Last week we talked about renewing our sense of responsibility and duty to evangelism. Directly connected to evangelism is discipleship. We should be careful to understand that good discipleship is evangelistic, but evangelism without discipleship is simply converting the lost to Christ.
When we think of evangelism we recall Matthew 28:19 when Jesus commanded His disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This verse is the one we cite whenever we talk about going beyond our immediate fellowship of believers to those who do not know Christ. The goal is to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus and to have them commit to Christ in baptism. To evangelize is to share the Gospel. To Disciple is that and more.
Looking to Matthew 28:20, Jesus also commands His disciples to work with those converts, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is the step beyond sharing the Gospel, this is teaching, training, and leading the new Christian to be a disciple of Jesus.
To become a disciple of Jesus is to commit to being a learner or student of Christ. Jesus said in Luke 6:40, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” The goal of the disciple of Christ is to one day be like Jesus. By design in Jesus’ commands in Matthew 28:19-20 those who disciple share the Gospel with the lost. Those lost who believe and obey the Gospel are saved. The discipler then disciples (teaches, trains, and leads) the disciple.
It is challenging enough to be committed to personal evangelism. It can be even more challenging to be committed to discipleship. The personal reward of helping someone commit to Christ might be compared to a mother giving birth. The labor was difficult, but the birth of the child is worth it. The same can be said of discipleship. Raising a child is not always easy, and is sometimes filled with heartbreak, but seeing a child mature into a responsible adult is a satisfying accomplishment. Discipleship is like raising a child, except we are helping a child of God mature as a disciple of Jesus.
Discipleship is needed if the church is to be what God intended for it to be. There are some barriers to discipling that must be overcome. The first we’ve just discussed; the fact that evangelism, by itself, is not discipleship. Discipleship is all encompassing. For us to truly commit to discipleship we need to see the difference.
While the body of Christ might understand discipleship and be committed to it, many people today don’t view being a Christian as being a disciple of Jesus. Such Christians come to the church of their choice based upon whatever attracts them. They only remain interested in the church so long as their needs are met, never finding purpose, only vain satisfaction. This may be due to a lack of discipleship in the Lord’s church, so that it’s seen as something foreign. It might even be due to abuse of discipleship and so it’s frowned upon and not practiced. Sadly, even if the church is healthy and committed to discipleship, our culture has taught us to be suspicious and wary of those who try to teach, train, and lead others in the Way of Christ.
While the success of discipleship is personally rewarding and satisfying, discipleship can also be frustrating, spiritually taxing, and exhausting. Regardless of the barriers that exist to discipleship, Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples.
