Preach the Word to all Nations

Introduction

A church on the move must confront reality and meet people where they are. Separation is not isolation but contact without contamination. Jesus was the friend of publicans (tax collectors) and sinners. Many church members don’t have any unsaved friends, or if they do, they keep them at a distance.

Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem, where the crowd was so cosmopolitan that the inscription on his cross had to be written in three languages.

Many churches today have abandoned the marketplace and spend their time, reminding one another of the gospel.

“Evangelism is the spontaneous overflow of a glad and free heart in Jesus Christ.” – Robert Munger

Make Disciples of All Nations

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The main emphasis in this verse is on the command to “make disciples”. To disciple a person to Christ is to bring that person to accept Christ as his or her teacher. Disciples are those who hear, understand, and obey Jesus’ teaching. This injunction is given to the Eleven in their own role as disciples.

Therefore they are paradigms for all disciples to make others what they themselves are disciples of Jesus Christ.

The words "all nations" in Matthew’s gospel returns to the blessings promised to Abraham and through him to all peoples on earth which are now to be fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. The expression is comprehensive, including Gentiles and Jews. The aim of Jesus’ disciples, therefore, is to make disciples of all people everywhere, without distinction.

“Baptising” and “teaching” are not the means of making disciples, but they characterise it. Envisaged is that proclamation of the Gospel that will result in repentance and faith, for making disciples entails both preaching and response. The response expected of new disciples is baptism and instruction.

Those who become disciples are to be baptised “into” the name of the Trinity. The preposition “into” strongly suggests a coming-into-relationship-with or a coming-under-the-Lordship of Jesus. Baptism is a sign both of entrance into Messiah’s covenant community and of pledged submission to his Lordship.

Those who are made disciples must be taught. The content of this instruction is everything Jesus commanded the first disciples. The expression “everything I have commanded you” is reminiscent of the authority of the Lord. The words of Jesus, like the words of scripture, are more enduring than heaven and earth (Matthew 24:35). Everything he has commanded must be passed on “to the very end of the age.”

The gospel ends with the promise of Jesus’ comforting presence…“And surely I am with you always.” He who is introduced to us in the prologue as Immanuel, “God with us” (“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” –which means, “God with us”. Matthew 1:23), is still God with us every day, to the end of history as we know it, when the kingdom will be consummated.

Matthew’s gospel ends with the expectation of continued mission and teaching. The passion and resurrection of Jesus end with a commission to his disciples to carry on making disciples. In the light of the Cross, the empty tomb, and the triumphant vindication and exaltation of the risen Lord, the gospel of Matthew is not a closed book till the consummation. The final chapter is being written in the mission and teaching of Jesus’ disciples.

Mission and Compassion go together

Consider this, if the primary purpose of the ministry of Jesus was to introduce the Kingdom of God, then it only makes sense that the primary purpose of the Church, His followers, is to continue and extend that Kingdom influence. How did Jesus introduce the coming Kingdom?  Both by teaching the Good News of God’s grace, calling people to faith and by showing it through works of compassion, we must do the same.

“To spread the Kingdom of God is more than simply winning people to Christ,” writes David Apple. “It is also working for the healing of persons, families and relationships.  It is doing deeds of mercy and seeking justice. It is ordering lives and relationships and institutions and communities according to God’s authority to bring in the blessedness of the Kingdom.  The presence of the Kingdom of God is the means for the renewal of the entire world and all dimensions of life.”

This creative tension must remain alive and well in the Christian Church if we are going to be the Church God has called us to be and do the work God has called us to do.

Dr. Ronald Dietrich, a former missionary doctor at Wilson Leprosy Center in Korea, once said, “If we heal a patient of their disease, but do not introduce them to Christ, then the patient is not really healed.”

Those of us with an evangelical bent will rise up and say, “Yes! That’s right!” However, those of us who lean toward the social action side of the equation will push back and say, “Isn’t it also true that introducing them to Jesus without curing the disease, or addressing the social condition which caused it, is not completely doing our job either?” and we would likely all agree. This is what James was talking about when he writes, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17 & 17)

Action is the proper fruit of living faith. Because life is dynamic and productive, faith that lives will surely produce the fruit of good deeds. Therefore, if no deeds are forthcoming, it is proof that the professed faith is dead. James does not deny that it is faith. He simply indicates that it is not the right kind of faith. It is not a living faith, nor can it save.

The right credentials

Tolstoy once told a story of a Czar and Czarina who wished to honour the members of their court with a banquet. They sent out invitations and requested that the guests come with the invitations in their hands. When they arrived at the banquet the guests were surprised to discover that the guards did not look at their invitations at all. Instead they examined their hands. The guests wondered about this, but they were also curious to see who the Czar and Czarina would choose as the guest of honour to sit between them at the banquet. They were flabbergasted to see that it was the old scrub woman who had worked to keep the palace clean for years. The guards, having examined her hands, declared, “You have the proper credentials to be the guest of honour. We can see your love and loyalty in your hands.”

“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5)

There’s a big difference between starting and finishing. Not everyone who begins seminary fulfills the requirements of their degree. Financial difficulties, health crises, family pressures, academic challenges, personal burnout, changes in calling, moral failings, or other factors may lead seminarians to withdraw before completing their programme. Similarly, not all seminary graduates continue in faithful ministry.

Your ministry does not imply that the ministry is for you or determined by you. Rather, it means that you have received an assignment from Christ for the sake of his name and his kingdom purposes. Rather than measuring your worth as a minister against the yardstick of other people’s successes or desiring a more comfortable or prominent position, seek to be content with the situation God has placed you (Phillippians 4:11). As Jesus said to Peter when he inquired about John’s ministry, “What is that to you? You follow me” (John 21:22).

Ministry is a marathon, not a 50-yard dash. It’s not how you start that matters. It’s (about) how you finish the race. Sustainability counts more than speed. Don’t give up! Paul tells us to run the race for a “heavenly reward that never disappears” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Live with your eyes on eternity.

Study the word and be prepared to answer questions. Learn from others. Be humble and never compare. The moment you start worrying about what other people think, your ministry is handicapped. If criticism is true, listen and learn from it. If it is false, ignore it and forget it. Remember that God is the ultimate judge of your life and ministry. Maintain a tough skin and tender heart.

The Great Commission

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)

The mandate to witness is the focal theme of the book of Acts. It comes directly from Jesus himself…in fact, it is his final and conclusive word to his disciples before his ascension.

The Christian church is a missionary church that responds obediently to Jesus’ commission, operates on Jesus’ behalf in the extension of his ministry, focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God in its witness to Jesus, is guided and empowered by the selfsame Spirit that directed and supported Jesus’ ministry, and follows a program whose guidelines for outreach have been set by Jesus himself.

In the Book of Acts, we find the spread of Christianity and the history of the church's mission beginning with the disciples. The Roman Empire and its capital, Rome, aided in the rapid growth of the church. The history of the mission of the church does not end with the Gospel of Matthew or the Acts of the Apostles… it is still being written, it continues now with every believer. Our Savior wants all men to be saved. Preach the word. Let others come to the knowledge of truth. Teach them and train them to be disciples.

Selie Visa