And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” – Mark 16:15
Ambassadors for Christ. As commanded by Christ, go and share “the message of truth” with another who is still lost, for it is written, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” We are surrounded by a sea of the lost, and it is written that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” In an exceedingly dark and sinful world, the little light we can shine can greatly help the lost find their way. It is entirely possible that you might be the only one to share Jesus with someone in their entire lifetime, and it will be beyond horrible to be standing there on Judgment day among the saved (the “sheep,” arranged “on His [Jesus] right”) and look over and see someone that we knew who is lost forever (the “goats,” arranged “on His [Jesus] left”) – and realize that we had a chance to reach out and share the gospel with them but never did. Oh, what a tragedy!
Also, remember you are an “ambassador” for Christ, a member of the “royal priesthood” with Christ as your “High Priest” (and “King”) – so go forth boldly proclaiming “the message of truth” and be a kingdom builder for Christ as a “fisher of men”:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age [world].” – Matthew 28:19-20
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19 (ESV)
It is true that you might be ridiculed, mocked, ignored, laughed at, scorned, and even persecuted for sharing the truth, but don’t let that stop you, for you are helping others hear about the gift of eternal life. Jesus was treated likewise, and we are not better than our Master. And even further, we are to be joyful if we have been found “worthy to suffer” for His name. We are to not be ashamed, but to proclaim the good news of the gospel “message of truth” with boldness:
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, or which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. – 2 Timothy 1:7-14
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek [Gentiles]. – Romans 1:16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. – Acts 4:31 [my bold]
And remember, sharing the gospel message applies to those closest to you as well. For parents who raise their children in the way of the Lord (and the way of truth) do a great honor and service both to themselves and their children; and the husband who leads (guides) his wife into truth and eternal life is showing great leadership in accordance with the commands of God.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
It’s instructive at this point to again share the Parable of the Sower:
And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
…
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” – Matthew 13:3-9,18-23
From the parable, Christ is the sower who spreads the seed (as well as His evangelists, i.e., you), which is “the message [word] of truth” – by boldly proclaiming the gospel message as the “light of the world” and as a “city set on a hill.” The type of ground represents the type of person who has heard “the message of truth”:
- Hard Packed: The roadside soil where the seed falls on the hardened ground and is not understood or believed and therefore snatched away again with no effect by Satan, leaving no impact on the one who heard it who had no interest in it, or
- Rocky: The rocky soil where the seed is received eagerly at first and for a time, but then discarded through neglect or when trial and tribulation or persecution arise, or
- Thorny: The thorny soil is where the cares and desires for the pleasures of this world win out over perseverance in faith, which therefore chokes out the seed from growing, or
- Good: The good soil which receives the Word in truth and fullness, growing and maturing in Christ and always abounding in the work of the Lord, producing a crop 30x, 60x, or 100x for the Lord, and persevering in faith unto death.
Matthew Henry writes on the parable: [1]
While the good soil brings forth plentifully: so it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here represented by four sorts of ground, of which three are bad, and but one good. Note, the number of fruitless hearers is very great, even of those who heard Christ himself. Who has believed our report?
The sower that scatters the seed is our Lord Jesus Christ, either by himself, or by his ministers. The people are God’s husbandry, his tillage, so the word is; and ministers are laborer’s together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it must light; only see that it be good, that it be clean, [that it be pure] and be sure to give it seed enough. The sowing of the word is the sowing of a people for God’s field [Christ’s Kingdom], the corn of his floor (Isaiah 21:10).
Now that this book has sown the seed of “the message of truth” in you, what type of soil will you be?
THOSE WHO LEAD THE MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
It is written that “those who lead the many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever.” When I was writing this book, a thought crossed my mind that if I had died today, I would shine in heaven like a lump of coal! Yes, if you took my entire life and added it up to see what I had done to grow the “Kingdom of God,” it would add up to a big fat nothing, zilch, nada – not a single thing that I could think of! Yes, my entire life added up to nothing. All my works would have been burned up to nothing on the great Day of Judgment; I hope to change that. There are three things I hope to hear from the Lord on the Last Day:
1) “Well done good and faithful servant…enter into My rest,”
2) You have “accurately handled (rightly divided) the word of truth,” and
3) “Receive your crown of life”
For,
“All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word which was preached to you. – 1 Peter 1:24-25
Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. – Acts 20:26-27
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. – 1 Corinthians 9:16
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. – Ephesians 1:13-14
H. M. Riggle writes in The Christian Church, Its Rise and Progress: [2]
He [Jesus] testified, saying, “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” John 14:10. Therefore “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” Heb. 1:1-2. This adorable Christ came into the world and delivered the perfect laws of His kingdom, and when about to finish His mission on earth He said, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them.” John 17:8.
