Make Disciples

We're going to take a break today from our series in John's Gospel. With Jon and Lisa joining our church it seemed a good idea to look at some of what it means to be a church and to be members of a church. So, please listen as I read our text, Matthew 28.16-20.

If a writer wants to emphasize something there are several ways that he can do that. One of those ways is by putting that something at the end of his book or essay. That's what Matthew has done. He ends his Gospel with Jesus giving his parting command to his apostles. 'Listen, guys. I'm going to be leaving you. While I'm gone I'm putting the leadership of my Church into your hands. So, this is what I want you to do.' What comes out of his mouth next is a big deal, a very big deal.

So, what does Jesus tell the eleven? What do they need to give themselves to as they lead? What is this core value of his Church going to be? He could have told them about the importance of worship in the life of a church. He could have told them that they need to develop a church that is strong in its understanding of doctrine. He could have told them that the really important thing in church life is strong families. But he didn't mention any of those things. That doesn't mean they are unimportant. But it does mean that they are not as important as what he did tell them. When it comes to being the Church the thing that Jesus wanted them to focus on was making disciples. That doesn't explain everything that a church is to be about, but it does provide a way of looking at everything that a church is to be about. So, the Church has been given a mission and this is it: make disciples.

Today's sermon is going to look at that mission. The Bible is full of information about disciple-making, but we're going to pretty much limit ourselves to what this text has to tell us. Now for the sake of clarity, before we look at our text, I want to deal with two things: a definition and why I think this topic is important.

So, first a definition. What's a disciple? The word is not some special Christian word. It can be used in lots of different contexts. A disciple is someone who follows a teacher, a master. The goal of this 'following' is to imitate the master. A disciple imitates how the master thinks so he can imitate how he acts. So, a Christian disciple is someone who imitates Jesus. He thinks like Jesus so that he can act like Jesus. And that is at the heart of our question three that I just read to Jon and Lisa.

Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?

Being a disciple is all about following the Master. It's about living like Jesus.

Let me tell you why I think this topic is important. It has to do with certain weaknesses in today's churches. The first of those five membership questions is about whether someone admits that he is a sinner. The second is about whether he believes in Jesus. Those are important questions. But the third question has a quality to it that these two, by themselves, don't have. You can see the third question. There are lots of folk who will say, 'I'm a sinner, but I believe in Jesus so everything is okay.' Are they? Can you see those things? Sometimes, if you challenge someone who claims these things for himself, if you say something about how they don't seem to be living the way a Christian should, they are highly offended. 'I don't have to listen to you. I know that I am saved! I believe in Jesus.' End of conversation. But when someone agrees to that third question he is talking about something that can be seen and evaluated. He is either imitating Jesus or he isn't. And the Bible gives us more than enough to know what imitating Jesus looks like. So, examining this notion of being a disciple is so very helpful because it deals in things that you can see. And that is so helpful because once a problem is seen, once it is identified, the disciple will repent of it so that he can continue to work at imitating Jesus. On the other hand, if someone refuses to repent he has just contradicted his claim to being a disciple of Jesus. And that is something that can be seen. Churches would be stronger if this were understood better. And there would be fewer deceived people who think that they are Christians when they aren’t.

Now, to our text. What we have before us are Jesus' parting words to his apostles, his mission for his Church. 'I want you to make people who look just like me.' How's that for a goal? That's why our church exists. But how do you do that? How do you take people of all different sorts and make them into disciples? Good question, no? Our text gives us the outline of a plan: going, baptizing, teaching.

First, there is the going. I'm going to be brief here. You've heard this before from Acts.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

When this was preached to me in the days of my youth the assumption was that we were in Jerusalem and that we had to go to the end of the earth. It was all about being on the sending end of this. That's backwards. It's those apostles who started in Jerusalem. They went and preached and planted churches. And then some from those churches went and preached and planted churches. And on and on it went until someone went, arrived in Erie and preached and planted this church. We are not in Jerusalem. We're not even in Judea or Samaria. We are the end of the earth. You are disciples because of what so many other disciples did since those first days in Jerusalem. Some of them affected you directly. You’ve know them personally. Others have affected you indirectly. You have never met them. We are here because of the efforts of lots of other disciples.

