AN APPROVED WORKER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Christians, we are not called to a life of passivity. Not even close. Rather, Jesus called us to action when He provided marching orders for His twelve disciples and all others who would ever choose to believe in Him. Here’s what He 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.” Matthew 28:18-20

Note here that Jesus is issuing His commands with the highest and fullest of authority.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

In other words, the very supremacy that is in the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all creation, was passed onto His Son Jesus. Given this, the commands that follow should be viewed as mandated, not optional, as we set forth each day to be obedient to what He called us to do and that was to get to work.

What does a compliant Gospel worker, a servant of the Lord Jesus, look like?

We see in Matthew 28’s Great Commission and our verse from 2 Timothy 2.

First, a faithful disciple of Christ goes in order to make help others come to know and believe in Jesus. When that happens, the new Christian also falls under the pretenses of the Great Commission and are to go to work making their own new disciples. You can see how exponentially the church can grow if everyone does their part for the act of producing more disciples leads to those disciples doing the same. Certainly, there’s a lot of work to do in this regard today as there was in Jesus’ time when He said this:

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38

So we know that those who labor for the cause of the Gospel are to go and make disciples. They are also commanded to baptize the new disciples.

“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”

Now, it’s important to note that baptism wasn’t something new. Before Jesus emerged on the ministry scene, we know that John was baptizing people in the Jordan River but his baptism was for the repentance of sin. He knew Jesus was coming with a superior baptism that would be what all sinners needed, a baptism that would symbolize the gift of new eternal life for anyone who placed their belief in the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Here’s what John said about the new baptism that would reign supreme from that time on:

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11

Indeed, when one believes in Jesus as Savior, they are baptized with the Holy Spirit ever much as the first disciples were on the day of Pentecost. They become a new creation, once in enmity with God and on the road to Hell before being placed on the road to eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:17). Everything that was in the past is left there for the new life found in Christ, the One who always makes all things new.

The sacrament of baptism we see within our churches is nothing more than a public declaration of one’s commitment to follow Jesus. It not only is done in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission but also to fulfill these words we find in the sixth chapter of Romans:

“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” V.4

And so when we observe a baptism sacrament and watch the Christian go under the water, we know it symbolizes being buried with Jesus in death and then the emergence from the water become the raising from the dead, a spiritual renaissance from being a non-believer to a resurrected believer in Jesus Christ who now can live a new life in and through Him.

Okay, so we are to go, make, and baptize new disciples. We are also to teach them the words of Jesus, words of truth from the One who is the Truth (John 14:6).

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.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Jesus demanded that all new disciples be educated to obey everything He commanded. This ensures that all Christians are on the same page and following the exact same guidance. There critical words of truth from Jesus are to be conformed to unashamedly by all who carry out His Gospel calling. They are to do their best every single day to present themselves as one approved to represent Jesus within the harvest field of salvation.

Given this, this message challenges all of us to self reflect and ask the following questions, questions that will close our message today:

How well am I going and making disciples for the cause of Christ?

Am I leading new believers to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

Do I dedicate time to teach new Christians all that Christ commanded, words of truth from My Savior who is the Truth?

And finally,

Does God view me as one who is approved, a worker who complies with the commands of Jesus unashamedly?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.