Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 15 April 2012
By Captain Michael Ramsay
Since all authority has been given to Christ, as evidenced by His
resurrection, there is one thing now that He commands His followers to do.
Jesus not only commands this of His followers who were present at the
resurrection, He also commissions each and all of us to do this, even now.
Matthew concludes his gospel account with these, his last recorded words by
Jesus. Thus, I think it is very important and a very good place to begin in the
Scriptures on the first week after Easter, Resurrection Sunday. Matthew
28:18-20:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
Jesus commissions us to go and
make disciples of all the nations (Verse 19), through the following means (and
this is not an exhaustive list by any means):
-
Baptizing
(initiating) people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Verse 19)
-
Teaching
people to obey everything that I have commanded you (Verse 20)
-
And
knowing that I am with you always until the end of the age (Verse 20)
The imperative command here is this: Go and make disciples of all the
nations.[1]
This is something for all of Jesus’ followers to do.[2]
This isn’t optional. This is what Christians do. All of us who call ourselves
Christians will indeed tell others about Christ. This is His Great Commission
for us. As the Scriptures record, you will know a tree by its fruit, Luke 6:44:
“Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn
bushes, or grapes from briers.” As good Christians we are commissioned to
produce more good Christians – and, like with a tree, it’s only natural to
produce like fruit; it won’t be an onerous chore to bear good fruit.
It is like being in a parade with a group of children – especially in a
small town. We, as Salvation Army Officers, have been in a number of parades
and if you are following along in a parade on a float with a group of children
and you go past friends or cousins or other relatives of those young children,
what do the little children on the sideline want to do when they see their
friend or their brother or sister marching in the parade? They want to join, right?
I remember one parade in Nipawin, which is a community of between 4000
and 5000 people. We have a number of young children in our junior youth group.
They are great. They are our friends and as we continue along the parade route,
we have many more of our friends coming to join us –some of whom we have never
met before: more and more small children all pile onto the float. I don’t know
if we could even all fit by the end of the route. This is what serving our Lord
and fulfilling our Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, is like.
As we Christians follow the Lord along the parade route that is our life, it
should be so much fun that all of our friends watching from the sidelines will
naturally want to jump on float, celebrate, and enjoy the ride with us; so we
should invite them to do just that.
Last week, Donna jumped onto the Salvation float with us here in the
Jesus parade. It was exciting. She made a decision on Thursday, I believe; she
prayed with us just before the Son-rise service and she testified on Sunday
morning in front of the whole congregation gathered about the experience of
welcoming Christ into her life, of her experience of jumping onto the
metaphorical Salvation float. This is wonderful; this is transformational and
this is what we are all supposed to do: jump on the Salvation float and invite
others to join us there.[3]
As we all jump on the Salvation float, we are to extend our arms and invite all
our friends to join us. This, in Matthew’s gospel, is so important that it is
Jesus’ very last recorded words.
Jesus, while commissioning us to invite everyone to join us on this
Salvation float, encourages us to help people climb up onto the float. He says
was can help others aboard by:
-
Baptizing
(meaning initiating) them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Verse
19),
-
Teaching
them to obey everything that Jesus has commanded us (Verse 20),
-
And
knowing that He is with us always until the end of the age (Verse 20).
1) Baptizing
them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
BAPTISM BY FIRE:
Now, given our Salvationist context, we should take a little bit of time
to talk about what this phrase does not mean: This passage does NOT refer to
baptism by fire; Baptism by fire, for those of us here who aren’t familiar with
the term, is simply euphemism for baptism by the Holy Spirit.[4]
This passage is not talking about baptism by fire. The words ‘To
baptize’ form a command to all believers: we are told to baptize others in the
name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We, believers, actually cannot
baptize with people with fire – so don’t try it at home. Neither you nor I
cannot baptize anyone with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not some genie
in a lamp awaiting our command to do our bidding. Far from it! That is actually
the very opposite of what this phrase is trying to communicate: The Holy Spirit
is God Himself and God is not our foot soldier; we are His. Jesus would never
commission us to rub some mystical vase and to order around the God of the
Universe, as if He were simply some ancient genie, awaiting our command to come
and wash off our friends for us. Quite the contrary, the Scriptures record that
we should fear the Lord (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; cf. Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10,
Ecclesiastes 12:13); we should show respect for and deference to the Lord and
we should never under any circumstances put the Lord our God to the test
(Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12).[5]
This passage is certainly not telling us that we can manipulate God, by
conjuring up His Spirit to do our will.
