teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).Jesus didn't tell us to go make believers. He didn't tell us to make converts. He certainly didn't tell us to go make "religious" people. What he did tell us to do is GO!... go and make "Disciples!" Well, that's fair enough. Let's make some disciples...but wait a minute, how do we do that? What is a disciple?
In answering the first question, "How do we make disciples?" That's easy to answer. Jesus said we are to GO to all the nations (the Greek is actually "ethne" meaning all the different ethnic groups of people throughout the earth). Then we are to baptize them into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (into the Trinity). After that we are to teach them everything Jesus commanded. Uh oh! That sounds kind of hard. We have to teach our new, baptized believers EVERYTHING that Jesus commanded!?
Actually that's not so hard. You see Jesus didn't command too many things. Of course we have the 10 Commandments, and Jesus did practice them. But Jesus was pretty clear about his commandments when he answered the question, "What is the greatest commandment of all?"
In response to that question he said, "The most important one is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40).
This is sometimes referred to as the Great Commandment. What Jesus is saying here is that all the Law and the Prophets (in other words, all the teachings of the Old Testament) are encompassed in these two commandments: Love God with everything you've got, and love others in the same way you love yourself. So to be a "Disciple" means you believe, you get baptized, and then you begin to love God, and love others with everything you've got.
Oh yeah, then later on he said in John 13:34, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Ah, so this is a disciple: believe in Jesus, be baptized in his name, learn everything he has commanded us (and I believe the implication is that when we learn his commands we would obey them), and finally he adds that we must love the other disciples in the church in such a way that the whole world is amazed and convinced that this Jesus and his church is the real deal!
The Webster's Dictionary defines "disciple" like this: "One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another." So by definition a disciple is a follower and learner of his teacher, who then takes the responsibility to go out and spread those teachings to others. Remember the first verse I quoted, "Therefore, GO and make disciples of all nations..."
So a disciple is one who not only believes in God, but one who is devoted to learning and following the teachings of Jesus. He is not only baptized, but he becomes a "baptizer" as he spreads the teachings of Jesus to others. A disciple is one who is so devoted to Jesus and his teachings, and the desire to spread his word to others in such a way that it redefines who he is; it gives him a new purpose in life, he is changed and transformed. The life of Jesus becomes his own.
Now I ask you...are you a disciple? Remember, Jesus didn't come to make believers, or converts, or religious people, he came to make disciples. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, Jesus' call on your life is to move beyond belief to a life devoted to discipleship.
May the Lord bless you in this journey,
Roger
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