back to the basics

Go Therefore – Share The Gospel

Posted on by chgruver

Last time we started out by looking at the Great Commission as found in Matthew 28:18-20 and how Jesus starts out by basically telling the disciples not to fear because He is in control. Today we will look at what Jesus says next, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This is the main part of this version of the Great Commission, if it were a meal this would be the steak and potatoes of what Jesus has to say, where what we saw last time was the appetizer and next time we will look at the dessert.

Make Disciples

The first part of what Jesus tells his disciples here is to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” This is the first part of evangelism and really what many of us think about when we evangelize; the sharing of the Gospel. You see Jesus presents this command to evangelize as a progression, first we are to go and share the Gospel. I could go into a big debate on how some look at “go” as being active or passive, as either intentionally going out to share our faith or just sharing our faith in the day to day; but regardless of how you look at it the outcome is still the same we are to share our faith, that never changes. There are some people that may be more comfortable going out and doing street evangelism, where they approach complete strangers and share the Gospel, these people actively go and make disciples. Other people have a more relational approach and share their faith through their day to day relationships with others, this is more of the passive approach of going; they share as they go about with their normal daily routines. Is one way better than the other, no, if you go with the method of sharing the Gospel that suits your personality you are working towards fulfilling the Great Commission, you just have to remember to above all else share the Gospel.

Baptize

The next thing Jesus commands is that after sharing the Gospel we are to, baptize them. Let me say right now there is nothing magical about baptism and you do not need to be baptized in order to be saved, just look at the thief on the cross. The thing however is with baptism we are making an outward profession of an inward change. In other words through being baptized one is telling the world that they have come to faith in Christ, that they have put their trust in Him as the forgiveness for their sins. You see in the progression once we share the Gospel, if they decide to give their heart to Christ the next step is for them to publicly show their faith. He wants people to be ambassadors out there promoting the Gospel not secret agents hiding in the shadows.

Teach

Jesus finishes off his command with “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In other words discipleship is the next logical step after evangelism. Once we have shared the Gospel and they have come to faith we need to help teach them and help them grow spiritually. I know this is one area I am somewhat passionate about because after I came to faith in Christ it was years before I was really taught what that meant. To neglect teaching would be like telling a child 2 + 2 = 4 and then expect them to perform advanced Calculus; it just is not going to happen, they need to be taught. Our faith is the same way we need to be taught by those more experienced as well as teach those less experienced.

Go Therefore – Who Is In Control?

Posted on by chgruver

Last week we looked at the concept of discipleship this week we will look at the start of the process, evangelism. As believers we are given the command to go and make disciples, to go and spread the Gospel to others. There are a number of passages that have taken on the title we often give to the call of the believer to evangelize, this title is the Great Commission. Each of the Gospels and the book of Acts have a different phrasing of the Great Commission but each of them have the same basic concept of how we are to go out and spread the Gospel to the world. The two most well known Great Commission passages are probably Acts 1:8 and the one we will look at this week, Matthew 28:18-20. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Jesus Came

The first thing I want to point out is how it starts, “Jesus came and said to them.” At this point the disciples had been with Christ for over 3 years, and saw him arrested and killed on a cross. This Jesus that came to them was the resurrected Lord and they knew what he was going to say would be important. But it wasn’t just that Jesus had a command for them, but He came to them, He approached them where they were to give them this message.

Fearful Disciples

The reason behind Jesus coming to them was up to this point the disciples were hiding out. They were scared of what the Jewish leaders and the Roman government would do to them for following Jesus. They had just seen their leader arrested, put on trial, and executed in a time frame of less that 24 hours; they were afraid they would be next. It is because of this fear that makes the first thing Jesus tells them make sense, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” You see Jesus starts by telling them don’t worry about the Jewish leaders or even what the Romans will do, I am the one in control. With Jesus having the authority nothing will happen that is not in God’s plan, and if we are working in God’s will we have nothing to fear. You see when I think of evangelism the first thing that comes to my mind is fear, I am scared of how people will react to the message and I am scared for my safety; but Jesus basically tells us there is nothing to fear. He understood that fear would be a major obstacle regarding evangelism so before giving the disciples the command to go out and spread the Gospel, he addressed their fear. You see one thing we need to remember when we share the Gospel is that no matter what happens or how people react, God is in control.

