Sermon Tone Analysis

“Jesus came and said to [the disciples], ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’’”

[1]

Our Great Commander issued a binding order that has never been rescinded—make disciples of all nations.

If we are not personally making disciples, we are AWOL in the battle for life.

Though discipleship is often discussed within the Christian community, it is not often practised.

If discipleship were practised, each professing Christians would be a disciple-maker, and disciples would multiply!

A recent news item suggests, “Religion may become extinct in nine nations.”

[2] Our own nation of Canada is one of the nine nations studied.

The news cited studies reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas and published earlier this year.

[3] It is doubtful that religion will become extinct now or in the future.

There will be a most vigorous religion promoted and practised during the reign of the antichrist preceding and continuing throughout the Great Tribulation.

Though religion will likely change dramatically during coming days, I remain quite confident that the Faith will continue until Christ returns.

In our world today, many people claim to be “spiritual”; but too often there is no evidence that they are “saved.”

People call themselves “Christian”; but they remain largely unchurched.

People use the church to mark transitions—one wag has said that modern Canadians are “hatched, matched and dispatched” in a church; but those same people do not support the labours of the churches.

People expect the church to be available for them in times of distress; but they do not attend the services.

The pastor is expected to be hail-fellow, well met, praying at every turtle race that comes to town.

One can observe throughout contemporary society a generalised spiritual malaise (otherwise recognised as “rot”) that is manifested in a failure of commitment.

Increasingly, couples choose to test marriage through living together without making a commitment to one another.

The result is an exaggerated divorce rate.

Vows declared before the altar of God during marriage ceremonies apparently mean little since the divorce rate among professing Christian couples matches the divorce rate among non-Christians.

Even patriotism, love of one’s country, has taken a beating.

We have raised a generation of “world citizens” who don’t believe their culture has any redeeming value; they are unwilling to sacrifice to ensure a brighter future for their fellow citizens.

Christendom, also, has suffered from the same deficit of commitment.

The call to commitment is seldom proclaimed from the pulpit.

Rather, we hear the benefits of being a Christian.

We do not hear the call that George Verwer once issued for believers to “Come!

Live! Die!” Consequently, individuals willing to enjoy the benefits of salvation without commitment to Christ disproportionately occupy the pews of the churches.

Evidence for this is seen in the refusal of professed Christians to identify as belonging to Christ; they will not receive baptism, but they insist on being counted as Christians.

MAKE DISCIPLES — As disciples of the Risen Lord, we are responsible to disciple others.

This is a task for all Christians—not only for a few.

“Too much and too little have often been made of this observation.

Too much is made of it when the disciples’ ‘going’ is overly subordinated, so that Jesus’ charge is to proselytize merely where one is.

Too little is made of it when all attention is centered on the command to ‘go,’ as in countless appeals for missionary candidates, so that foreign missions are elevated to a higher status of Christian service than other forms of spiritual activity.

To ‘make disciples “of all nations” does require many people to leave their homelands, but Jesus’ main focus remains on the task of all believers to duplicate themselves wherever they may be.”

[4]

Discipleship begins with the Gospel, and continues with baptism and teaching.

Without exception, each follower of the Lord Jesus has received the charge to disciple.

The verb translated into English as “make disciples” commands a kind of evangelism that does not stop after someone makes a profession of faith.

The subordinate participles in VERSE 19 explain that making disciples involves “baptising” and “teaching” obedience to all of Jesus’ commandments.

The first of these will be a once-for-all, decisive initiation into the Christian community; the second proves a perennially incomplete, life-long task.

It is on the basis of this Great Commission that we baptise believers, though this is not the only basis for restricting baptism to those who openly confess faith in the Son of God.

The basis for discipling those who have faith in Christ is the authority that has been granted to our Risen Lord.

Jesus began his instruction to His disciples with this affirmation: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” [VERSE 18].

Immediately before Jesus spoke those delightful words inviting the weary and fatigued to find rest in Him, He gave thanks to the Father.

Listen to His blessing.

“I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will.”