Here's my point. You are a part of a mission that has been going on for centuries. You are part of the Church throughout history pursuing this mission of making disciples. Seeing yourself in that context, instead of as some lone ranger, is part of what it means to be a disciple. American culture today is very weak on understanding history and our place in that history. We need to work against that. We are part of a very large community, one that stretches through the years back to Jerusalem and even further. We have a role to play in continuing that history and expanding that community. We are a part of a very large group. That's part of being a disciple.

Let's move on. Jesus told them to baptize. Someone hears the Gospel, and he believes it. He is converted. The next thing to happen is for him to be baptized. You see that sort of thing throughout the book of Acts. Preaching. Conversion. Baptism. Now, how does this fit in with the task of making disciples? First, this isn't about what the convert does. Baptism is not about the convert doing anything. It's about something that happens to him. You might actually say that he is quite passive in this baptism. Notice again in Acts how often the verb 'baptize' is in the passive voice. 'Repent and be baptized.' Large misunderstandings come when someone misses this.  

Jesus' words explain.

... baptizing them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …

This isn't about what words to say when someone is being baptized. It's about what's going on in that baptism. The Spirit is busy. He's doing something to our new convert. He is being baptized into the Name of God. Or to say that differently, the Name of God is being applied to that new disciple. Something happens to the person being baptized. That's one reason why baptism is a sacrament. The invisible work of the Spirit is tied to something you can see. This is a basic aspect of being a disciple. And it is so very helpful.

From time to time I lend out a book that I own. Before I do that I make sure that my name is on one of the first pages. That makes it quite clear that it's my book. It belongs to me. Being baptized into the Name means that God's Name is on you. You belong to him.

There is great comfort in this. At any moment you can say, 'I know that I belong to Jesus. The Father is my Father. The Spirit is with me and in me. I know this because I was baptized into the Name of God, Father, Son and Spirit.' Now, this is where I'm supposed to give all those qualifications and clarifications, saying what this doesn't mean lest any misunderstand. But I'm not going to do that. There is a time for that. But this isn't one of them. But this much is clear. When a disciple is baptized something happens. In some way or other, God wrote his name on you when you were baptized. He does that so that you will never doubt that you belong to him. There is great comfort in your baptism.

Quite frankly, you're going to need that comfort. Do you think that Satan is just going to sit and quietly watch while you learn how to imitate Jesus? He hasn't given up. He will attack you, trying to get you back. One thing that he will do will be to accuse you. 'You're a Christian? Really? I saw what you just did. It didn't look like you were imitating Jesus then. Are you sure you're a Christian? Really sure?' And what do you say in response? Too many agree with him. 'Look at what I did. What a horrible sin!' And then the guilt feelings take over. And they lead to doubt. But the right response goes something like this. 'Satan, you're right about what I just did. It was wrong. It was evil. And thanks for pointing it out. It gives me the opportunity to repent of it. And, by the way, yes, I am sure that I am a disciple of Jesus. He placed his name on me in my baptism. He claimed me for his own. I belong to him. That's what he was saying in my baptism. And I'm going to believe him and not you.' There is no magic in the water. But in your baptism the Spirit has marked you as belonging to Jesus. All you need to do is believe him.

Now, there is the companion thought to that. This second thought must go along with the first. Since you belong to him you, you don't belong to yourself. Your name might be written on your birth certificate, but God's name is written on your soul. So, you are his, for him to do with as he thinks best. And that can mean anything. So, it's great for you to have plans for your life - as long as they are approved by the person you belong to. And that doesn't mean you can go ahead with what you think is good to do as long as he doesn't say, 'Stop!' No, you belong to him. He decides what you are to do. And that is something that you need to be discussing with him, day by day. And as you do that you will find that his plans are so much wiser than your own.

