The Forgotten Command

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV)

I recall conducting an interview several years ago with a woman interested in joining our staff.  Since discipling students will be a large focus of the position, I asked her about her experience with discipleship. She said she had never heard of it until she went to college.  This from a woman who, by her own admission, had grown up in a strong Christian home and had been involved in the church her whole life.  

Back in 1978, LeRoy Eims wrote a classic book called, The Lost Art of Disciple Making.  Obviously, it is still a lost art because most don’t understand what it is and even fewer have experienced being discipled. Instead, the emphasis of the Church has been to make converts, to “get people saved.”  The question is, saved for what?  

If it is Eternity, then we must realize it begins now.   And here’s why. Eternity is the Kingdom of God.  And the Kingdom of God is everything under God’s authority.  When we become a follower of Jesus, we submit ourselves to God’s authority, thus joining the Kingdom of God.  So, when we start to follow Jesus, Eternity begins for us.  

Discipleship is the process of learning what it means to live in the Kingdom of God; in other words, under God’s authority.  It is not something that comes naturally, as is evidenced by so many Christians who commit to Jesus and then continue to live for themselves.  

Jesus’ last command on earth was for us to make disciples, baptizing those who want to follow Him (a sign of the death of an old life and the beginning of a brand new one) and teaching them to obey all that He taught.  This is discipleship and, for much of the Church, it has been forgotten.

Today, think about how you are living your life.  Are you living it in submission to God’s authority? If not, it is time to get some help; it’s time for you to be discipled. If you are, are you passing that along to others desiring to follow Jesus?   For this is what Jesus commanded us to do—to make disciples.

© Jim Musser 2013