Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Go Teach!

Bryan Schneider · July 20, 2024

Matthew 28:18-20

sharonrpc.org/sermons/go-teach

Summary

Jesus commands his disciples to teach baptized disciples to observe everything he commanded, even when a pluralistic culture regards Christian truth claims as offensive.
The central content of Christian teaching is Jesus Christ himself: his incarnation, obedient life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, lordship, return, and saving gospel.
Believers must receive the Jesus revealed in Scripture rather than a harmless cultural Jesus reshaped to approve every belief and desire.
The word “all” forbids treating Christ's teaching as a buffet; hard commands about sin, wealth, family allegiance, marriage, and discipleship must not be discarded.
The Gospels record Christ's life and teaching, the rest of the New Testament unfolds his commands for the church, and the Old Testament points to him; Christianity is therefore a revealed, book-governed faith that tests impressions and cultural claims by inspired Scripture.
Elders bear the church's formal teaching authority, while parents, grandparents, older believers, spouses, friends, and every disciple have important informal teaching responsibilities.
Discipleship is often caught through shared life—hospitality, generosity, endurance, prayer, and example—as well as taught through direct instruction.
A church that turns the Great Commission into a great omission abandons its purpose; believers must both obey Christ's teaching and pass it on.

Why is teaching Christian truth an act of love even when hearers find its claims offensive?
Which facts about Jesus belong at the center of Christian teaching?
How does the Jesus revealed in Scripture differ from popular cultural versions of Jesus?
Which hard teachings of Christ are we tempted to omit, soften, or explain away?
How do the Gospels, Epistles, and Old Testament together teach believers about Christ?
Are Scripture's words alive and authoritative for us, or merely gathering dust?
What is the difference between formal teaching office and the informal teaching responsibility shared across the church?
Whom has God placed in our homes and relationships for us to teach and disciple?
Are we obeying Christ ourselves while calling others to observe his commands?

Discipleship: Learning from Jesus as Lord and ordering belief, affection, conduct, and relationships according to his Word.
Revelation: God's authoritative self-disclosure, preserved for the church in the inspired Scriptures.
Formal teaching: Authoritative public instruction in the church entrusted particularly to qualified elders.
Informal teaching: Everyday transmission of biblical truth through family instruction, conversation, hospitality, mentoring, and example.
Biblical Jesus: Jesus Christ as actually revealed in the whole of Scripture rather than an idol constructed from cultural preference.
Obedience: The lived response of a disciple who trusts Christ's saving grace and submits to everything he commands.