Then He affirmed that the Father had entrusted all things to Him. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father” [MATTHEW 11:25-27a].

This truth is iterated in JOHN 3:35 and JOHN 13:3.

Whatever can be meant by the term “all things?”

Jesus has received “authority over all flesh; to give eternal life to all whom” the Father has given Him [see JOHN 17:2].

We know that He has received “authority on earth to forgive sins” [MATTHEW 9:6].

The Master has been granted “authority to execute judgment” [JOHN 5:27].

According to one writer of Scripture, everything has been put in subjection to Him; in fact, “He left nothing outside His control” [see HEBREWS 2:8].

We should rightly conclude that such far-reaching authority can mean only one thing—Jesus Christ is Master over all mankind.

Whether man accepts His mastery or whether man rejects that mastery is of small moment—Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

On that great Pentecost day, Peter declared, “let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” [ACTS 2:36].

This truth is echoed by Paul in ROMANS 14:9.

“Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

Repeatedly, the Apostle to the Gentiles emphasises the point that God has appointed Jesus Christ as ruler over all mankind and over all things.

“[God] worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as Head over all things to the church” [EPHESIANS 1:20-22].

“God … highly exalted [Jesus] and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father” [PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11].

I stress the point of the reign of Christ Jesus as the One appointed by the Father with authority to give eternal life, with authority to forgive sin, with authority to execute judgement, with authority over the church, because His reign lies at the heart of the charge that He issued to those who are called by His Name.

I cite ROMANS 10:9, 10 as a concluding passage each week: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

To confess that Jesus is Lord without obeying His command is to deny with our life what we confess with our lips.

This question confronts all disciples.

“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you” [LUKE 6:46]?

To call Him Lord without accepting His authority to command my service is cause for concern.

One statement Jesus made should disturb the casual confessor.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” [MATTHEW 7:21-23].

Are you a Christian?

Then you are responsible to make disciples.

Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” [MATTHEW 12:30].

I stress the truth that there is no such thing as an inactive church member—you are either sharing in the work of discipleship, or you are opposed to the work Christ assigned His people.

Either you are a worker, or you are a shirker.

The expectation for all who are discipled is that they will “go.”

This does not mean that only those who are missionaries “go.”

Matthew frequently uses “go” as an introductory circumstantial participle that is rightly translated as coordinate to the main verb—here “Go … and make.”

In MATTHEW 2:8, Herod instructs the Magi to “go and search diligently” for the child.

The Pharisees sought to embarrass Jesus by asking why His disciples did not keep their law, and the Master responded by challenging them, “Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” [MATTHEW 9:13].

Questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist as to whether He was the expected Messiah or not, Jesus replied, “Go and tell John what you hear and see” [MATTHEW 11:4].

When Jesus says, “Go … and make disciples,” it must be obvious that disciples are to be engaged in the task of making disciples.

This is not a task restricted to “specialists,” but rather it is the task assigned to each Christian.

As a child of the Living God, as a believer in the Risen Son of God, you are responsible to disciple others.

The way in which you are to disciple others is outlined by two activities that are shared by all who are members of the Body of Christ.

Those who are to be discipled are to be baptised and taught, and each Christians is responsible to participate in this great work.

BAPTISING THEM — Discipleship begins with open confession; and the means Christ has designated as the initial confession is for the disciple to identify with Him in baptism.

That only disciples are to be baptised becomes evident from a review of Scripture.

A parallel passage presenting this same Commission to believers is found in Mark’s Gospel.

“[Jesus] said to [His disciples], Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” [MARK 16:15, 16].

Matthew speaks of those baptised as disciples, Mark refers to them as believers.

According to the rules of language, disciples are believers.

To speak of one as a believer is to acknowledge the starting point of the association with Christ.

To speak of one as being a disciple is to confess that life-long, continuing relationship of Christ with those who follow Him.

Jesus commands the Apostles first to teach all nations; then, when they are taught, they are to be baptised; after that, those baptised are to be taught to give obedience to all that Christ taught.