“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Reflection: how can you know if someone has the love of Christ in them?
Yesterday we had an amazing experience at church. A young, associate pastor was preaching on the familiar “Great Commission”, recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 which Jesus gave all His followers. We had already noticed the presence of the Holy Spirit during worship, so we were somewhat “expectant” when the sermon started. But what happened next we certainly did not expect. The pastor’s focus was on the four actions in the commission, of Go therefore, Make disciples, Baptize them, and Teach them. And the sermon was very good, moving right along, until he got to “Baptize them”.
A man in the congregation suddenly spoke loudly up, saying “I want to get baptized”. The pastor, perhaps a bit stunned, stopped his preaching and engaged the man who introduced himself as Andrew. And, what happened next was just something that only God can do. The man went on, in front of the entire congregation, and in the middle of a sermon, telling his life story. He has just left Mormonism, was in great pain from a number of awful things that had happened to him. The pastor, not missing a beat, listened well and counseled him right there and then. And he asked the man, “who brought you to church?” The man said his neighbors, who were sitting right beside him. He went on telling about them, that they are a sweet, Christian couple who just lived a godly life. He had observed them for many years, and by their life example, he took their invitation to come to church that morning.
The whole thing was so well orchestrated, aligned with the message of the pastor that it almost seemed planned. But it wasn’t. I have never experienced anything like it, neither had anyone else I talked with afterwards. And, I went over to talk with Andrew, as well as his neighbors, after the service. Just to thank him for having the guts to speak up. To share his life story there and then, for all to hear. We had a wonderful conversation, and I could tell his neighbors truly are a sweet, soft-spoken couple that just want to serve the Lord. Not to draw any attention to themselves. The pastor made the point as he ended the sermon that what this couple did was such a great example of “making disciples”, bringing one lost soul to the Lord, just by doing good works every day. It is the love of Christ that shines through in the actions of Jesus’ true followers. This is the true fruit of the Holy Spirit.
And, there are those who say they are Christians and follow Christ, but their actions do not reflect Him at all. Their fruit is bitter or even poisonous. They do not know Christ Jesus, who spoke of them saying ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
Paul wrote that for those who have truly received Christ, who believe in His name and follow Him, have been made alive in Christ for good works. We can see the good works as a result, like Andrew’s neighbors. Let’s read it. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV