The Great Commission-Part IV Teaching them to observe

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, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 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 (NKJV)

In Part III of this devotional we looked at Gods commandment of water baptism, we looked at the reasons why we should be baptized, as well as some of the misconceptions about baptism.  InPart IV of this message well look at Jesus commandment that we should teach other disciples to observe the things that He commanded us to do.

Well the last thing we are going to study in the Great Commission is Jesus' commandment to Teach them to observe the things that I have commanded you.  This was a specific outline for both His immediate disciples as well as every new disciple that would follow in the teachings of Jesus Christ.  We are to teach others what we have been taught--we are to share the knowledge that has been entrusted to us.

We can see that Jesus opened up these verses in Matthew by saying, "All authority (Power KJV) has been given unto me," but then He says, "Go therefore."  In other words, "I have everything needed to do the job; the power, the authority, but I want you to go out and do this."  That could very well have been intimidating, but look at the end of verse 20 where he says, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  That's cool!  This wasn't just a promise to the disciples of that time period."  

This commission didn't stop with them--it continues to this very day, and it is given to each person who has made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  We are to go out and to share the message of salvation--we are to go out and teach others about the things we know to be true--things that we have been taught or discipled in as written in the Word of God.  This is the real ministry of the Church.  And we can know that God is with us--he will guide and help us (See John 14:16).

As followers of Christ, we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth (The Bible).

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

By studying the Bible, we can understand God's will for our lives.  We can understand the schemes of the devil and his fallen angels much more easily.  We can detect doctrinal errors that are being spread by the devil through false religions originating in mans intellect and culminating in man made religious ordinances and practices; many that stress the need to add something other than Jesus work upon the cross as a basis for salvation.  

The enemy wants to flood us with many counterfeit systems of belief that would cause us to buy into his lies.  Lies such as:

*    That Jesus is not God
*    That Jesus is just a prophet
*    That it is through works that one must be saved
*    That you must add works in addition to confessing Jesus as Lord to be saved
*    That you cannot understand the Bible without another book to show you what to believe. 
*    That another book is needed to stay enlightened other than the Bible
*    That Jesus is not the only way to God
*    You must belong to a specific religion to be saved

If the enemy can entice you to not attend a bible teaching Church, a home study, or if he can even keep you from opening up your bible and studying it daily, then he has made a significant step into keeping you in the dark, and keeping you ignorant of God's will and perfect plan for your life. This is exactly why we can clearly see the first disciples of the early church being taught the Word of God by the Apostles themselves as they gathered and broke bread and prayed.


They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Acts 2:42 (NKJV)

Hey Christian, lets not be ignorant, unaware, or misinformed.  Let us open up our bibles daily and pray to God the Holy Spirit will lead us into all understanding as we read.  Let us take these things and apply them to our lives.  Lets share them with others and continue to abide in the Lord and His Great Commission.

STUDY QUESTION: What does 1Timothy 2:15 tell us about reading the Bible?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you making it a practice to open your bible and to prayerfully study it each day?

APPLICATION: Make it your goal to read daily.  Pray that God will show you what He wants you to learn as you read.