There is something that happens far too often, and it breaks my heart. I’m sure you’ve seen it too.
We see people come to church, make a profession of faith in Jesus, and soon disappear.
What I’ve discovered over my decades in ministry is that many people seem to think that salvation is a past and future event; we ask for salvation (past) and get to go to Heaven (future). However, they do not understand that salvation also is a present thing, or as Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 1:18, Jesus’ cross “is the power of God to us who are being saved.”
This is why we need to…
1. Understand what the Great Commission says
Jesus’ marching orders were not for us to get people to say a prayer or make converts. No, He said (in Matthew 28:19-20), “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The pivotal thing we are supposed to do is make disciples, and all of the other things He said help us do it.
A disciple is another way of saying an apprentice. A disciple learns how things are done by learning the right things and how to implement them.
THAT is what the Great Commission is all about. When we think the job is done once someone says a prayer and gets baptized, we’ve misunderstood the job. We are to make disciples.
This is why we need to…
2. Understand that discipleship is a process, not an occurrence
Becoming saved is an occurrence. Being a disciple is a process – a lifelong process. Peter explained it in 2 Peter 3:18 like this: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” No one grows mature in their faith by simply asking Jesus to save us.
It is a process.
Over the years, too many of our churches think they’ve done what’s needed by getting people to walk an aisle. It is past time for us to recognize the critical need to help Christians grow in their faith.
So, in dealing with other Christians, we must…
3. Clarify that we must obey, not just know
Jesus did say that we should “teach” new Christians, but take note of what we are to teach. We are to teach “them to observe all that I have commanded you.” We must teach them what the Bible says, so they will not how to observe it – live it.
James warned (in James 1:22) that you must “be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Sadly, too many people want to learn but not to obey. Most of the most miserable and mean “Christians” I have known have a lot of knowledge about the Bible, but their lives don’t show it. The facts are not observed.
As Christian brothers and sisters, we are accountable to one another. You must help others (as they help you) understand God’s truth as they also understand how to live it out.
This means that we must…
4. Be relational, not just educational
The ones that we know as the original Disciples did not just sit in a classroom. They shared their lives with Jesus. They learned God’s ways and watched Jesus live them out. Their connection with Jesus was not just a classroom connection; they had a relationship with Him.
We must do the same with other Christians.
It’s the pattern we see over and over in the early church. Christians understood that they were connected to one another. Mature Christians helped others grow day-by-day. They cherished fellowship.
So must we.
And throughout the process, we must…
5. Create disciple makers, not just new Christians
There is a practical reason for this. A new Christian who does not grow in their faith actually harms the faith. They claim one thing but live another way because they don’t know how to do it right. And that keeps others from wanting what they have.
We must help others. And we must help them help others. We must create disciple makers.
Paul described it in 2 Timothy 2:2 like this: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Look at that. Paul discipled Timothy – who was to disciples others – who were to disciple others. They were learning to observe the ways of a disciple.
Jesus did not die so that we could fill our church membership rolls. He wants to help us discover real life as we look more and more like Him – while we also help others do the same. This is the Great Commission in action. This is how we disciple others.
Rice Brooks and Steve Murrell wrote an interesting book that goes deeper into discipling others. Click the picture below to find out more about it…
