Go Therefore, and Teach Them
Church of God Seventh Day Meridian, ID
November 11, 2000
INTRODUCTION
Greetings
Over the last two Sabbaths, we have been talking about the last words Jesus spoke in the book of Matthew. Today, we pick this up again, looking at these words.
Matthew 28:18-20
“(18) And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (20) teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (KJV)
In looking at this, we broke this command down to three distinct, yet connected commands:
1. Teach all nation/Make Disciples
We are commanded by our Lord and Savior to go and make disciples
In order to help you to that end, we provided some handouts (still available).
2. Baptize them
By immersion
Focus is on the person being baptized, not the “baptist”
They are identifying with death/burial/resurrection
3. Teach them to obey all things I have commanded you
This is where we will pick up today
But, before we pick this up, I want to once again remind you of what else Jesus said in these verses. We will pick this up again in the series conclusion next week, He said “I will be with you always, even to the end of the world”
As we fill this commandment, this set of instruction, Jesus will be with us, guiding us, leading us, and encouraging us. This is such a large command, with Satan, the advesary working against us in the world, we could not do it on our own.
So, as we set out to live up to the responsibility of this command, let us remember that we are going down this road with our Lord.
TEACHING
As we get into this third area of instruction, I want to once again address the topic of teaching
I have said this before, but for those of you who have not been here, I want to address it again: You are always teaching. By your actions, by your words. If you are driving down the road, and someone cuts you off and you become angry, you represent Jesus, who lives inside of you, as angry. And you just taught the people who are witness to that something about Jesus. Even if its not the truth about him
We are always teaching, we can not escape it
To go further, it is our responsibility to teach.
Not talking about teaching a Sabbath school, or some class, or even teaching a Bible study in your home
The teaching that goes along with these verses is set in a different context.
It is not saying “preach the Gospel, baptize, and send them away to a formal school to learn” (For the record, that did not help Pharisees or Saducees) We are not talking about teaching Systematic Theology to a group of seminary students
Discipling an individual, as Jesus tells us to “make disciples” is a much more intimate process. Its something one person does with other persons.
Let me give you an example of the teaching we do here
Last week, we used the example of marriage
Preaching, making disciples: Meeting and becoming engaged
Get to know person (get to know Christ)
Fall “in love” and commit yourself to the person
Baptism: wedding ceremony
Symbolic act publicly, in front of God and your witness, exclaiming your devotion and commitment to someone.
Said last week: you can baptize (I see this as part of that intimate process bridging the gap between bringing someone to Jesus, and what we are talking about today, teaching them)
What does the marriage represent? Process of learning.
The third aspect is to “teach them to obey”
Before we can teach others to obey, we must first be obedient.
Can not effectively preach the gospel of salvation, if we are not saved. Can not effectively relate the purpose and need of baptism, if we ourselves are not baptized.
Looking at marriage, how many of you, right after the ceremony , knew everything there was about marriage. Always knew how to behave. Were never wrong.
Point is, we learn
LEARNING BEFORE TEACHING
Before we can teach an issue, we need to learn it ourselves.
That does not mean we wait until we learn everything before we teach anything.
If you have been saved, you understand salvation, teach it to people, bring them to Jesus
If you have been baptized and understand its meaning, administer it.
If you do not understand salvation, if you do not understand baptism, then I invite you to speak with me or one of the elders. We would be happy to sit down with you.
Its essential, before we get into learning and teaching obedience, to understand the first two aspects of this. Trying to rely on obedience and teaching of the commandments alone, is trying to earn salvation through works. This is what Paul was referring to when he said “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
This was also the fallacy of the Pharisees. They knew what to do, and were strict about it, they could teach it, but their teachings were empty, because they did not know the God of whom they spoke of.
Once we know Jesus, once we have committed ourselves to Him, once we have been baptized, then we need to learn, and study the scriptures.
The scriptures call us to study the scriptures:2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Further, in learning and in teaching, notice how Jesus qualified what He said in our scripture reading “teaching them to obey all things whatsoever I have commanded you” Our responsibility is to the truth of the Gospel, and the truth of the Bible.
When Paul went to Berea to preach the Gospel, look at what was written about them in Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
They studied daily, they proved to themselves what Paul spoke. You should prove to yourself what I speak, and you should encourage those you speak to to prove themselves what you speak.
How else can we obey His word, if we do not know what it is. We must study the Bible and learn.
CHILDREN
Now, how does this relate to our marriage scenario.
We looked at marriage as a learning process more than a teaching process.
What is one of the results of marriage: Children
We, in our marriage, bear children. We teach them obedience
The people we disciple, that we bring to the Lord, our are children in that regard.
They are a result of our “marriage” with Jesus. Its through our relationship with Jesus that we were able to bring them into a relationship with Him.
WHAT TO TEACH
So, what do we teach here, what do we teach in this third aspect. Keeping in mind, the person has already been taught about Jesus, the Gospel has been preached to them, they have accepted the message of salvation, they have been baptized and made that open commitment to our Lord, we do what Jesus instructed us to do. We teach them to obey everything.
Where should we start, though? You can start any number of places, much of it will be at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus is with you throughout this entire process.
With that in mind, I would typically begin with the Ten Commandments. What they are, and what they mean.
In looking at those, and understanding what they are, do not forget what Jesus preached on the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-6 of the book of Matthew
He raised the bar of the commandments, he attached motive, and the condition of the heart in actions. He said anger without cause was the same as murder, and lust the same as adultery. How much more we need this salvation.
Generally, no one will dispute the ten commandments with you, except one. Nine of these commandments are easily accepted, if not easily obeyed. But often times people pay lip service to even the other commandments. “Honor thy father and mother” is great in theory, and most people will not argue it.
Teaching someone, discipling them, bringing them to Jesus is more involved than just knowing the correct answer, its in practicing it. The ten commandments are practical, they do relate to our life today.
I said nine of the commandments generally are not disputed. Sadly, the more a commandment asks of you, the more people try to make an excuse for it not being relevant. The Sabbath is a commandment, just as “thou shalt not kill,” or “thou shalt not have any gods before Me.”
SABBATH
There are three sets of verses I use when teaching on the Sabbath. No matter how much someone may disagree with me, these verses hold their foundation. They are not all that is said on the Sabbath, but they provide me with the foundation and the evidence that I use in keeping the Sabbath:
1. Genesis 2:1-3
There are three things God did on that day.
He rested, He blessed it, and He sanctified it seperated)
Further, it is significant of Creation, recognizing that God created the Heavens and the Earth, and us.
2. Exodus 20:8-11
Its a commandment, one of the ten
3. When people say that Christ did away with it, or anything along those lines, I am lead to His teachings. Remember, we are to teach what He commanded. Matthew 5:17-19
"obey and teach," Matthew 5:19b
“till heaven and earth pass,” Revelations 21:1a
CONCLUSION
Why do believe what you do? Ask yourself this. If you can answer it, then you have learned it, you can teach it to other people. There is so much, so many valuable teachings in this book, with Jesus helping us, with the Holy Spirit guiding us, we will always have plenty to teach in “doing and teaching”
As you leave here, I would hope you would take a minute to really look at why you believe what you believe. If you are sure of the salvation you have in Jesus, if you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, if you have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if you are sure of Jesus teaching and commands, then really look at what these verses in Matthew have to say.
In Genesis 9:7 it says “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.”
This is not just for our physical children, but our spiritual as well. So let’s teach them as we would our children. Lets teach them to obey this command as well.
Thank you, and God bless you.