We've looked at 'going' and at 'baptizing'. Now it's time to look at the last aspect of making disciples that Jesus mentions here: 'teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.' The hallmark of a disciple is that he obeys Jesus. And that, again, is something that you can see. So, part of the mission of a church in making disciples is to teach. But please note that we are to teach with a clear goal in mind: obedience to Jesus in everything.

Most of this teaching happens in informal settings. That is, most of this teaching is done by each of you in your day to day situations. It happens in the family as parents train their children and as the children interact with each other and with their parents. It happens as you get together for whatever reason with others in the church. It happens when you mention something that the Spirit has been doing in your life lately. It happens in all the ways that you, a disciple, interact with other disciples. Most of the teaching happens in this informal way. And that will make sense when you remember that teaching isn't limited to book learning and lectures and heavy conversations. Lots of learning occurs just by watching. A boy learns to be a Godly man by watching his dad, and he figures out what qualities to look for in wife by watching his mom. Likewise, a girl learns to be a Godly woman by watching her mom, and she figures out what qualities to look for in a husband by watching her dad. There is a lot of learning about following Jesus that happens just by watching.

There will be times, however, when more than watching is necessary. Jesus taught us that when any of us sees that a fellow disciple has fallen into some sin we are to go and point it out so that he or she might repent. There are times when words of correction are necessary. Jesus talked about this in Matthew chapter eighteenth. But even this is done in informal settings. So, we all are to be teaching obedience to Jesus and, in this way, we all are part of the process of making disciples.

There is also the more formal kind of teaching. That's what a sermon is. This also includes a Bible study or a counseling session. These are parts of the teaching ministry of a church. And one big difference between what I've been calling informal and this formal teaching is authority. When one of you shares a thought from Scripture, you don't have any authority over the person you are talking to. You speak as peers. But there is authority when it comes to the teaching ministry of the church. And that's what is behind this exhortation in Hebrews.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

This is shows up in that fifth question I read to Jon and Lisa.

Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the church and promise to study its purity and peace?

That’s about submitting to the authority of the teaching ministry of the church. It’s a key aspect of membership in a church, and it is a critical aspect of being a disciple. And that becomes clear when you take another look at what Jesus taught in Matthew 18. What if some sin is informally pointed out to a disciple, but that disciple will not repent? The matter then becomes formal. The authority of the church is involved. What if he still doesn't repent? Listen to what Jesus taught.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

So that Jesus' words are clear I'm going to put them into different terms.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as one who is not a disciple.

Jesus' words are clear and to be obeyed even when the person in question protests loudly, 'But I believe in Jesus!' That claim doesn't match what can be seen. He is to be treated as someone who is not a disciple.

If you think about it, doing this fits. It makes sense. It fits with the definition of a disciple. Remember how I paraphrased Jesus' parting words to his apostles. 'I want you to make people who look just like me.' Jesus submitted to the Father's will in everything. That’s what a disciple is to do as he imitates Jesus. Now, there are lots of times when we fail at that. We don't submit to the Father. But the point of identifying a sin in the life of a disciple is to help him to become as submissive to the Father as Jesus. There will be times when we will need to repent. Disciples will do that. And we're back to repentance and faith. But someone who refuses to submit to the Father, refuses to obey all that Jesus commands, cannot be a disciple. So, just as this person was identified by the church as a disciple when he was received into membership, he is identified by the church as not being a disciple when he refused to repent. God is not his Father, Jesus is not his Savior, the Spirit does not live within him. This is done in the hope that such a person would see the seriousness of what is happening, and repent and believe.

So, there you are. That's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. That's what it means to be a church. And after even just a short time of reflection it becomes obvious that the real is not the ideal. We are far from what we ought to be when it comes to making disciples and being disciples. And this is where the last phrase of our text comes in.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Jesus is with us by his Spirit. And that's a good thing - a very good thing. We need his patient guidance. And more than that we need his forgiveness. And because he is eager to give both, we also have his hope. So, we are very optimistic. One day we will be done. The Church will have made the nations into disciples of Jesus.