I’m a Christian. What now?

Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB95)

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

성경전서 개역개정판 (28장)

18 예수께서 나아와 말씀하여 이르시되 하늘과 땅의 모든 권세를 내게 주셨으니19 그러므로 너희는 가서 모든 민족을 제자로 삼아 아버지와 아들과 성령의 이름으로 세례를 베풀고20 내가 너희에게 분부한 모든 것을 가르쳐 지키게 하라 볼지어다 내가 세상 끝날까지 너희와 항상 함께 있으리라 하시니라

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Submit to Christ (28:18)

i. Verse 18 helps us to see the authority in which Jesus is speaking. This passage is after the resurrection and the disciples were told to go to Galilee (28:7). The disciples listen to Him and head to Galilee (28:16) and when they saw Him, they worshipped Him but some doubted. This is an interesting phrase here to see that some of Jesus’s disciples, maybe not the twelve, but others who came, doubted Him.

ii. This sets up the context for Jesus in verse 18. Jesus states verse 18 by stating that all authority has been given to Him in Heaven and on earth. Jesus makes it clear here that all must submit to Him. We see all throughout the Gospels that Jesus has authority to forgive sins and to save his people (Matt. 1:1, 17, 21; 2:2; 7:29; 8:9; 9:6–8; 10:1; 11:27; 21:23). Jesus demonstrates his authority by word and deed. It seems that the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus amount to a permanent transfiguration of sorts (17:1–8). The glory seen by the disciples at the transfiguration has become the permanent mode of Jesus’s life as the exalted Son of Man.

iii. Here, we see Jesus give clearly that all are under His authority. God had given Him full authority and now He came to His disciples to tell them of the task at hand. But the amazing part about this is that Jesus states His authority before commissioning the disciples. Jesus states His authority to show His disciples that not only are they to do what He tells them, but that He would be with them so they can accomplish it (28:20).

b. Replicate Disciples (28:19-20)

i. Verse 19 starts with Jesus’s command. Upon stating His authority, Jesus gives His command. This is a common text for all believers in Christ, but there is much confusion in this text.

ii. I titled this sermon, I’m a Christian, what now for this very reason. Many people might understand what it means to be a Christian. But the question is, what now? What am I supposed to do? New believers and veteran believers seem to be confused about this point. What do I mean by this?

iii. Well the question is, what is the greatest purpose of the believer? If I ask you what is the purpose of the believer? What is the purpose of the church? The default answer is, to glorify God. Yes, that is true. But the question is, how is God glorified by the church? Do we just sit there and twirl our thumbs? Many answers can be said from worship to evangelism, to preaching, to attending church. Whatever your answer is, it is correct, but it is also wrong.

iv. If I ask you, what is the sole purpose, the primary purpose of the church? If the sole primary purpose of the church is to glorify God, how is that done? It is through the preaching of the Word, to evangelize, but more specifically, to make disciples.

v. Notice what Jesus tells us in verse 19. Jesus says go and make disciples. This is where people say that they don’t have the gift of evangelism. We think to ourselves that we are not good speakers and think that there are other more talented people to do the work of evangelism. But what Jesus is telling the church is, not some people, not people with gifts, everyone, you, go and make disciples of all nations.

vi. When we look at our own selves, we will all shy away from sharing the Gospel. The reality is everyone hates to be ignored or be awkward around others. We hate rejection. But this verse tells us something. It tells all Christians to go and make disciples. You see the primary function of the church is to make disciples. The disciples’ central responsibility is to reproduce themselves. Why? Because God is glorified through the redemption of sinners. The greatest display of God’s glory is when dead men and women come back to life in Christ.

vii. But how are we to make disciples? Jesus tells us to look at the authority of Christ and baptize them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism comes first because baptism represents that the believer is now in the family of God. Jesus is saying that if someone is a born again believer, they must be baptized to show that they have died and come alive in Christ. That is what Baptism stands for.

viii. So what does it mean to make disciples? It means to teach them to observe all the things God has commanded them to do. This is my favorite part of this passage because it tells us that we are to be taught. We must learn what we are to do. We must be taught who we are in Christ. We must be taught the deep things of salvation. Simply put, we must be taught the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ but it doesn’t end there. We must teach them to know and observe the commandments.

ix. More often than not, we think that making disciples is simply teaching people the Bible. We think that making disciples is really about making decisions. We want people to know things about Christ and when we ask them questions, we want them to answer the questions with the answers we have taught them. While that is important, Jesus makes the point that they must know to observe. You see, they must be taught to keep the commandments.

x. When I look at church programs, I see a lot of this. I see programs simply to help people think that they are Christians. We have Bible studies, we have Sunday worship to show people that if you believe these things and do these things, you are a Christian. Knowing everything in the Bible is great but that doesn’t mean we are saved. Jesus makes it clear that we must observe and obey the commandments. Why is this such a difficult thing? Because it means that I have to do this first.

xi. So what’s the difference between teaching and discipleship making? You see teaching and disciple making are different. Teaching is simply transferring information for people to know. But discipleship is teaching someone by doing the very thing you are teaching them. Disciple making is not simply the transferring of knowledge. It is the mirroring of a life. This is often said about the Christian faith, that the Christian faith is not simply a body of knowledge, but that it is a lifestyle.

xii. Many of our churches love to teach. But not many of our churches like to make disciples. Jesus is calling us to make disciples. He is calling us to love the Lord first, then go and make disciples, that they might love the Lord the way you do. The important statement here is, they must learn from watching you. We must model this to our people.

xiii. All of this may sound burdening. It almost sounds impossible to do it. We can be discouraged by it. This is why these instructions are followed by the best statement in all of the Great Commission. It is the fact that Christ will be with us till the very end. Christ tells us that we are to teach and have people observe all the commandments, but He will also be with us so that we can teach them and enable them to observe and obey the commandments.

xiv. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned during my life as a Christian is that truth is never apart from experience. The problem becomes when experience is above truth. But when experience is below truth, that is what causes us and allows us to live the Christian life. Truth is what gives us conviction which is what allows us to observe God’s commands and obey. But conviction can only come about with experience. How does conviction form in our lives? When we see the hand of God working in our lives, when we see God answer our prayers. When we see the Word of God come to life in our lives. Discipleship can only happen when we experience the work of God in our lives. You see we can’t make disciples because someone tells us to make disciples, even if Jesus told us to make disciples. This reveals to us our own heart. The only time we can make disciples is when we experience it for ourselves.

xv. This is what enabled the disciples to follow Christ. It was when they heard His teaching and experienced the miracles for themselves. How can we experience God working in our lives? When we trust that God is the one who is working in us and the people we are discipling.

3. CONCLUSION