• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

Break the Chains

Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 6:27 a.m. – I woke with this song in mind:

Go Ye into All the World / James McGranahan

Far, far away, in heathen darkness dwelling,
Millions of souls forever may be lost;
Who, who will go, salvation’s story telling,
Looking to Jesus, heeding not the cost?

See o’er the world wide open doors inviting,
Soldiers of Christ, arise and enter in!
Christians, awake! Your forces all uniting,
Send forth the Gospel, break the chains of sin.

“Why will you die?” the voice of God is calling.
“Why will you die?” re-echo in His Name;
Jesus has died to save from death appalling,
Life and salvation therefore go proclaim.

God speed the day, when those of every nation
“Glory to God!” triumphantly shall sing.
Ransomed, redeemed, rejoicing in salvation,
Shout “Hallelujah, for the Lord is King.”

“All power is given unto Me,
All power is given unto Me,
Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,
And lo, I am with you always.”

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 24-26 (*chp 26):

Acts 26
1Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2"King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4"The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

9"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

12"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'

" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

19"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

24At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."

25"I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."

28Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

29Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

30The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."

32Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

My Understanding: This passage in Acts is one of my favorites, and is my favorite recording of Saul/Paul’s conversion and of God’s calling upon his life. I believe that these words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus represent such a clear picture of the gospel message and of the great commission that Jesus gave his disciples before he left the earth to return to heaven.

Matthew 28:16-20: The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and 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."

Between the words of this passage in Matthew and Jesus’ words to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, we have a clear picture of what the gospel message entails and what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ and to fulfill the “Great Commission”.

  • We must go in the authority of Jesus Christ, not in our own strength – only Jesus has the power to save lives. We are mere instruments to present the message, but it is the Holy Spirit who truly leads people to salvation.
  • We are to go and make disciples of all nations. A disciple is “somebody who believes in and follows the teachings of a leader, a philosophy, or a religion” according to Encarta Dictionary, so we are to make “followers” of Jesus.
  • We are to baptize them “in the name” of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “In the name” has a stronger meaning than merely just saying the words. Someone’s name meant their signature, their stamp of approval, and/or their character and baptizing symbolizes identification with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. So baptizing “in the name” of our Lord means that we take his identity upon us in character, in actions, in thought, word and deed.
  • We are to teach them to obey everything God/Jesus has commanded us. This is also part of “making disciples”. We are not merely to just invite people to have their sins forgiven, but we are to invite them to identification with Jesus Christ in every respect and we are to teach them to be obedient followers of our Lord, making him Lord of their lives, not just Savior.
  • Going back to the Acts passage, we are also to be the Lord’s servants and his witnesses of what we have seen of him and have experienced in him ourselves and of what he shows us via his Word and what the Holy Spirit teaches us. As a servant, we are to serve our Lord in whatever he asks us to do. And, we are to share with others whatever he teaches us.
  • Lastly, our Lord is sending us ‘to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Again, this is part of “making disciples.” We are not called merely to give testimony or merely to get someone to pray a prayer of salvation, but we, as the Lord’s disciples and followers, are called to help others’ eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel and to be turned from darkness to the light, i.e. to repentance, and from the power of Satan to God so that they may receive forgiveness. In other words, if one prays a prayer but continues to walk in darkness, then he or she has not really met our Lord in salvation. We need to lead them to the light and teach them how to walk in the light.

Blog entry information

Author
Christsfreeservant
Read time
4 min read
Views
68
Last update

More entries in General

More entries from Christsfreeservant

Share this entry