BAPTISM BY WATER:
This passage is not referring to fire baptism; this passage is referring
to water baptism but – lest someone erroneously reports me as a rebellious,
denominational heretic – it is important that you understand me when I say
this: Jesus here is NOT saying that if we take someone for a swim in the pool
full of water or if we have them take a shower after the Sunday service then
they’ll be saved for eternity.[6]
Even if the shower that one takes has holy water blessed by the clergy of your
choice pouring out of its nozzle, it will not save anyone. This passage isn’t
saying that we have to sprinkle or immerse people in water for them to be
saved. This passage is actually making no comment about sprinkling, immersion
or whether we even need water to baptize people. When we speak of baptism in
this passage, we have to understand exactly what baptism is today and what
baptism was in the first century. When Jesus and John the Baptist were walking
the earth together baptism was an initiation ceremony.[7]
Baptism is, even now, a very important initiation ceremony for much of
Christendom.[8] Much like
our soldier swearing-in ceremony or even like Donna’s testimony and
proclamation of faith for us all here last week.
BAPTISM INTO CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY:
What this pericope is saying is that we, as Christians, who are
fulfilling the Great Commission; we, as Christians, who are going and making
disciples of all nations; we, as Christians, who are inviting all of our
friends to come and join us aboard the Christ float in the eternal parade; we,
as Christians, need to make sure that we are initiating them in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [9]
What I and what the text is saying here (and indeed what the Spiritual
Life Commission articulates quite well)[10]
is that you are supposed to tell people about Jesus and when you do baptize
people, when you do lead people in the Sinners’ Prayer, when you do
kneel down beside people at the penitent form, when you do swear them in as
soldiers, as members, or as adherents to Christ through whatever means is
deemed appropriate; when you do lead people to the Lord, when you obey the
commandment we are talking about today to make disciples of all nations, when
you do invite all of your friends aboard the Christ float, you need to make
sure that they are initiated in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit (cf. Ephesians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 12:12,13).[11]
We need to actually initiate our friends as Christians.
When we lead someone to Christ, we should make sure that they know that
indeed Jesus is God and God is the Holy Spirit. As the third doctrine of The
Salvation Army articulates, “ We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father,
the Son and the Holy Ghost - undivided in essence and co-equal in power and
glory.” This I think is
what I think Tip # 1 for inviting people aboard the Salvation float in the
eternal God parade is all about. This is saying that we should make sure that
we initiate them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Verse
19). In other words make sure that you actually initiate them into Christianity
- not just into some nebulous belief in a vague god-type being. Does that make
sense?
When we fulfill our God-given responsibility to tell the world about
Jesus, we need to make sure that we are actually telling them about the
Christian God and initiating them into the Christian religion. It does no
eternal good if you show up at someone’s door and pray with them on Wednesday
and then when Sunday rolls around, they show up at the Mormon, JW, or Unitarian
church; a synagogue, or a mosque. If that happens, that’s a big waste. That is
like someone winning a cake at the fair and immediately dropping it face down
in the parking lot. Sure she won the cake, but it didn’t benefit anyone.
I had two separate business associates of mine in the old days -before I
was an Officer- to whom I would speak about the Lord all of the time. One was a
Taoist, the other a Secularist. We spoke about Christianity all the time because
that is just what I do and what I always have done. Well, at the end of the day
both of them converted – to Judaism. If that isn’t a hollow, pyrite victory I
don’t know what is? They, as far as I can tell, aren’t any closer to Salvation
now then they were when I first met them. I think this is what Tip #1 is
helping us out with. Yes we need to share the gospel but let us make sure that
at the end of the day that our friends are actually signing on the dotted line
or it doesn’t do them any good whatsoever. Again, it’s like them winning the
cake at the fair and then dropping it in the parking lot before they ever taste
any of it. So Tip #1 is that we should make sure we close the deal: initiate
our friends, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. This brings us to Tip # 2 for fulfilling the great commission and
helping people aboard the Salvation float.
