Orders

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45-48, John 20:21, 30-31; Acts 1:8

When I was 15 years old, I worked through the summer with a man from our church. We did different construction type jobs. One job we had was painting trim in a new house. I will never forget how that job ended. We were cleaning up and the dad got home. He was a soldier and came home with news. He had received orders that he was being deployed. I remember the children clinging to him and crying, "No daddy! We don't want you to go." That has always stuck with me. While they may not require us to go to a foreign land, just like that dad, we in the church have received our orders as well!

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And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15

And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:45-48

 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:21; 30-31

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

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Though worded slightly different in each account, the core of the message is the same: Go, preach the gospel, baptize those who believe, and teach them to follow Jesus. We are called to be witnesses for the remainder of our lives. We witness to those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. We tell of His saving work. We tell them how they can receive that salvation. We tell them that He loves them. How do we know this? Because we have received His love, forgiveness, and salvation We tell them what we have experienced. We are witnesses!

Then, we baptize them. Baptism is not part of the salvation process, but it is the first act of obedience following salvation. I know there may be some reading this that would disagree, but remember, the thief on the cross was not baptized. There was no special exception to God's plan of salvation made for him. He called upon the name of the Lord, and was saved (Romans 10:13). Baptism is a declaration through our actions of that which has transpired in our hearts. We confess with our mouths and actions. It symbolizes His death, burial, and resurrection, and our belief that our old nature has died, and we have been raised into a new life in Christ.

Finally, we are called to continue being a witness to those who are saved. We teach fellow believers how to live in Christ. We learn to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). We pray for one another (James 5:16). We build one another up (I Thessalonians 5:11). Then, if one of us messes up, we restore one another (Galatians 6:1). We walk through this life together as the body of Christ

(I Corinthians 12:27).

I have no idea what happened to the soldier I told you about. I have no doubt that he followed his orders. Those orders probably carried him somewhere like Kosovo or the Persian Gulf. His job was to represent the interests of the United States wherever he was sent. Why? Because he bore the title of a United States soldier. The same is true for us. As Christians, we bear the name of Christ and are called to represent His interests wherever He sends us. While soldiers‘ jobs are sometimes to take lives, ours is always to preach a message that saves souls.

Father, thank You that You sent people to preach the Gospel to me. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans Romans 10:17). We can none be saved apart from Your Word. May we as Christians proclaim the Gospel boldly wherever You send us!