Men, I'd like to take some time and talk about the purpose of the Church. A few years ago I read a survey that was conducted of 1,000 church attendees. They were asked this question: (Why does the church exist?). 89% of those surveyed responded by saying that the church's purpose was, "to take care of ME and my family's spiritual needs". Only 11% of those surveyed said that the church's purpose is to, "...win the world for Jesus Christ".
I wonder how some of us would respond if asked the same question? I can only guess:
1. The church exists to help America regain her spiritual greatness and rightful place again in the world.
2. The church exists to stamp out evil in the world.
3. The church exists to usher in righteousness and justice so that Jesus can return.
4. The church exists to help me achieve my destiny.
What Does Jesus say about the purpose of HIS church? Well, in the text that we're going to explore, Jesus explains to His disciples then and NOW what the sole, primary, main, and chief purpose of the church ought to be.
Let's look together at what is often referred to as, "The Great Commission".
That's right, Matthew 28:16-20. Matthew 28 verse 16 states, "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them".
This 68-70-mile trip from Jerusalem to Galilee would take at least 17 hrs. on foot, even longer if they had to go around Samaria.
Matthew 28, verse 17 states, "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted".
After they (i.e., the disciples and others who followed them) arrived at the designated spot, there was a mixed reaction when they saw Jesus, some worshiped and Some doubted.
The "Some" that worshipped were the 11 disciples and the "Some" that doubted were those who had joined the 11 disciples on their Journey to the Galilean mountain and had not yet seen the risen Christ. In fact, this mountaintop gathering is what Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians15:6 where he says that Christ was seen by over 500 witnesses at one time.
Matthew 28 verse 18 states, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth".
Jesus declares to this crowd in light of His resurrection that God the Father has bestowed on Him absolute, sovereign lordship over all. The Apostle Paul writes concerning Christ's exaltation, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:9-11). The idea behind the word"name" is NOT a title, but "authority". Jesus' authority is above EVERY authority. One day at the Authority of Christ EVERY knee is going to bow and Every tongue is going to confess that He is Lord. Can you see it? Jesus is going to make men bow to and confess His Lordship to the Glory of the Father.
Because Jesus has sovereign authority over all, He, therefore, has the absolute right to tell his followers what to do. According to verse 19, Jesus, the Lord, in fact, tells his followers what they should do, what they should be about:
"......make disciples......"
There are 4 important things about disciple-making that verses 19-20 unfold for us, and I'd like to add a fifth.
FIRST, The COMMAND for disciple-making. Inverse 19 do you see the phrase, "make disciples" (depending on your translation). In the Greek language, this phrase is classified as an Aorist, Imperative verb. This kind of verb communicates the idea of a direct command. Jesus is NOT giving his followers a suggestion or an option. Rather He's giving his followers a "Binding command". Jesus, in essence, is telling His Followers, "This is what I want you to do, this is what I want you to be about. This is what I want you to spend your time, talent and treasure doing.
".... Make disciples......."
SECOND, The TARGET of disciple-making. In verse 19 note the phrase "....of all nations...."
This phrase clearly indicates who we are to be making disciples of, "All Humanity". Disciple-making is not to be confined to our churches or our group, it is to be done "out there"(among those who cross your path on the daily). There is no greater Missions mandate found in Scripture than this passage.
****Remember, this is a sovereign command*******
THIRD, the PROCESS of disciple-making. What I love about our Lord is that whatever He commands, He ALWAYS gives instructions about How to carry the command out. The "How" of making disciples is derived from 3 participles found in verses 19-20. Real quick grammar lesson. Participles are words that describe or define the verb. In the case of this text, the main verb (i.e., the main action) of Matthew 28:16-20 is the phrase, "Make disciples". The three participles that instruct HOW to make disciples are:"Go", "Baptize" and "Teach". We can summarize these three participles and thus the disciple-making process under TWO Key steps:
STEP ONE (Evangelism)
The idea of EVANGELISM is seen in the word "Go". The thought behind the word "Go" concerns placing ourselves in the path of sinners so that we can clearly and accurately proclaim the Gospel to them. Jesus NEVER called sinners to come to us, But He did command US to go to them (cf Matt10:7; 22:9; Mark 16:15). This is the problem with the So-called "Seeker-Sensitive" movement. They are trying to get sinners to come to the church. "We will do everything in our power to make you feel warm and fuzzy and welcomed. Come and we will prove to you that Jesus is worth your time and commitment". Men, this is NOT the way of the master. This is not what Jesus commanded us to do. He calls us to go INTO the harvest, not for the harvest to come to us. I live in North Carolina. In February of 2011, EIGHT HUNDRED men gathered at a local church in Raleigh NC to talk about Education. Now don't get me wrong, Education is important. But wouldn't it have been incredible if these same 800 men had gathered to talk about Evangelism?