2) Teach them to
obey everything that Jesus has commanded us.
This is very important. Jesus says, “Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations.” He doesn’t say just baptize them. Jesus doesn’t say just lead them in
the sinners’ prayer and everything will be okay. We can’t just collect
confessions of faith as if they are notches upon a belt. It is very important
that each and every one of us as a Christian leads people to Christ – like Tip
# 1 says - but that is not the end of it. We are also to help make disciples
for Christ out of each of them. And how can we do that?
We can do that by -Tip #2- teaching them to obey everything that Jesus
has commanded us. We do this by praying with people and reading our Bible with
them. Friends – I know that those of us here who are Christians, we all want to
do what Christ has commissioned us here to do. I know that none of us wants to
disappoint our Lord, to let the Lord down. So then I will ask us this: how many
of us here this morning actually read the Scriptures eagerly and religiously?
How many of us pick up our Bibles daily? Friends, how can we know what we do
not learn and how can we learn what we do not study and how can we teach what
we do not know? We can’t! I encourage us all to pick up our Bibles and read
them every day. Doctrine #1 of The Salvation Army reads, “We believe that the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that they only
constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.” If anyone here is not involved in
a Bible study, we have one on Tuesday evenings for anyone who is interested and
we have a women’s Bible study on Tuesday afternoon. If you would like to join
one of these or another at a different time or place, just let me know.
Now too, we should point out that these aspects of leading people to
Christ, these tips –as we are calling them today- they aren’t chronological
steps. We don’t have to initiate people before we start to study with them. We
don’t have to teach them the Bible inside and out before we baptize them or
lead them in a confession of faith. These things are all intertwined. This
brings us nicely to the third point that is also intertwined in helping our
friends to climb aboard the Salvation float with us.
3) Know that
Jesus is with us always until the end of the age.
Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6,8; Joshua
1:5; 1 Kings 8:57; Hebrews 13:5). “We believe that we are justified by grace, through faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ; and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself (TSA
doctrine 8)”. Jesus is with us; we have the witness within ourselves;
therefore, we can
confidently invite all of our friends aboard the Salvation float: it is not
going to blow a tire, it is not going to veer off the parade route, it is not
going to crash into another vehicle or into the crowd. Jesus – who is in the
driver’s seat – is not going to turn around and all of a sudden kick us all off
the float because we are making too much noise or because we are having too
much fun. On the contrary Jesus encourages us to:
1) Initiate (baptize) everyone:
invite everyone we see in the crowd to jump on this, the Salvation float
with us.
2) Teach everyone: teach everyone all about being on the float as they
hop on. Teach them the songs we are singing, teach them the scriptures we are
memorizing and reciting out loud at the top of our lungs, teach them the
timbral routines we are doing, and teach them the lifestyle we are living. And,
3) Know that Jesus is always with us.
This is important. As we already said, God is not going to turn around
and all of a sudden kick us off the float because we are making too much noise
or because we are having too much fun. He is not going to kick us off because
we mix up the words of a song or a memory verse. He is not going to kick us off
the float because we can’t figure out how to work the timbrals. He won’t kick
us off because we slip up and give into our addiction. He won’t kick us out of
the parade if we fall off the wagon. On the contrary He will be with us always,
trying to help us back up. If we slip and fall, if we get tripped up by sin or
self-indulgence, Christ, and all the rest of us on the float, will still be
there singing our anthems of Salvation and calling us all to be at home on the
Salvation float as we continue with our Lord, who is driving this joyful parade
route homeward until the very end of the age (cf. Romans 3:2,4).[12]
So to quote our risen Lord and
Saviour, this is your mission, if you choose to accept salvation, Matthew
28:19-20, “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.”
