HoHum:
Two fellows are standing on the side of a country road. One is holding a sign that says, “The end is near!” The other one is holding a sign that says, “Repent!” Several cars pass them by and pay them no heed. In fact, all the cars speed up to get past these guys whom they consider to be religious nuts. After several more cars speed past them, one fellow looks at the other and says, “I don’t think we’re getting our message across.” The other guy replies, “Yeah. I guess your sign should say, ‘Bridge out!’ and mine should say, ‘Turn around!’” Mark 13:10: And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
The sermon is brought to you by the word MUST
WBTU:
The church, involved in many activities (like Zumba), often loses sight of our responsibility: preaching the gospel to all nations- Matthew 28:19-20.
Thesis: Preaching is an imperative
For instances:
I. God’s imperatives
A. The must of evangelism should not surprise us
1. We live in the midst of imperatives
Do your chores! Drink liquids or die of dehydration! Eat food or starve! Be quiet and listen to the preacher! Do not walk in front of a moving vehicle!
B. Spiritual imperatives are as definite
A). Some would like to eliminate all spiritual imperatives. “Just follow your heart”. Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
B). We cannot change physical imperatives. Neither can we change spiritual imperatives.
C. Jesus was bound by imperatives
1. Luke 4:43: I MUST proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.
2. Luke 9:22: The Son of Man MUST suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he MUST be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
3. Luke 22:37: It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this MUST be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.
D. Our salvation is dependent on imperatives
1. Acts 4:12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we MUST be saved.
2. Acts 20:21: I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they MUST turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
3. John 3:5-7: Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You MUST be born again.’
4. Some say that there is nothing we can do for our salvation. Dr. Jack Cottrell says in Set Free that God as our Redeemer has but one concern: to save us from our sins. Toward this end He gives us certain commandments or imperatives that show us how to receive salvation. We can call these gospel imperatives or gospel commands and this is on a different level than the laws commands. But isn’t this just another version of a works salvation because there is nothing we can do to earn salvation? These people are confusing the ground or means of our salvation with the way that we receive salvation. Picture this: A starving man is told where to find a banquet table filled with delicious and nutritious food, and it is all free. In order to save his life, this man must believe the message, and he must go to the banquet hall where the food has been laid out. There is nothing credible in his believing the message and showing up at the table; someone else bought the food, prepared it, and laid it out for him. Likewise, the lost sinner is told that God through Jesus Christ wants to give him salvation. He, too, must believe the message, and then go to the place where this “banquet” is being served, namely, baptism. He must chew the food and ingest it for it to be effectual. There is nothing deserving in someone believing the message and showing up for their baptism; someone else brought the salvation and made it available to him.
If there is nothing we can do for our salvation, then one of two things are true:
1. Everyone will be saved- Biblically this is untenable
2. God determines who will be saved and who will be lost (Predestination). This makes God look like a tyrant.
II. The Why of Evangelism
A. Jesus commanded it. No better reason. Mark 16:15-16: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. This should be good enough but often we need the reasons why.
1. He had all authority. Matthew 28:18: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
2. He knows it produces faith. Romans 10:17: faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
3. Results are left to God. He commanded us to go, but he gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
B. No other answer to the needs of the world.
1. Sin in every one of the 193 recognized countries of the world (even in unofficial)
2. Things like the United Nations only cloud the issue. The problem is not sin but ignorance…
3. Only Christ can meet the need. Andrea Crouch sang, “Jesus is the answer, For the world today, Above Him, there's no other, Jesus is the way”
C. The urgency is alarming
1. From 2014- If 88 Jumbo Jets fully loaded with passengers crashed every day for a whole year, the tragedy still would not equal those who die without ever having heard the Gospel.
2. We have the sign of the times all around us that Christ is returning.
3. We have the certainty of eternal condemnation for the unsaved. Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
III. Hindrances to Evangelism
A. Ignorance of the real need. “Leave them alone. They have their beliefs and practices and how dare we say that we are right and they are wrong.”
1. Did the Holy Spirit and Philip leave the eunuch alone? Acts 8:29: The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
2. Did Paul leave the Athenians alone with their many gods? Acts 17:30: In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
3. Did Peter leave Cornelius alone in his “good person” condition? Acts 10:2: He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. Acts 10:42: He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. Acts 10:48: he (Peter) ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
B. Divisions leads to a lack of focus on evangelism
1. Divisions in local congregation makes missions difficult. Focused today on Faith Promise but many say that we have so many needs in local church that we should focus exclusively on this local church…
2. Divisions in Christianity weakens Christ’s message. John 17:20-21: I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
3. This makes the plea of the Christian church and churches of Christ more imperative. ICOM
C. Some make Jesus’ commands optional
1. One false doctrine is that if have just one moment of belief then saved forever. James 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.
2. Need strong preaching on Christian living- yes, but where does that start? Repentance.
3. Need to speak on stewardship- yes, and we are speaking on stewardship with Faith Promise. All are called- some are called to go and some are called to send with money and prayers
4. The ends of the earth? Yes, we need to speak about this because it will even help us. Missionaries can teach us how to reach our culture. Bryan Laughlin says that Westerners, including Americans, must start living like missionaries to their own culture. There is a vital need for the American church to recover a missionary mentality. It’s about the call for us to live like foreign missionaries in our own cities and neighborhoods, which are quickly becoming places increasingly foreign to the gospel. What we are doing is ineffective
D. Procrastination
1. We delay our own decision for Christ.
2. We delay telling others of Christ. Some more convenient day
3. We must be about our Father’s business like Jesus at age of 12 in temple. Started young
So what?
Saul was struck blind by Jesus on the road to Damascus and Jesus told him “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:6). Ananias came and shared the gospel with him. He concluded by saying, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). Saul, also known as Paul, was baptized and immediately began sharing his faith. Acts 22:15: “You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.” This is what Paul did. May all of us go forth telling the world that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and Savior of the world. Romans 10:14-15: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
