At the Heart of Discipleship is to Learn the Commands of Jesus

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, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” NIV)

Evangelism is the preaching of the Gospel… the good news! We have a mandate to preach the Gospel according to Mark 16:15. The Great Commission, on the other hand, is not about evangelism and is not about winning souls. The Great Commission is what we do after God saves the lost. The Great Commission is about teaching a new way of life. It is ongoing and, by the way, nobody graduates! The Great Commission is precisely what we are lacking in the church.

Many are not even preaching the Gospel anymore; they do all kinds of good things; but omit the gospel all together. They think the Gospel is in the sandwich or the bowl of soup. The Gospel must be verbalized. Others do minister the gospel; however, they see a person repeating the sinner’s prayer as the culmination of their jobs. We must understand that a person receiving Christ as his Lord and Savior; that is, if they actually meant that prayer from their hearts, is just the beginning… it is where the tough work starts. I guess this is the reason why there is so much resistance in making disciples; discipleship is actually, very hard!

Restoration takes place in the soul: the way we think, our decision-making and our emotions. The discipleship process is a work designed to address the soul. Many continue to struggle with the same things, even years after receiving Christ; we can conclude that is so because they are not saved. Some of them, however, are saved, they are just immature believers. The reason for their immaturity is because they insist on doing things their way, the way of the culture and/or the ungodly ways of their parents. Making disciples is about setting folks free from the pattern of the world and engaging folks in God’s pattern. 

As discussed before, to be saved is fully the work of God; there is no such a thing as making a decision to receive Christ.  Discipleship, on the other hand, is solely an act of our will. We must decide to be discipled… are you a disciple? Are you making disciples?

To be continued…