STEP TWO (Discipleship)
Once a person repents of his/her sin and trusts Christ as Savior, we then move to STEP TWO in the process which is (DISCIPLESHIP). Discipleship can be defined as "the art and science of teaching a Christian how to reflect in their daily lives the character and priorities of Christ". There are two important COMPONENTS to the discipleship curriculum:
The FIRST component is BAPTISM (vs 19b)
Why is Baptism important?
A. Baptism is an act of Obedience. The bible clearly teaches that all professing believers are to be water Baptized (Acts 2:38; 10:48).
B. Baptism is a public testimony. Baptism publically testifies of one's identification, union, and commitment to the person and work of Christ.
C. Baptism is the result of conversion, NOT the basis of it. We are Baptized because we're Christians, not to become Christians (Act 2:38; 8:25-39).
The SECOND component is TEACHING (vs. 20)
The question that immediately comes to mind is, "what are new and growing disciples to be taught"? Jesus states in verse 20, that new and growing disciples are to be taught, "....all the things that things that He has commanded..."
What do we possess today that contains what Jesus commanded? That's right, The SCRIPTURE. Jesus says that we must teach new and growing disciples to "OBEY" or observe the Scripture. The word "Obey" is the Greek verb "TEREO" (Teh-reh-oh) and means:
1. To Attend to carefully
2. To Guard
3. To Protect
4. To keep/fulfill
Now get this, new and growing disciples are to be taught to:
1. Attend carefully to the Scripture (cf. 2 Tim 2:15)
2. Guard and protect the Scripture (cf. 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:13-14)
3. Keep and fulfill the Scripture (cf. 1 John 2:3)
FOURTH, The PROVISION for disciple-making (vs.20) ".... Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age..."
Jesus tells His followers that when they are engaged in the critical, important, difficult work of disciple-making, they are guaranteed to have at their disposal His provision. What is that provision, you ask? It's Himself. Jesus says that"I am with you, through the Holy Spirit. Disciple-making is IMPOSSIBLE without the empowerment and provisions of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did Not promise to be with us in our building projects, or our capital campaigns or our service projects. The reason why many churches aren't experiencing the manifest, miraculous power and presence of God is that they aren't about the Master's business of disciple-making.
FIFTH, The BENEFITS of disciple-making
Men, when we truly understand that disciple-making is why we exist as the body of Christ, we inherit three (3) wonderful benefits:
1. DIRECTION: As a body of believers, we know where we're going, we know what our agenda should be.
2. COURAGE: We won't deviate in the face of opposition or changing times.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY: The Church is NOT ours to do as we please. The church is the Lord's, and we will one day give a full accounting for our stewardship.
In closing allow me to summarize some key points:
1.Disciple-making is commanded (Not an optional)
2. Disciple-making is to be the main activity of the Church (Not some side ministry)
3. Disciple-making is a two-winged plane (Evangelism and Discipleship).Churches should not focus on one above the other. BOTH should be the focus. You need both wings to fly the plane.
4. The Divine curriculum for discipleship is Baptism and Scripture.
5. Evangelism is for the Sinner and Discipleship is for the believer. Don't get these mixed up. "You can't evangelize saints and you can't disciple sinners" (TM)
6. Disciple-making is impossible without Christ (i.e. The empowerment of theHoly Spirit).
7. Disciple-making comes with God's divine seal of approval and blessing.
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