And when He sent forth His ministers to preach His gospel to every creature, He commissioned them to make disciples in all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). Thus we see that Christ Jesus spoke all the words that the Father “put into his mouth,” and all that He had commanded Him to speak; and the Son likewise commissioned His apostles to publish all that, and only that, which He gave them.
IT IS FINISHED
And so now friend (and hopefully new brother or sister in Christ), I have declared to you, and you have read and heard the whole gospel “message [word] of truth” and the hope that can be found in Jesus Christ, from start to finish, free from the distortions, mystical beliefs, myths, superstitions, “traditions” and myriads of modern and liberal false teachings and schemes of man which abound today. The eternal question is: What will you do with it? Will you act on it and be wise or ignore it? Will you seek the wisdom of God or the wisdom of man?
Will you discard it like “hard packed” soil, or will you believe it? Will you start out enthusiastically and then grow tired and stop (quit the faith, “fall away”) when trials and tribulations come your way (“rocky soil”). Will you let it get choked out by the continued pursuit of the things of this world and the cares of this world (“thorny soil”)? I pray you receive “the message of truth” with gladness, sincerity of heart, and now go forth abundantly in Christ, always “abounding in the work of the Lord,” working in His Kingdom to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation,” producing a crop (“bearing fruit”) of “thirty,” “sixty” or a “hundredfold” for the Lord. If I were to ask you next year how many have you led to the Lord, would the answer be: 30? 60? Or a hundredfold? Or would it be zero? Only you can honestly answer that.
The Bible is full of characters that we can read and learn from, great men and women of faith who have come before us. Which one will you be like: A Pharaoh of Egypt, a Saul (the first King of Israel), a David, a Judas (Iscariot), a Demas, an Ananias, a Peter, a Paul, a Daniel, a Samaritan woman at the well, a Noah, a Cain or an Abel? …the choice is yours (and mine) to make. And, as this book has shown you, there are only two great families of people on Earth: those who stand with and for the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ and those who are against Him (and with Satan).
Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. – 1 Timothy 6:12-16
The remaining sections of the book provide some helpful advice on what I have found to be effective in beginning my walk as a Christian (Next Steps) and also on avoiding the false teachings of man (Beware the Wolves). For while you have now read and heard the gospel “message of truth,” you have also seen that we have had to relentlessly fight off the false teachings of man and the “spirit of error” at every single step along the way – from the very beginning in Genesis all the way to the end in Revelation.
“Be on guard” and “be on the alert,” both for Christ’s return and because you can still yet be “tricked” out of your “crown of life”! I therefore strongly encourage you to continue reading the remainder of this book and to continue “grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge [understanding] of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” so you can “stand firm,” “fight the good fight of faith,” and “finish the race,” and not “come short of” eternal life with God and His Christ Jesus in heaven.
Now may you have life, joy, rest, and peace in Christ, and may He raise you up to eternal life with Him on the Last Day. Amen.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” – John 6:35-40
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39
And Jesus said “It is finished.” – John 19:30
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. – Revelation 22:20-21
***
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” – Mark 16:15-16
Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you. – 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day [the great Day of Judgment] will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. – 1 Corinthians 3:12-15
Now as they observed the confidence [boldness] of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13
They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. – Acts 5:18-21
“And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.” – Acts 10:42
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
“When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.” – Ezekiel 3:18-19
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” – John 21:17 [Note: We do this “feeding” by preaching and teaching the Word of God, see Matthew 4:4.]
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” – Matthew 9:37-38
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season. – 2 Timothy 4:2
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’” – Ezekiel 33:1-6
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. – Romans 10:14-17
And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. – 1 Corinthians 9:15b-18
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. – Isaiah 61:1-3
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:1-4
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. – Ephesians 6:18-20
Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. – Daniel 12:3
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. – Galatians 6:9
Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” – Isaiah 6:8
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” – Matthew 25:23 (ESV)
And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” – Mark 1:17
