Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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.” (Matthew 28:16 – 20)
Before he ascended to Heaven, Jesus gave his disciples a command to go into the world and make disciples. This passage (commonly known as “The Great Commission”) is the primary text cited for modern evangelism; however, modern evangelism really misses the mark. What exactly is the Great Commission, and what is it not? What’s wrong with the modern approach to evangelism, and how do we fix it?
What The Great Commission is
Make Disciples
The foundation of the great commission is making disciples. So, what’s a disciple?
μαθητεύσατε (mathēteusate) – To become a pupil, to become one who receives teachings and instructions. It’s used in Matthew 28:19 to mean “go make students and teach them”.
The word translated “disciple” in verse 19 is from the Greek word μανθάνω (manthanó), which means to learn or understand. Manthanó includes the concept of exerting mental effort, reasoning, and thinking things through. The primary aim of the great commission is teaching people so that they know and understand the instructions of God.
Discipleship is a master and apprentice relationship. The apprentice (disciple) studies under a master (teacher) to gain the knowledge and understanding of God’s word. The goal of discipleship is for the apprentice to become a master and repeat the process. Jesus’ disciples spent three years learning from him and, in the end, they were ready to go into the world and make more disciples.
Baptize Disciples
Having learned the instructions and commandments of God, a disciple is then able to make a decision to follow God or not. To join the people of God or not. If a disciple understands the faith and wants to be a part of it, then he or she is to be formally brought into the faith.
Βαπτίζω (baptizo) – to immerse or submerge
To baptize is to ritually immerse a disciple underwater to initiate him or her into the faith. The great commission instructs us to baptize believing-disciples in the authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In doing so, the disciple is submitting to Messiah’s authority, expressing belief in the faith, and identifying with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Because baptism requires that one know, understand, believe, and make a decision, baptism is not for infants. An infant doesn’t know or understand the faith. An infant can’t express a desire to come into the faith. An infant can’t make a decision to accept or reject God’s word. And, it’s generally not safe to fully submerge an infant underwater.
Teach Disciples to Obey God
The final part of the great commission is to teach disciples to obey God. If one has understood the instructions and commandments of God, made a decision to follow God, and fully come into the faith…he or she should then put it into actual practice.
The purpose of salvation is not merely to escape God’s punishment and take His blessings. The reason the Son of God sacrificed himself for our atonement is for us to turn away from Lawlessness, be restored to the Father, then go and sin no more. God wants us to become Lawful citizens of His coming kingdom.
What the Great Commission is Not
Appeal to Fear and Desire
Common presentations of the Gospel focus on two things: Appealing to desire and driving people with fear.
Appealing to desire can include:
The desire to be chosen and special
The desire to receive blessing and enrichment
The desire to be loved
Appealing to fear can include:
The fear of being tortured forever in a ghostly netherworld
The fear of being rejected and cursed
The fear of running out of time
To some extent there is truth contained in these appeals to desire and fear. God does love us, and He does want to bless us. There is a death penalty for Lawlessness and rebellion against God, and our time is short. But, Messiah did not instruct us to play on people’s emotions or appeal to people’s wishes and fears. We’re supposed to teach people the whole truth of God’s word so they can come to a decision.
Lead Converts to Recite a Prayer
Many evangelists today aim towards getting people to verbalize a belief in Jesus then recite a “believer’s prayer”. A “believer’s prayer” is commonly structured as “accepting Jesus as one’s personal savior” or “inviting Jesus into one’s heart”. This is not what Messiah told us to do.
Many people recite a “believer’s prayer” without really understanding anything of God and His word. Many “churches” are full of people who agreed they want to be blessed, agreed they don’t want to be tortured forever, and recited a structured prayer…all without understanding the most foundational truths of the Bible. These people are not trained disciples in accordance with the great commission.
Messiah didn’t tell us to go into the world and convince people to invite him into their lives. We are told to go into the world teaching people, bringing informed students into the faith, and continuing to teach them to obey and put the faith into practice. Unfortunately, many people in “church” neglect these things but are convinced they’re “saved” because one time in their past they believed and recited a prayer.
Convince Converts to Feel Secure
Having gotten people to verbally state agreement and recite a prayer, many modern evangelists then convince converts to believe in “eternal security”. The doctrine is once you receive the status of “saved” it’s impossible to lose that status. Basically, you’ve got a ticket to ride so don’t worry about it. That works in a Beatles song, but it’s not the great commission.
“Once saved, always saved” actually undermines Messiah’s command to teach disciples to obey everything he taught. When people buy in to the idea they’ve arrived and are guaranteed a favorable outcome, they often become complacent. If the goal is to “get saved”, and one did “get saved”, what more is there to strive for? We’ve already hit the goal and gotten the prize, right? Why worry about sinning if one is convinced he or she can never be separated from God? Why scrutinize ourselves against the standard of scripture if it’s all been done on our behalf and nothing we do will be held against us going forward?
Making people feel secure in their current state is not a teaching to obey God and do what He requires. It’s not a teaching for disciples to grow, mature, and become the next generation of masters. It’s not what Jesus commissioned us to do to people.
The Problem
Many converts go to “church” or “small group” but never genuinely understand, believe, or obey the instructions and commandments of God. Jesus said many such converts are deluded; they think they professed him to be their Lord, they think they served him, and they expect to be secure on the day of judgement. But, Jesus said they never really had any relationship with him at all because they practiced a lifestyle of Lawlessness with no desire or intent to change. (Matthew 7:21-23)
We’re commissioned to teach, to raise up, and to prepare people to become masters. Salvation is just the first step in the process, it’s not the final goal. The goal is to obey God, be the kind of people He wants to live with forever, and prepare for Messiah’s return.
The problem with deviating from the great commission is twofold:
1. We’re disobeying Messiah by not doing what he instructed. This should be seen as a very serious offense by anyone who professes to believe Messiah and rely on him for salvation.
2. It doesn’t work. We can have buildings full of converts who recited the “believer’s prayer” and got wet without truly knowing Jesus at all. We can have buildings full of converts who make no growth, produce no fruit, and will be least in the Kingdom of Heaven if they get in at all.
The Solution
We have to change our mindset and our approach to evangelism.
We have to want to obey Messiah and make disciples the way he said to.
We have to stop making it our goal to convince people to recite a prayer and start making it our goal to raise up the next generation of masters.
We have to be willing to turn away many converts in favor of having a few disciples.
We must teach people the full truth, and if they don’t want it then they don’t want it. It’s their decision to make, and we’re not doing anyone any favors by watering down the truth and making them feel secure in their ignorance.
Conclusion
Consider the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40.
The eunuch had an interest in following God. He went to Jerusalem to worship God. He had a copy of scripture and read it. But, he didn’t understand the scriptures because he was uninstructed. The problem for the Ethiopian Eunuch was a lack of a master to instruct him. The remedy was to receive instruction, then he believed and was baptized.
Consider the household of Cornelius in Acts 10.
Cornelius was already inclined to seek God and obey Him, but he lacked knowledge. Peter began by acknowledging all people are acceptable to God if they fear Him and do what is right. Then, Peter instructed Cornelius’ household on Jesus as Messiah and they believed and received God’s Spirit. Right away, they were baptized.
People need to learn and understand the truth before they can genuinely agree with it and choose to follow it. To skip the step of adequately teaching God’s truth is to deviate from Messiah’s commission and make mere converts of the nations.
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