Hammer on Anvil '

This post is the beginning of a continuation of my post last week, What is Sin?.  In that post, I shared that it seems that God defines sin differently for Christians and non-Christians.  For Christians, the definition of sin comes from the Holy Spirit.  Sin is doing what the Holy Spirit commands us not to do AND not doing what the Holy Spirit commands us to do.  (Side note: Notice that I said “commands” and not “suggests”.  As maturing Christians, we need to grow to the understanding that God is not a consultant; He is our Lord.)

An obvious problem arises when sin is defined by the Holy Spirit instead of being defined in writing as in the Old Testament.  Sin becomes subjective.  It is up to each person to listen to and follow the Holy Spirit.  But some of us don’t listen very well and some of us don’t follow very well.  And it’s not like God is talking to each of us through burning bushes either.  Learning God’s will is one of the most difficult parts of the Christian lifestyle.

Fortunately for us, there are a few verses scattered throughout the New Testament that let us know what God wants from believers under the New Covenant.  These certainly can’t guide us on day to day specifics (that’s what the Spirit is for), but they do give us an excellent baseline on broader issues.  These are what I will be exploring in the coming weeks.

This week I’ll be looking at what is what is commonly known as the Great Commission.  In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells us, “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.”

When you read that, which of the commands seems most important to you?  A good argument could be made that “go” is the most important command.  After all, nothing else can be accomplished if we don’t go first.

Or maybe “baptizing” is the most important of the commands.  We want to see people saved and that happens by their accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  They then demonstrate that belief through baptism.

Perhaps “teaching them to obey” is the most important.  We want to please God, and we do that by accepting His Son and obeying His commands.

Interestingly enough, though, I recently heard a compelling argument that “make disciples” is the most important command.  Apparently, in the original Hebrew text, the grammar lends a slight emphasis to this command.  I unfortunately don’t know Hebrew, but I can understand the argument just by looking at the sentence structure in English.

Let’s start by looking at the first command, “go.”  This is undoubtedly important, but going in itself lacks purpose without a reason for going.  And what is that reason?  To make disciples.  The other two commands then provide details for making disciples.  We are to make disciples by “baptizing” and “teaching.”

Jesus taught us by example the importance of making disciples.  His ministry lasted only three years and yet he changed the world.  How?  He made disciples.  Then they made disciples, their disciples made disciples, and so on.

And Jesus taught us that there is more to discipleship than just “baptizing” or “teaching.”  There is a relationship involved.  Jesus didn’t stop at simply teaching his disciples; he invested in their lives.  He was there when they had questions.  He ate with them, laughed with them, and cried with them.  They were able to learn firsthand how the character of God reacts to different circumstances.

But it might be tempting for us to look at Jesus’ example and feel that we are not called to the same type of discipleship.  After all, He was God.  That’s the only example worth following.

While that logic may be true, it is not the whole truth.  How would you feel if I were to say to you “join with others in following my example”?  Or maybe if I said, “I plead with you, brothers, become like me”?  Would you think I was arrogant?  This is exactly what Paul says in Galatians 4:12a and Philippians 3:17a respectively.  He says this because he understands Jesus’ command to make disciples.  It means leading by example and teaching others to follow that example.

So now here is my challenge – follow Christ’s command.  Make disciples.  Don’t wait until you are perfect because that will never happen.  Paul was not perfect, but he made disciples.  There are people in your life that God has placed there for a reason.  Friends, family, co-workers, etc.  You are ideally placed to reach those people.  You won’t be perfect, but you’ll show those people how God can work through imperfect people.  And God will certainly help you along the way.

Go for it!