Our Purpose: Discipleship
Text: Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction
1. Read Matthew 28:18-20
2. Illustration: At the close of life, the question will not be,
"How much have you gotten?" but "How much have you given?"
Not "How much have you won?" but "How much have you done?"
Not "How much have you saved?" but "How much have you sacrificed?"
It will be "How much have you loved and served," not "How much were you honored?"
3. Several weeks ago, we began looking at our purpose as a church. We said our purpose is to:
a. Witness
b. Worship
c. Fellowship
d. Discipleship
e. Ministry
4. Today we are going to talk about discipleship.
Proposition: Christ has called us to make disciples of all nations.
Transition: Jesus told us to...
I. Make Disciples, Not Converts (18-19a)
A. Make Disciples
1. Jesus said "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations..."
a. Teach: to cause someone to become a disciple or follower of —Louw & Nida: NT Greek-English Lexicon
b. What we are to teach the nations is to be a follower of Christ.
2. As I pointed out when we talked about witness, the imperative or command in this verse is not the going but the "teaching" or "making disciples."
3. What does our Lord mean by "make disciples"? Does it not mean that we are to do what He did: make disciples and do things with them as He did.
a. When Christ found a person who was willing to commit his life, Christ attached Himself to that person.
b. Christ began to mold and make that person into His image.
4. "Making disciples" means instructing new believers on how to follow Jesus, to submit to Jesus’ lordship, and to take up his mission of compassionate service.
5. Col. 1:28-29 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
a. The word "perfect" that Paul uses here means "whole, complete, mature."
b. The warning and teaching always had one goal in mind: we want to present the believers to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.
c. Believers are not to remain like babies in the faith, easily led away by something new.
d. Instead, they are to grow up into spiritual maturity so that they cannot be enticed by false teachings.
B. More Than Converts
1. Illustration: Daniel Webster offered excellent advice, saying, "If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men’s immortal minds, if we imbue them with high principles, with just fear of God and love of their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity.
2. Making disciples is more than making converts.
a. It’s more than telling them about Jesus.
b. It’s more than inviting them to church.
c. It’s more than quoting the Bible to them
d. It’s more than praying the sinners prayer with them.
3. Leading someone to Christ is only the first step.
a. It’s an important and vital step, but it’s not the end of the journey.
b. Our job does not end there.
4. We must teach them to:
a. Follow Christ daily
b. Pray without ceasing
c. Trust in the Lord with all their heart
d. Stand on the Word of God
5. Making disciples is more than seeing them become Christians, but seeing them become mature believers.
Transition: One of the things that Jesus told us to do is to...
II. Teach Them Commitment (19b)
A. Baptism
1. One of the things that Christ commands us to do as we are discipling people is "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
2. Baptizing is important because it unites a believer with Jesus Christ in his or her death to sin and resurrection to new life.
a. Baptism changes your decision to follow Christ to an commitment to follow Christ.
b. Just as applying for a loan to buy a new car shows a decision to buy a new car, but signing the paper show a financial commitment to buy the car.
3. Baptism symbolizes submission to Christ, a willingness to live God’s way, and identification with God’s covenant people.
4. Christ is definitely teaching that baptism is to be the immediate sign and the identifying sign that a person is now stepping out of the unbelieving ranks and taking his stand with Christ.
5. Baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" means more than just saying a formula as one is baptized, much more. It means...
a. A statement of faith: of belief in God as the true Father of Jesus Christ; of belief in Christ as the true Son of God, the Savior of the world; of belief in the Holy Spirit as the Comforter and empoweror of the believer.
b. A commitment to follow God: to follow Him as revealed in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
B. Commitment
1. Illustration: A college man walked into a photography studio with a framed picture of his girlfriend. He wanted the picture duplicated. This involved removing it from the frame. In doing this, the studio owner noticed the inscription on the back of the photograph: ’My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity.’ It was signed ’Diane,’ and it contained a P.S.: ’If we ever break up, I want this picture back.’ We who have been baptized have professed our love for God and for others. We belong to Christ. There can be no P.S. in our life given to God. We can never break up with Him. We are His. We belong to Him--forever. Charles Krieg
2. One of the great problems with the church at large today is a lack of commitment.
a. Commitment to Christ and his church has become more of a past time.
b. We come to church not out of commitment, but out of convenience.
c. We give of our finances, abilities, and time to the church not out of commitment, but out of convenience.
3. Lk. 9:23-25 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
4. We see people who are not living in the truth of the gospel who are committed.
a. Jehovah’s Witnesses are committed.
b. Muslim’s are committed.
c. Those of the radical homosexual agenda are committed.
d. These are all lost and going to hell, but at least they are committed to something.
5. Yet we who have the truth of the gospel show a lack of commitment.
a. It is high time we start teaching commitment in the church again.
b. It is high time that are commitment to Christ and his church become a priority and not a past time in our lives.
Transition: Jesus also tells us to...
III. Teach Them Obedience (20)
A. Teaching Them to Observe
1. Another aspect of making disciples is "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..."
2. Teaching is just as essential as making disciples and baptizing.
a. One is not to be emphasized over the other. All are part of the commission of our Lord.
b. Note what is to be taught "all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
3. The content of this instruction is everything Jesus commanded the first disciples.
4. The focus is on Jesus’ commands, not OT law.
a. Jesus’ words, like the words of Scripture, are more enduring than heaven and earth (24:35).
b. The expression "all things that I have commanded you" is reminiscent of the authority of Yahweh. - Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM
5. What the disciples teach is not opinion and man made regulations, but content to be obeyed.
B. Obedience
1. Illustration: Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace. Thomas a Kampis.
2. 1 Sam. 15:22-23 "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."
3. Christ has commissioned us to teach believers to obey all that he has commanded us.
4. We are not to teach them to obey their own:
a. Law, but God’s Law.
b. Word, but God’s Word.
c. Will, but God’s Will.
5. Those whom we disciple don’t need our opinions or ideas, but they need to know the teachings of Jesus.
Transition: If we are going to obey the Great Commission, we have to teach believers to obey all that Christ has commanded.
Conclusion
1. Christ has commanded us to make disciples and not just converts.
2. He has commanded us to teach them commitment and obedience.
3. Our purpose is to make disciples who will follow us as we follow Christ.