In that vein, I would encourage us all here to accept Christ’s Salvation
and His commission and in so doing, it is my hope that all of us will leave
here today:
-
Inviting
and initiating, baptizing everyone we meet in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit,
-
teaching
all who will listen to us to obey everything that Jesus has command us,
-
and
knowing that He is with us always even until the end of the age
If there are any here who have never led a friend to Christ, I invite
you to look for opportunities this very week and if you need any help in this
regard just come and ask us: God has used us to teach others to lead their
friend’s to Him before. We can help!
And if there is anyone here today who simply hasn’t jumped on the
Salvation float yet, I invite you to join us on board. I guarantee you it will
be the ride of your life. If you are not already on board and would like to
join the eternal parade by hopping upon the Salvation float with us, come on up
now. In The Salvation Army we have the Mercy Seat up front here, where you can
come and meet God; so, if you want to join us, I invite you today to come
forward and do just that. Join us aboard the Salvation Float.
Let us pray.
---
[1] D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM: Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/VII. The Passion and Resurrection of
Jesus (26:6-28:20)/C. The Risen Messiah and His Disciples (28:16-20)/2. The
Great Commission (28:18-20), Book Version: 4.0.2: In the Greek,
"go"—like "baptizing" and "teaching"—is a
participle. Only the verb "make disciples" (see below) is imperative.
Some have deduced from this that Jesus' commission is simply to make disciples
"as we go" (i.e., wherever we are) and constitutes no basis for going
somewhere special in order to serve as missionaries (e.g., Gaechter, Matthaus;
R.D. Culver, "What Is the Church's Commission?" BS 125 [1968]:
243-53)
[2] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville,
Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 335. This is NOT just for missionaries or
clergy – this is for all of us to do!
[3] D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/VII. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus
(26:6-28:20)/C. The Risen Messiah and His Disciples (28:16-20)/2. The Great
Commission (28:18-20), Book Version: 4.0.2: "it is binding on all Jesus'
disciples to make others what they themselves are—disciples of Jesus
Christ."
[4] Captain Michael Ramsay, 'A Salvationist in the Protestant
Reformation?' in The Officer (MARCH/APRIL 2010), p. 4.
[5] D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/VII. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus
(26:6-28:20)/C. The Risen Messiah and His Disciples (28:16-20)/2. The Great
Commission (28:18-20), Book Version: 4.0.2: "The syntax of the Greek
participles for "baptizing" and "teaching" forbids the
conclusion that baptizing and teaching are to be construed solely as the means
of making disciples (cf. also Allen, Klostermann, Lagrange, Schlatter),"
[6] Cf. The General of The Salvation Army, The Salvation Army in the
Body of Christ: An Ecclesiological Statement, 6.
[7] M. Eugene Boring, Matthew (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.:
Abingdon, 1995),504.
[8] Cf. Jaques Courvoisier,
Zwingli: A Reformed Theologian, (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press,
1963), 63: “to Zwingli, a sacrament is thus a kind of induction or pledge. To
receive it is to enlist in Christ’s forces, and to receive in return a token, a
reminder, that one must not yield but remain faithful.” cf. also Peter
Stephens, “Zwingli’s Sacramental Views,” in Prophet Pastor Protestant: The
Work of Huldrych Zwingli After Five Hundred Years, ed. E.J. Furcha and H.
Wayne Pipkin (Allison Park, Pennsylvania: Pickwick Publications, 1984), 159.
[9] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary.
Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries 1), S. 420: “Baptizing has been mentioned in this Gospel
only as the activity of John, though the Gospel of John makes it clear that it
was a characteristic also of Jesus’ ministry at least in the early days while
John was still active (John 3:22–26; 4:1–3). It was against the background of
John’s practice that it would be understood, as an act of repentance and of
identification with the purified and prepared people of God (see on 3:6, 9,
13).”
[10] The Salvation Army, The Report of the Spiritual Life Commission,
Appendix 4 in Handbook of Doctrine, pp. 296, 299-300.
[11] Cf. William Hendricksen, Matthew (NTC: Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), p. 1000.
[12] Cf. R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew,
(Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1964), p. 1180.
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