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“And Jesus came and said to them, ?All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. {{more: continue …}}And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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Making disciples is important because it is the Lord?s chosen method of spreading the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. As a part of His public ministry, Jesus spent that time training and teaching His chosen twelve. He gave them many convincing proofs that He was the Son of God, the promised Messiah; they believed on Him, they believed in Him, though imperfectly. He spoke to the crowds, but often He drew the disciples aside privately to teach them the meaning of His parables and miracles. He sent them out on ministry assignments.?
The early church of scripture and apostolic history had very different priorities. The primary goal was not to make disciples. The Holy Spirit would do that, and if they could participate in that divine grace, the early church would be happy to do that. The real challenge, then and today, is be a disciple. That?s the hard part. That’s the part that challenges us. Whether you define it in terms of journeys, boundaries, or traditions, the challenge for church people is to follow through with the journey, honor the boundaries, and live up to the traditions.
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The fact that so many churches are so lax about being disciples makes them appear hypocritical in their desire to make disciples. Who really wants to become what those folks so clearly are not? It is this that puts the church on the sideline of culture.
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What makes us a disciple? We’ll explore this question next week.
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Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 NRSV.?
See you on Sunday!
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“I don’t know, but I know WHO!”?
Peace,
Pastor Nelda
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