Do We Have A Role To Play In Communicating God’s Truth To Others
Matthew 28:19,20( NLT)
28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
28:20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
My answer is yes, Why?
God never wants us to keep what He teaches us to ourselves. Whether it is money, insight, or truth, He wants us to share it with others. There is a tremendous blessing to be gained by opening our hearts and lives to those who need to know about the unconditional love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
The truth is Jesus commands us to ” make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19,20). Just before He ascended to heaven, He told His disciples, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He never intended for the disciples to keep the truth of His word stored away in personal reservoirs of knowledge. Instead, He instructed them to give away all they received from Him. He commands us to do the same.
Paul admonished Timothy, his young protege, to communicate the truth he had learned to others who would, in turn, pass it along( 2Timothy 2:2). Elsewhere he noted, “We are ambassadors for Christ” ( 2Corinthians 5:20).
The sole purpose of an ambassador is to relay the policies and decisions of their superiors to the people of the countries where they serve. Likewise, we have an obligation to declare the divine plan and scriptural policies of our Master.
Each one of us communicates something by what we say and don’t say, by what we do and fail to do. A Father who never reads the bible is essentially telling his family that he does not care about the Lord to study His Word. His lack of desire in this area sends the message that he believed he is smart enough to make his own decisions apart from God’s input. The child who never sees her parents praying mistakenly learns that trials and tribulations can be handled without any direction from the Lord. This assumption is totally wrong. On the other hand, a father who tells his family, ” We are going to trust the Lord to provide us what we need, ” declares that God can be trusted in every facet of life. When children hear their parents praying, they quickly learn to trust God for every detail. They grow up viewing Him as very loving-the God who had the very best in mind for their lives.
Even when we remain silent, we subtly state something. Although the apostle Peter recognized the Gentiles as rightful recipients of God’s grace, he developed the bad habit of withdrawing from them during meals. His fellow Jews soon picked on his prideful practice, with the result ” that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy”( Galatians 2:13). Without a word, Peter had effectively sent a message that the Gentiles were inferior.
We must honestly evaluate our responses to the Lord’s commands. Are we deliberately and daily applying what He has taught us over the years? When we comprehend the truth, are we conforming ourselves to the image of Christ?
Are we then communicating this truth to others?