Training in Godliness – The Value

Posted on by chgruver

So in discipleship we saw how we are both a student and a teacher. Then we saw it is important to know the teachings to avoid as much as what we need to focus on, and how it is an effort we need to always be making to keep our focus towards the things of God. Today we will look at why it is important to train ourselves in godliness. 1 Timothy 4:8 goes on to say, “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Paul had just told Timothy that rather than focusing his attention on silly myths, he should be training himself in Godliness, now Paul goes into the reasoning behind this.

Personal Training

The first thing Paul points out is using personal, physical training as an example of why it is important to train ourselves in godliness, “for while bodily training is of some value.” When we train our bodies there are a number of benefits that we will gain. We will be overall healthier as often with physical training we are promoting habits that are healthier, such as proper eating. We find we may have more energy as I know with a diet and exercise change I am not as sedentary as I used to be. It can also lead to more strength and endurance, as when you lift weights you are building muscle to where you can lift more weight, or lift smaller amounts for longer periods of time.

Godly Training

The thing with training in godliness is there are some similar type of benefits that can be mentioned. Your spiritual health will improve because as you focus more on God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life the less you end up being like the world. Your spiritual strength and endurance also get boosted as you find it easier to turn to God rather than to give in to temptation, not that you won’t sin but that you start to sin less. But training in godliness does not end just with benefits in this life, like physical training will; but we also gain benefits in the life to come. You see as we train in godliness, as believers, we are also building up our reward in heaven. This is why Paul mentions that, “godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Training in Godliness – Avoid the Unprofitable

Posted on by chgruver

This week we have been looking at discipleship and last time we saw how as a disciple we end up becoming both a student and a teacher. We are to be both learning from those more experienced, while teaching what we have learned to those less experienced in the faith. This time we will look at 1 Timothy 4:7, “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;” You see last time we saw how as disciples we are both teachers and students. One thing about that is in the role of a teacher we are also learning at the same time. We see where we have been making mistakes and learning to correct them as we teach. It is in our self examination while teaching that we learn of these “irreverent, silly myths” which we are to avoid.

Silly Myths

Paul commanded Timothy to avoid silly myths, or in other translations godless myths, worldly fables, or old wives’ tales. Paul is telling Timothy first to stay away from teachings that were not in line with the Word of God; instead they contradict it. Paul also calls them as mentioned old wives’ tales, or as being fit only for old women. In a time when women were not given the opportunity for education, Paul was essentially stating that such teachings would gain following by the most uneducated and unsophisticated individuals.

With disciples being a teacher to others, we need to be cautious of teachings that go against God’s word; by Paul telling Timothy to have nothing to do with them, it is not for Timothy to outright ignore them but to not be influenced by them. While as disciples we are to not have anything to do with false teachings; we do need to be aware that they are out there, as well as what they are. It is when we as disciples stick our head in the sand regarding false teachings that the enemy gains a foot hold in those we are discipling as well as often times ourselves.

Train for Godliness

The next thing Paul tells Timothy is to grain himself for godliness. This is a concept we will look further into next time. For now Paul is telling Timothy rather than putting your focus on the false teachings, focus on God’s Word and God Himself. You see as we turn our eyes towards God, our attitude and desires change to where the false teachings do not appeal to us. The only issue is because of our sin nature we do not want to instinctively look towards God, which is why Paul uses the word train. We have to make an intentional effort to focus ourselves on God, and much like with any athletic training it will get easier as we progress but we still have to work at it.

Training in Godliness – Student is a Teacher and Teacher is a Student

Posted on by chgruver

We are getting close to our next Men’s conference where we will be focusing on getting “Back to the Basics,” as such we are also getting close to wrapping up our series here on getting back to the basics. We have talked about faith, Bible study, worship, and fellowship. This week we will start to look at the concept of discipleship. The one thing that comes to mind when looking at discipleship is the concept of training and discipline. The passage we will look at this week is 1 Timothy 4:6-8, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Disciples Disciple Others

The first thing Paul tells Timothy here is, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus.” To give a little context here in verses 1-5 Paul had spent time warning Timothy about how some will walk away from their faith; whether they willingly walk away or are led astray by false teachings. Paul is telling Timothy here that as a mature disciple he needs to make sure he is teaching and showing those under him what is right. You see as we become mature disciples, we need to be willing to lead and teach those disciples that aren’t as mature in their faith. Paul gave Timothy a warning and as a good servant of Christ, as a true disciple, Timothy will pass this warning to those that he is discipling, in order to help keep them from straying away from their faith.

