The Christian Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20

We call it "The Great Commission" and literally thousands and thousands of men and women have accepted the call and gone "into the world," baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They have gone on to teach these new believers the importance of obedience. Still, many new Christians return to their old way of life, while others never seem to mature spiritually. Nothing is more discouraging to a missionary or minister than to see the promise of new life in Christ abandoned or unfulfilled. Yet, I wonder if we engineer our own failures because we misread the commission. The charge is not to baptize, it is not to convert. The commission is to use the power and authority of Christ to make disciples. Let me make it clear that I am not minimizing the importance of baptism, but a careful reading of the passage shows that the goal is discipleship not immersion. Look at the instruction: Go and make disciples... baptizing them (the disciples)... and teaching them (the disciples) to obey.... Being a disciple comes first. Have you noticed that in the gospels the apostles are continually referred to as disciples? Have you noticed that none of the gospel writers report the baptism of the apostles? In the gospels, relatively little is said about baptism in comparison to the number of times the text referrs to those who are disciples of Jesus. As they recount the life of Jesus, the gospel evanglelists focus on what it means to be his disciple. So what is a disciple? Webster defines a disciple as "one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as "one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ's followers according to the Gospel accounts" or "a convinced adherent of a school or individual." In the gospels, a disciple is one who follows Jesus. It is one who listens to him, learns from him, obeys his commands and imitates his behavior and lifestyle but a disciple is not a super-Christian. Peter who denied Jesus, James and John who selfishly asked for preferential treatment, Thomas who doubted--they were disciples. They were disciples because they followed, because they imitated, because they learned by being in Jesus' presence. They had no other option. If you traveled with him, you were a disciple. There were no Christians with Jesus, there were no church members--just disciples. Last year Baylor University conducted a poll in which 82% of Americans described themselves as Christians. Yet, The Barna Group reports that only 43% of Americans report attending church in any given week. Mane experts believe that 20% is a more accurate figure. Why is there such an enormous discrepency? Is it because the church has lost the vision of discipleship? Have we substitiuted "Christian" for "disciple"? Have we substituted a title for a way of life? Have we adopted the more attractive approach? Are we afraid to honestly describe the cost of discipleship? There is no doubt that the title is easier to bear than the way of life. It is much easier to have our names entered on the church membership list than it is to lay down our lives in submission to his Lordship. It is much easier to check Christian on the polling questionaire than it is to become like him in humility and sacrifice. Are our churches full of non-disciples? In Devotional Classics, Richard Foster had this to say about discipleship.

Perhaps the greatest malady in the Church today is converts to Christ who are not disciples of Christ--a clear contradiction in terms. This malady affects everything in church life and in large measure accounts for the low level of spiritual nutrients in our local congregations. To counter this sad state of affairs we must determine that, regardless of what others do, our intention is to come under the tutelage of Jesus Christ, our ever-living Savior, Teacher, Lord, and Friend. We seek to undertake the general pattern of life that he undertook--not in slavish mimicking but in overall lifestyle. Disciplines of prayer, solitude, simplicity and service will mark our overall pattern of life.

May you be truly committed to discipleship.