not say, "SAY THIS MAGIC PRAYER USING THESE MAGIC WORDS AND YOU WILL BE SAVED!
• Look at Acts 2:38, we read, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Peter said several things will take place when we are truly saved:
• We will repent of our sins
• We will be baptized identifying ourselves with His atonement for our sins
In our witnessing we need to lead people to the Lord Jesus, the Savior.
When we consider this GREAT SALVATION, we see the-
I. DISCIPLES BELIEVED IT
II. PEOPLE WERE AMAZED BY IT
III. OFFICIALS WERE DISTURBED BY IT