Disciples are Discipled by Others

The next thing is how do we tell from what could possibly lead us astray and what leads us toward God? Paul mentions to Timothy that it is from, “being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.” While Timothy is leading and discipling others, he is still being discipled by Paul. Paul tells Timothy to use his upbringing in the faith, use what he had been taught by his mother and grandmother as well as Paul. You see in the discipleship process not only do we eventually need to be discipling others, but we need to be discipled by mature believers that hold fast to correct doctrine. Look at it this way, if you were to play baseball you would want a coach and trainer that knew the fundamentals of baseball to help you. You wouldn’t go to a football coach to learn how to play baseball. In discipleship the situation is much the same, you need to choose wisely those that you would learn from. For in order us to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples, we need to be properly discipled with correct doctrine. Discipleship is a lifelong process where we are constantly learning from those that are further along in their faith while teaching those that are newer than us in their faith.

Fellowship in the King – Encourage

Posted on by chgruver

So this week we have been talking about fellowship, how it involves motivating each other to live out their faith as well as a gathering together of believers. Today we will look at the last little section of Hebrews 10:24-25, where we are told we need to be “encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” One thing I have noticed is that in the Bible there are a lot of either progressions, or texts where the last thing mentioned is an outcome of the previous, this is one of those cases.

Walk Alongside

The biggest question is what does it mean to encourage one another? Some ways that encourage is defined is to give support, confidence, hope, advice, to help or stimulate or develop. To encourage one another we essentially are coming along and walking alongside each other and we move closer to Christ. Think of it like this, remember back when you were in school, or maybe you are still in school, how at times working on your homework and studying often was easier when you were working with someone instead of being by yourself? The reason is because the other person will encourage you, they will help you to push forward; just like you will do for them. I will point out that while in the long term encouragement is positive there is a level of accountability that comes with it. Much like your study partner will hold you accountable to be paying attention in class, take notes, and review on your own; in fellowship with other believers we are to hold each other accountable by pointing out, in love, when each other slips up as well as checking on how we are handling difficult times of great temptation. You see it is through accountability that we find where we each struggle and need to be encouraged the most; if I am going through a time of great temptation that is when I need a brother in Christ to come alongside and encourage me to hold strong to my faith and to keep my eyes turned to God.

The Approaching Day

The author of Hebrews finishes off these two verses by stating that the need for fellowship is going to be greater as we approach the return of Christ. When you look at what the Gospels and other passages in the Bible mention about Christ’s return you can see why. As we “see the Day drawing near” we will see morals and godly values going out the door; sin will be the norm. Sound familiar? You see with our society and culture looking less and less towards God and focused more on what pleases them, sin is becoming more and more acceptable. As Christians we are to be set apart, as we saw last week not to conform to the ways of the world, in order to do so we need that fellowship with other believers because it is through fellowship that we are able to keep from becoming more like the world and less like Christ.

Fellowship in the King – Gather

Posted on by chgruver

Last time we started to look at the concept of fellowship and Hebrews 10:24-25. We saw that in this passage fellowship has an aspect of pushing each other to be closer to God, if we continue to look at the passage, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

No Lone Ranger Christians

So we see the next thing the author of Hebrews mentions is that we are not to neglect meeting together. What this means is that our life as a believer should not be in isolation, we need to be around each other. You cannot do it alone, the church is often called the body of Christ, what happens when a part of the body is no longer a part of the body? Say something as small as a hair is removed, that strand of hair will die; the believer that tries to live in isolation from other believers suffers the same fate, they will spiritually dry up. As I brought up last time in Proverbs 27:17 we are told “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another,” We need others and to gather together for them to be able to push us into strengthening our faith. The problem isn’t just having others to help us grow in our faith, but look at when you hit hard times. If you are living your life in isolation you have no one that can come and give you an encouraging word, or to just provide comfort by being there to listen to you vent; in isolation you have no support.

Digital Gatherings

The author of Hebrews plainly told his original audience that neglecting meeting together has become the habit of some. It was an issue back in the first century and it is even more so today. You may state but we are more connected today, we have the internet which allows us to be connected with others all around the world. These virtual relationships, while at times can be beneficial, can also produce a false sense of fellowship. Yes with our virtual worlds we can connect with those we may never have the chance to meet in person, or we can keep connected with those that have moved away. With physical relationships and physical fellowship when you encounter a crisis, you have those that can be there for you and help out if it is needed. All you get with the virtual are words of encouragement, even if they may want to help they are limited. These limitations are one main reason why it is important to get plugged into a local body of believers, as they are able to help out in ways that those in a virtual community are not able to.

Next time we will finish off this passage by looking at how we are to finally encourage each other, as this comes out of both motivating each other and gathering together.