THREE GREAT NECESSITIES

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: LUKE 24:44-53



INTRODUCTION:


  1. We are living in a day when most people do not believe in absolutes. And since they do not believe in absolutes, they avoid the Bible.
  2. After all, the Bible is a book that is authoritative. It says, "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). That is why people don’t accept it.
  3. The passage before us is well-known to Christians as "the Great Commission." Unfortunately, to many Christians it is "the great omission." This passage is very important.
  4. Among the important doctrinal truths taught in these verses are these:
    • The O.T. Scriptures speak of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (24:44).
    • To understand Bible doctrine, you have to ask the Lord to open up your understanding (24:45).
    • The essential truths concerning the Lord Jesus Christ center on His atoning death and resurrection from the dead (24:46).
    • Repentance and remission of sins should be preached (24:47).
    • Repentance and remission of sins should be preached "in His name" (24:47; cf. Acts 4:12).
    • Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name "among all nations" (24:47). One of my daughters asked me what I was preaching and when I told her the text, she said, "It sounds like you are getting ready for the missions conference." Actually, at that time it hadn’t even crossed my mind. But perhaps that is why the Lord led me to it.
    • The power for this great work is imparted by the Holy Spirit (24:49; cf. Acts 1:8). Beloved, without the power of God we are going nowhere.
    • The ascension of our Lord into heaven (24:50,51).
    • The disciples "worshipped Him" (24:52). That is why we are gathered here this Lord’s Day – we are "worshipping Him."
  1. I am going to preach today on "Three Great Necessities."

    1. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SAVIOUR - "To suffer, and to rise from the dead" (24:46).
    2. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SINNER - to repent (24:47).
    3. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SOULWINNER - "And ye are witnesses…" (24:48; cf. Acts 1:8).

  1. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SAVIOUR (24:46).
    1. All throughout His earthly ministry, our Lord repeatedly foretold this great necessity – that He had to die on the cross for our sins and rise from the dead the third day (cf. Luke 9:22).
    2. There are many religions in this world. And these religions all have some system of ethics, some set of rules to live by. But beloved, only Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. Not Buddha, not Mohammed, not the pope, etc.
    3. Only Jesus saves. He is the only way to heaven (John 14:6). Many people object to this but they must agree that this is what the Bible clearly teaches.
    4. Some day you and I must stand before God. And we will either stand in the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness or we will stand in the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Isa. 64:6; II Cor.5:21).
    5. Therefore, when God looks at the sinner who has trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour, He does not see a guilty, hell-bound sinner but He sees a sinner redeemed, pardoned, cleansed, and forgiven – a sinner saved by God’s grace.
    6. And this is all because the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and died in our place (Luke 24:46).
    7. After looking at the necessity laid upon our Saviour, let us look at the second great necessity.
  1. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SINNER (24:47).
    1. Our Lord said, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name…" (24:47).
    2. Repentance is an important doctrinal word, found all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament (cf. Ezek.14:6; Luke 13:1-5).
    3. Sometimes, the word "repent" is not used but the doctrine of repentance is taught (cf. I Thess.1:9).
    4. Someone asked one of the professors at my Bible college, "What comes first, repentance or faith?" and he replied, "If John Smith walks through the door, who comes in first, John or Smith?"
    5. In other words, repentance and faith are two sides to the same coin (cf. Acts 20:20,21).
    6. Repentance, according to the Bible, is not what the RCC calls "penance." To do penance is to atone for your sins but according to the Bible, Jesus has already atoned for our sins.
    7. Christ has for sin atonement made, What a wonderful Saviour!
      We are redeemed! The price is paid! What a wonderful Saviour!
    8. Furthermore, repentance is not remorse over the consequences of one’s sins. It is more than remorse, though it includes remorse.
    9. Repentance is not self-reformation. Many people start going to church, they stop drinking, they clean themselves up – but they still are not saved. They have not received Christ as their Saviour.
    10. Repentance is not restitution, but those who are truly repentant will seek to make restitution (cf. Zaccheus – Luke 19:8).
  1. THE NECESSITY LAID UPON THE SOULWINNER (24:48,49).
    1. If you are saved, then you are a "witness" (Luke 24:48). The Great Commission is for all of us. It is the responsibility of the local church (cf. Matt.28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16).
    2. What is a "witness"? A witness is somebody who sincerely tells what he has seen and what he has heard (cf. Acts 4:20). Remember when our sister Etta was hit by the truck? The policeman asked for a witness.
    3. Are you a witness for Christ? Have you heard the Gospel? Have you seen the grace of God demonstrated in your life? Then you are a witness. Start witnessing!
    4. In addition to the Gospel of Luke, Luke also wrote the book of Acts. The word "witness" is used one way or another 29 times in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is all about witnessing, planting churches, and sending out missionaries.
    5. "As Christians, we are not judges or prosecuting attorneys sent to condemn the world. We are witnesses who point to Jesus Christ and tell lost sinners how to be saved" – Warren Wiersbe.
    6. Many Christians are not witnessing. One of the reasons is that they do not appropriate the power of God that is available to them. Our Lord said that we would "be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49; cf. Acts 1:8).
    7. We see this power demonstrated on the day of Pentecost. And after Pentecost as well (Acts 4:33; cf. 4:29-31).
    8. Let’s get something straight – witnessing is not something we do for the Lord. It is something He does through us. There is only one qualification. It is not a degree from a Bible college, it is not proficiency in the English language, it is not that you must be a great speaker, etc.
    9. The only qualification for being an effective witness is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Are you walking in the Spirit? Are you being led by the Holy Spirit?

CONCLUSION:

  1. We have seen the three great necessities: the necessity laid upon the Saviour, the necessity laid upon the sinner, and the necessity laid upon the soulwinner.
  2. We see all three of these three great necessities in the ministry of the apostle Paul (cf. Acts 26:13-28):
    • the necessity laid upon the Saviour (Acts 26:23).
    • the necessity laid upon the sinner (Acts 26:17-20).
    • the necessity laid upon the soulwinner (Acts 26:16,19-22).
  1. How about you?
    • Are you a witness?
    • Are you saved?

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