The Task at Hand | Matthew 28:19

Matthew 28:19

If goal of the Church is Worship, the mission of the church is to be and make disciples who learn and worship Christ.

And it involves two things that are inseparably connected.

Evangelism and Discipleship—Discipleship is really the umbrella term that encompasses both evangelism and the growth that happens when disciples are taught and nurtured.

Thus, we need to conclude that evangelism and discipleship are not separate things. Discipleship is NOT a class, it’s not a program as if you join a 12 week discipleship course and then you’ve officially been “Discipled.” No, discipleship is the life-long road that includes conversion and the post conversion baptism, teaching, and growing. It includes preaching Christ to the non-christian that they become a disciple who worships Christ. And not to be pitted up against this, is the ongoing mission of the church holding out Christ to the christian so that they are conformed to the image of Christ in their character. Again, it’s to reach that goal of maturing as worshipers of Jesus to the glory of God the Father.

This happens primarily on the Lord’s Day through the means of grace AND through life-on-life fellowship and prayers from the people of God throughout the week. Because the church is an organism AND and institution, Disciples are not made unless we have BOTH.

Evangelism and discipleship together form the mission of the church. The church exists to proclaim Christ crucified and risen, to baptize and to teach, to make disciples in every nation. - Emily Brockhoff

When it comes to Making disciples of all nations as seen here in our text, there are two tendencies or temptations that Christians have had. First, we overly individualize the great commission. We hear go, and we hear this paragraph as an individual commission. As if every individual Christian is meant fulfill this in their own personal ways.

Or second, we can make it overly corporate and leave this whole commission in the hands of the trained profession, I.e. Pastors and leaders and we sit on the sidelines.

Both of these Mindsets miss the goal posts.

On the one hand, one person, one church member alone cannot fulfill the great commission. When we say “You, Christian must be going! You must be making disciples!” We don’t believe that. Not really anyway. We expect the single mother with 4 kids in the forth row to go, and baptize and teach new converts until Christ returns? That becomes promlematic rather quickly. Rather, it’s given to the corporate local church. We know this because of what Matthew says in vs 16 and what Jesus says in verse 20. Who were the original recipients? Answer: the apostles. And Ephesians 2:20 tells us the foundation of the church was the apostles and prophets. The Apostles were the first to be sent when the NT church was birthed in the book of Acts. And then Jesus speaks to them as if they would be alive till He returns “Behold I am with you always”—But we know that all of these apostles died. Notice, this is a corporate calling—the Apostles, who were the foundation of the church, had a calling, and that calling remained after they died so that their calling is our calling.

So it’s a corporate mission and but to overemphasize that can create spectators, forgetting that God desires to use us to further His eternal purposes. Each part of the body of Christ contributes to the going, the baptizing, the teaching, all in different, but crucial ways. The Apostle Paul agreed with this did he not? What did we read last week? Ephesians 4:15–16 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

I'm very thankful for this series, sister. I'm preaching through the great commission on Sundays right now. I hope to learn from this resource!

Quick thought: I think the reason those catechisms you mention don't address "discipleship" is because discipleship seems to be the backdrop upon which they write--which you sort of allude to when you touched the purpose behind catechisms in general. I think, though they don't use the terms, the catechisms address discipleship when they speak of the ordinary means of grace.

This definitely helps me think through discipleship more holistically. Either people speak of discipleship ONLY happening in personal mentorships in the church, or they speak of EVERYTHING being discipleship, enabling Christians to sit on the sidelines. So either, too narrow or too broad. But both-and can be helpful when we speak of discipleship like a trellis or a structure, or a pathway.

Let me know your thoughts on this for my sermon this upcoming Sunday and if you feel I should add anything:

Discipleship is happening when God's Word shapes these 5 spheres:

1. The Lord's Day- The ordinary means of grace (Word & Sacrament & Prayer) and training in doctrine is the "fountainhead" of discipleship.

2. The house-to house- Like Jesus with His 12, those living life together and deepening in “Fellowship” (Acts 2:42) around the gospel through hospitality.

3. A culture of personal mentoring- Mature believers in the church helping the less mature grow in Christ through frequent Bible reading, fellowship, confession, and prayer (James 5, Titus 2).

4. Raising up leaders- The “entrusting to faithful men” what has been learned so that elders are appointed (2 Timothy 2; Titus 1)

5. Reaching the world- Evangelism, church planting, sending missionaries, which cycles back to #1 and funnels back down.