What Part of Go Don’t You Understand?

A sermon by Keith D. Wallace

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

As a child I was asked many many times, “What part of NO don’t you understand?”  I have a feeling that our Heavenly Father looks at many Christians and says, “What part of Go don’t you understand?”

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He gave us the Great Commission.  The scripture above from Matthew is the first time in the Bible that we see this.  The Great Commission is given five times in the New Testament.  Once in each of the Gospels and also in the book of The Acts.  There are many passages in the Bible that have been repeated a time or two, but for God to inspire the men who wrote these books to write the Great Commission five times is a pretty clear message in and of itself.  Soul-winning is very important to God.

  The need for a burden

To be a soul winner you first have to have a burden for the people all around you who are on their way to Hell right now.  Stop and think for a moment about how many people you know who are not saved.  People that work in your office, people that you see at the store, people who live next to you, people in your own family.  The simple truth is, that if a person has not accepted Christ as their Saviour, they are going to burn in Hell for all eternity.  How are they going to know that Jesus is their only hope if Christians don’t tell them?  “Well that’s the Pastor’s job” you say.  Oh that’s right, I forgot that Matthew 28:19 starts off, “Go ye pastors and teach all nations...”  Not in my King James Bible I don’t see that.  Maybe in the NIV or some other perversion of God’s word you might find that, but God’s word is for all Christians to be out winning souls.

Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

This passage from Luke is one of the greatest passages for helping people to get a burden for the lost.  How can anyone read about the torment and sorrow that this rich man is experiencing and not care that people around them are going to experience the same exact thing?  Although I feel this passage can help give people a burden for the lost, the best way to get a burden is to go out and do some soul-winning.  You don’t know how?  That’s OK, go with someone who does and learn.

John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Jesus is asking a question here.  He is asking, “Isn’t it true, that you have been putting off soul winning?  Isn’t it true that you have been making excuses to not go soul winning?”  Then He says, “lift up your eyes, look around you.  Don’t you see all of the lost people around you who are on their way to Hell right now?”  If you have your head down, whether it be in front of that idiot box, or some magazine, or some other worldly waste of time, you will not see the lost around you who are on a speeding train straight to Hell.  Lift up your eyes and look around you, and you will see the people who need to hear the Gospel.  If you’re not looking for a burden, you won’t get one.  Without a burden, you won’t win souls because you will care more about what you want to do, than what you need to do.

  The rewards for soul winners

Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Well that’s great you say, but who are these wise people God is talking about here?  I’m glad you asked.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

God tells us here through Solomon that soul winners are wise.  Does that mean that soul winners have to have a PhD?  Does that mean that soul winners have to have gone to the most expensive and most prestigious schools?  Not at all.  Soul winners can be any Christian of any background.  God tells us that he that winneth souls is wise and it doesn’t matter how much “smartness” you have, it matters that you are following the commandment of our Lord.  Brand new Christians who don’t even know where to go in the Bible to find verses like the Romans Road can still be great soul winners.  Who doesn’t know John 3:16?  You can win people to Christ with that one verse and know nothing else about the Bible.  Sure the more you know about the Bible the better, but Jesus didn’t tell us Go ye therefore after you know everything in the Bible.  He said Go now!!!

1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.  8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

These verses very clearly explain that it is our job to plant the seed of the Gospel to the lost.  We are also to water the seed.  We do this by knocking doors and sharing the Gospel with people.  If they don’t receive Christ right then, we pray for them and come back some other time and try again.  That is our responsibility.  God’s responsibility is to give the increase.  God is in charge of convicting the person through the Holy Spirit.  God is in charge of doing the saving of the person through Jesus Christ.  Now look at this, verse 8 says that every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.  Does it say that every man shall receive his own reward according to God’s own labour?  No, it says his own labour.  We shall be rewarded based upon planting and watering the seed.  You may witness to a million people in your lifetime and never see one person get saved.  But you will be rewarded greatly in Heaven.  Much more so than the Christian who spent his time sitting in front of the idiot box while his friends and relatives went to a Lake of Fire for all eternity.

  The price for not witnessing

Ezekiel 3:16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

This is a solemn warning from God himself.  God gives the command here to give warning from God to the lost of their future if they do not accept Christ.  God tells us what will happen if we disobey this command.  The lost person will die in their sins and will be placed in Hell forever.  Which is awful by itself but you may be saying, why should I care, I know I’m going to Heaven.  OK, let’s keep going.  The rest of this warning applies directly to us, but his blood will I require at thine hand.  If we pass up the opportunity to witness to someone and that person never receives Christ then it will be our fault.  When we stand before Jesus at the Judgement Seat of Christ our hands will be covered in the blood of those people who went to Hell because of our disobeying God’s commands.  Think about that for a few minutes, you sent that person to Hell all because you were too busy, or you were embarrassed (Rom 10:11), or you thought it was not the right time or place.  When you stand before Jesus and give an account for your Christian life, these “excuses” will not mean anything.  There’s nothing you can do now about the opportunities that you have already passed by except ask for forgiveness.  However, you can do something about the opportunities to come.  If you live another day, you will have more opportunities to tell someone how to escape Hell through Jesus Christ.  Don’t let more people slip into Hell forever because you didn’t warn them.

Ezekiel 3:19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again God explains to us that it is our job to warn people, to tell them, to teach them how to escape Hell through Jesus.  If we warn people and they still do not turn to Jesus, they will still go to Hell, but we are no longer responsible for that.  It is so simple to tell people of Christ.  Our goal should be to win everyone to Christ, but that is just not going to happen.  What we must do is go and try to win everyone to Christ and let God give the increase.  When we have done this, we have fulfilled our duty according to what God himself commanded us.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  38 This is the first and great commandment.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

All Christians will say that they love God, but God tells us that if we want to prove that we love Him, we are to keep his commandments.  Soul winning is a commandment.  How about it?  Do you love God?  Are you just saying it, or are you doing it?