June 7, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Converts and Covenants

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Converts and Covenants

Matthew 23:15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”

Who does Jesus say “woe” to (verse 15)?

How does He describe them (verse 15)?

Where are they willing to go to win a convert (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why do they make the convert into “twice as much a child of hell” as they are (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 23:15 show us about the Great Commission?

Genesis 17:3-14 - New International Version (NIV)

³ “Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

What was Abram’s reaction to God (verse 3)?

What is God’s covenant with Abram (verse 4)?

Why did God change Abram’s name to Abraham (verse 5)?

Who will come from Abraham (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did God establish His covenant with Abraham as an “everlasting covenant” (verse 7)?

How is the “whole land of Canaan” presented to Abraham (verse 8)?

When are Abraham and his descendants to keep the covenant (verse 9)?

What is the covenant (verse 10)?

When are the males to be circumcised (verse 12)?

Does it matter if the males are “born in your household” or if they are “bought with money from a foreigner” (verse 13)?

How will the uncircumcised male be treated (verse 14)?

In your opinion, should the “teachers of the law and Pharisees” to whom Jesus was speaking in Matthew 23:15 require every male they convert to be circumcised as required by the covenant with God revealed in Genesis 17:3-14?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Genesis 17 show us about the Great Commission?

Galatians 5:2-6 – New International Version (NIV)

² “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

What does Paul tell the Galatians that being circumcised would do to the value of Christ to them (verse 2)?

How does a person’s relationship to the law change if they let themselves be circumcised (verse 3)?

Where do you fall away from if you try to be justified by the law and are therefore “alienated from Christ” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is it “through the Spirit” that we “eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision” have any value in Christ Jesus (verse 6)?

What is the only thing that counts (verse 6)?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile the command by God in Genesis 17:3-14 that to participate in the covenant every male must be circumcised with the adamant opposition to circumcision that Paul, who had been a Pharisee, has in Galatians 5:2-6?

In your opinion, what does the statement of Paul in Galatians 5:2-6 that “you who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” help explain why Jesus in Matthew 23:15 said to the teachers of the law and Pharisees that “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Galatians 5 show us about the Great Commission?

Hebrews 12:18-29 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹ to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰ because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ²¹ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”

What kind of mountain does Paul say that Jewish converts to Christianity have not come to (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did people who heard the voice beg “that no further word be spoken to them” (verse 19)?

How was “even an animal” that “touches the mountain” to be treated (verse 20)?

Why did Moses say “I am trembling with fear” (verse 21)?

What have they come to (verse 22)?

How are the “thousands upon thousands of angels” described (verse 22)?

Where are the names of the members of “the church of the firstborn” written (verse 23)?

How is God described (verse 23)?

What has happened to “spirits of the righteous” (verse 23)?

How is Jesus described (verse 24)?

What kind of word does the sprinkled blood speak (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why do we need to “not refuse him who speaks” (verse 25)?

What is the new promise of the One whose “voice shook the earth” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, once the “created things” are removed what will the “what cannot be shaken” consist of (verse 27)?

What are we receiving that we should “be thankful” and “worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (verse 28)?

How is our God described (verse 29)?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile what Paul says in Galatians 5:2-6 about eagerly awaiting “by faith the righteousness for which we hope” with the quotes from Hebrews 12:18-29, where God says “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens”?

In your opinion, how does the covenant of God with Abraham in Genesis 17:3-14 prepare us for the new covenant that Jesus is mediator of in Hebrews 12:18-29?

In your opinion, how does the prophecy that “once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens” followed by the explanation that “the words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain” in Hebrews 12:18-29 help us to understand the “woe” that Jesus proclaimed to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in Matthew 23:15?

In your opinion, how does the “convert” of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in Matthew 23:15 compare “to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” of Hebrews 12:18-29?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Hebrews 12 show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 23:16 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)