Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 28:16-20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2004

 

Baptism

 

Baptism is like a wedding ring: both symbolize transactions.

A wedding ring symbolizes marriage, just as baptism symbolizes salvation.

Wearing a wedding ring does not make you married any more than being baptized makes you saved.

To extend the parallel, if a person, especially a woman, doesn’t wear a wedding ring you can almost always assume the person isn’t married.

So it was in New Testament times.

If a person was not baptized, you could probably assume that he or she was not a believer.

On this we must be clear: baptism is a symbol of salvation and only a symbol.

But, like a wedding ring, it is such an effective symbol that it should never be taken for granted.

Baptism was practiced by N.T. believers; by Christ’s disciples.*

/What’s a disciple?/*/

A *disciple,* /*μαθητεύω**,* /is a learner.

Jesus chose 12 men to follow him that He might teach them about the Kingdom of God.

*Why should men follow Christ?

*Because He’s the only one who can save us from our sin and give us eternal life.

*How can I become a Christ’s disciple?*/

Jesus shares 3 things about disciples; */Invitation, Identification, Incarnation.

/*

 

1.

Invitation – Believe In Christ

 

/a.

Hear The Gospel/

 

*Matthew 28:18-19a:* /And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

*Go* therefore *and* *make disciples* of all the nations, /

 

*/Firstly,/* to become a disciple we must */hear/* the Gospel message.

/We must hear Christ’s *invitation* for us to receive eternal life./

This is why Christ commanded His disciples */to go and tell/* everyone about Him.

It’s a matter of eternal life and eternal death.

Mark’s Gospel stresses the importance of telling everyone.

*Mark 16:15:* /And He said to them, *Go into all the world* and *preach the gospel to every creature*.

/The Good News of salvation must be shared.

/Christ commands us to go and tell the Good news.

*The Gospel is Good News because it provides a solution to the Bad News.*/

The Bad News is that all men are sinners.

*Romans 3:10-11: */As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.

/

/ /

No one has kept the 10 commandments.

We all do things that we know are wrong.

The Bible call this sin.

*/Basically, sin is living independently of God and His Laws./* *Romans 3:23: */For all have sinned/ /and fallen short of the glory of God./

The punishment for sin is death and hell.

Hell is a place of eternal suffering, eternal separation from God.

The Bad News is that the whole world is guilty before God.

We deserve to be punished in hell.

But praise God He is merciful.

*Romans 6:23:* /For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

/God sent His Son to die for the sins of the world.

*John 3:16:* /For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life./

/ /

Party Invitation

 

*/Have you ever received an invitation to an engagement party?/*/ /Two of your best friends are going to celebrate their joyful news and want you to share it with them.

You are faced with a decision, will I accept the invitation and go to the celebration or decline it.

You must decide.

In *Matthew 22:1-14,* Jesus tells of a wedding feast in heaven.

Guests are invited and some accept while some decline.

*/What’s your decision to God’s invitation?/*

You can’t ignore it.

You must either receive His offer of eternal life or reject it.

/ /

/b.

Believe The Gospel/

 

*/Secondly,/* to become a disciple we must */believe /*the Gospel.

To accept Christ’s invitation /we must believe/ what God has said about */sin, judgment and salvation/*.

The Good News is that we can be saved by believing in Jesus Christ.

God is /calling all/ people to follow His Son.

Remember disciples are followers.

Christ’s disciples believe in Him and follow His teaching.

Mark highlights the consequences of our response to Christ’s invitation

 

*Mark 16:15-16:* /And He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

He who *believes* and is baptized *will be saved*; but he who *does not believe will be condemned*.

/*Mark 16:16:* makes it very clear that we are saved by believing the Gospel; or to be exact, by believing in Jesus Christ.

We must believe that He died for our sins and that He rose again to give us new life.

All who believe what the Gospel says about Jesus Christ are saved.

All who don’t believe it will be condemned.

*Romans 10:8-10:* /But what does the Scripture say?

The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

/

/ /

*/Salvation is as easy as/*/ *A, B, C*. *Firstly,*/ We must */admit /*that we are sinners who can’t save ourselves.

*/Secondly,/* we must */believe/* that Jesus Christ is God’s Son who died for our sins and rose again to give us new life.

*/Thirdly,/* we must */confess/* Jesus Christ as our Lord.

Peace Child

 

In a book entitled /Peace Child/, Don Richardson records the moving account of how the Sawi people of Irian Jaya came to understand salvation through Jesus Christ.

For many months he and his family sought for some way to communicate the gospel to this tribe.

Then they discovered the key for which they had been praying.

All demonstrations of kindness expressed by the Sawi were regarded with suspicion except one act.

If a father gave his own son to his enemy, his sacrificial deed showed that he could be trusted!

Furthermore, everyone who touched that child was brought into a friendly relationship with the father.

The Sawi were then taught that in a similar way God’s beloved Son could bring them eternal peace.

Application

 

God is calling people to follow His Son, Jesus Christ./

Are you one of Christ’s disciples?

Have you accepted His invitation to receive eternal life?

Do you believe He died for your sins and rose again to give you new life?

/How you respond to Christ’s invitation will determine your eternal destiny.

/What is your decision?

Will you believe in Jesus Christ?/

 

2.

Identification – Testify For Christ

* *

*Matthew 28:19:* /Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, *baptizing* *them* in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,/

 

/a.

A Testimony/

 

*/What is the purpose of being baptized?/*

*/Identification!/*/ Baptism identifies us as Christ’s disciples/.

When we are baptized we are telling everyone that Christ has already saved us and we are following Him.