18 Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 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 28:18-20]
I've been thinking about what it means to be/to make disciples recently or, as it is sometimes known, Discipleship.
I guess the first clues are even in the passage. Baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Let's look at each part a bit closer
Baptised: This is a public confession of faith, coming to a point where they want to be part of THE and A church.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: This isn't some wishy washy theist belief that there may be some far of God who never interacts with people and doesn't care about us. This is a belief in the Father and creator of the Earth from Genesis, Belief in the Son who came into our midst, was like us, face our problems, took on our sin and Conquered death. The Holy Spirit who is our helper, who was sent and gives us the power to carry out this commission, he washes us clean, is the sign that we have been saved and the assurance of the life to come.
Teaching them: It isn't about converting and that's it, we still need to learn more about God, his ways, his words through out history.
Obeying everything: As Francis Chan once said, when he tells his daughter to tidy her room, he doesn't want her to come back an hour later and tell him that she remembered what he said and can even say it in Greek, He wants her to tidy her room. Discipleship is about not just learning but obeying.
This isn't a conclusive post on Discipleship [many books have been published on this subject]
What do you think of this check list? How are far are you along it?
