Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(Pass it on - pass on the gospel: gospel - it means good news - we are to pass on this good news to everyone.)
(We are pass on the good news, and it is so good, infinitely better than the bad news.
What is the bad news?)
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
I John 1:10a If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death;
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
(The bad news is that everyone on this planet is absolutely guilty, already damned, on the way to an everlasting lake of fire.
The good news is that someone has made a way for us to escape the horrifying, fiery consequences of our sin.
Jesus took on flesh, never sinned, yet took our place, receiving the wrath of the Father, while bleeding to death on the cross.
The gospel, the good news is then shown by the scriptures:)
I Corinthians 15:1a Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
3b how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted,
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Acts 16:31b Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
Romans 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(For those of us who are already saved, we are to pass it on - we are to pass on the gospel to those who are not saved yet.
Somebody passed it on to us, then we believed, and were saved - now we are to do the same and pass it on to others.
For some reason we are letting the hours go by, the days go by, the months go by, and the years go by, yet not passing it on much.
Why is that? What is the reason for letting time slip by? Why am I not doing much of what a Christian is supposed to do, to pass it on?)
(One reason that we sometimes tell ourselves, is that it is the job of the pastor to pass it on, not for us to pass it on.
We may have convinced ourselves that when Jesus gave the great commission, that he only meant it for the apostles.
But what ended up happening in that first century?)
Acts 8: 1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.
("except the apostles", means that the clergy, the apostles, stayed in Jerusalem, and that the non-clergy were scattered abroad.
So, what did the non-clergy do when they were scattered abroad?)
4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Acts 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
(They clearly passed it on, wherever they were scattered to, and a great number of people believed on Jesus.
So, it is not correct to be thinking that it is only the pastor's job to pass it on.)
(Another reason we may tell ourselves is that we don't know enough Bible.
What about that woman that Jesus met at the well?)
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
(She was clearly not a Bible school graduate, but she went and told the men what Jesus did, and she led them to Jesus.
Her willingness to pass it on was greater than any concern that she may have had.
We can do just like she did, telling others what Jesus did for us, we don't need to preach a full 4-point outline sermon to them.
So, it is not correct to be thinking that it is only for people who know a lot of Bible, to pass it on.)
(Another reason we may tell ourselves, is that it needs to be in a church service, and certainly not by ourselves, out there.
Phillip, not the apostle Phillip, but another man with the same name, one of the men of the church, was at a service in Samaria:)
Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
(Phillip was in Samaria, doing what the other non-clergy, which had been scattered, had been doing, passing on the gospel.
And like with the other non-clergy, Jesus used Phillip, and a number of people believed the gospel, and were saved.
Then, when the clergy that were still in Jerusalem, heard about it, they sent two of the apostles to Samaria.
There was a really great service going on, there in Samaria, but the LORD sent Phillip to go to the desert, instead.
So, now, instead of being in a good church meeting with the clergy, he was by himself, out there, somewhere in the desert.
Then, in the middle of nowhere, there was one man in a chariot, reading the Bible, and the Spirit directed Phillip to him.
Phillip led the man to Jesus, and church history holds that the man went back to Ethiopia, and he also, began to pass it on.)
(Another reason that we may hold back from passing on the gospel, is that we are too afraid.
Maybe we are afraid that the person may hurt us, or call the cops on us.
The night Jesus was taken, all the apostles forsook him, and Peter even denied knowing him - it seems that they were afraid.
But after Jesus rose from the dead, and the Spirit came on Pentecost, Peter and John went right into the temple to pass it on.
A man was healed, then Peter preached the gospel, and about five thousand were saved.
Then the priests and the Sadducees came with captain of the temple and took Peter and John, putting them in hold.
The next day, the high priest, with the rulers, elders, and scribes, demanded of them in whose name they did this.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, preached Jesus and his resurrection, and it says of those men:)
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
(From forsaking Jesus, even denying him, to being filled with the Holy Ghost, then preaching Jesus with boldness.)
Acts 4:18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
(But after being threatened, the natural fear was turned again into boldness:)
Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
(Now, everyone in the service were filled with the Holy Ghost, and instead of fearful, they were able to pass it on with boldness.
Jesus grants us that boldness, not the spirit of fear:)
II Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
(Another reason may be that we think that we simply don't have the gift of evangelism.
Except, passing it on is not a gift, but it is a command:)
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(Another reason why we have not been passing it on, may be because of the thought of hell.
We may not ever admit it, but maybe in our heart of hearts, we wonder, "Why would a loving God send anyone to hell?"
Maybe we can't possibly reconcile the simultaneous thought that God is love, yet that there could also be a place of eternal torment.
We may know what the Bible says about hell, we've heard it taught, we've heard it preached, and we even have read it for ourselves.
Could it possibly be a little like it was for the children of Israel, with the Red Sea before them, but Pharaoh & his army behind them?
Against everything that we think we understand about the goodness, kindness, and compassion of Jesus, is his clear teaching on hell:)
Luke 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Luke 16:23 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.
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
(We may secretly not believe what the scriptures say, thinking it contradicts what we believe about the goodness of God.
It's wrong to secretly not fully believe something, but it's worse to outright deny what the Bible says, and believe something else.
Recently, a number of people who for years believed the doctrine of hell, have begun to now believe in annihilationism.
That's the Jehovah Witness false doctrine, that people burnup in hell, and are gone, rather than remain in hell.
And as bad as that is, there is something even worse, to think about hell.
And that is to secretly not care if someone goes to hell. Or even worse, to actually prefer that someone would go to hell.
However, Jesus doesn't think that way about hell:)
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
(Jesus doesn't want anyone to go to hell, and went to the cross in our place, but he leaves the choice to us.)
(The gospel is good news, and we need to pass it on, like it was passed on to us.
Early on, the believers found themselves scattered abroad, without any clergy, yet they passed on the gospel wherever they went.
The woman at the well, as soon as she realized who Jesus is, went and told others what he had done, and brought people to him.
Phillip, out in the middle of nowhere, was brought to a man alone in a chariot, reading the Bible, told him about Jesus.
Jesus taught about a literal, everlasting hell, but doesn't want anyone to go there, and that is good news.)
(Once people know the bad news, then they need to hear the good news, and that's where we come in, we need to pass it on:)
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
(If they believe the good news of the gospel, they will be saved.
But like it shows, how can they believe the good news, if they haven't heard the good news?
But it also shows, how can they even hear the good news, without someone willing to pass it on?
Then it also shows, how can there be someone to pass it on, if they are not sent to pass it on?
However, every one of us that has been saved, is sent to pass it on:)
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(We've been sent! Now we need to go and pass it on.)