JUST THINKING: The Ministry of Discipleship

      I was just thinking about how extremely important the ministry of discipleship is. In the early church, the members were called disciples. Our Lord’s Great Commission was for believers to make disciples — “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19 NIV). Making disciples is the very important task of evangelism. We might say gather disciples.

      We should pay close attention to the next verse of that Great Commission — “and teachingthem to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). The definition of a disciple is alearner. We would use the term student.

First Things First

         The Great Commission applies to every believer in Jesus Christ. Each of us has the responsibility of taking the gospel to our world—across the street, in the office, on the golf course and in the home. Too often, church members want to send the gospel around the world and not takeit to their world.

      Before any of us can be good disciple-makers, we must first become disciples. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). Just becoming a believer in Christ does not make one a teacher. Every believer needs to study God’s Word, both under the tutelage of another and in one’s personal study. That is why the apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé, Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).

      Teaching God’s Word brings much responsibility. One who has disciples under his or her care must not rest on what he learned years ago alone. That teacher must always be studying the Bible in order to be better able to prepare those who have asked questions that may have application to this generation. Our personal opinions may be expressed, but those opinions need to match up with what God’s Word actually says.

How to Know What a Disciple Needs

      With few exceptions, Jesus taught by answering the questions of His disciples, as well as others who might not have been true believers. If one is a Sunday School teacher, he or she needs to listen to what the pupils, young or old, are asking. If that teacher doesn’t know the answer, he should not just pass it off, but tell the class he will try to have a scriptural answer at the next time of meeting.

      Parents are some of the most important teachers, although many of them will never stand behind a pulpit or lectern. One of the greatest classrooms for discipling others is the home. I have long said that the most important task parents have is to see that their children know the way to Heaven. Children trust their dads and moms more than anyone. Parents, listen to you children. Remember, no one has taught until someone has learned.

Disciples Should Teach Disciples Who Will Teach Disciples

         For three years, Paul was in the desert being discipled by the Holy Spirit. He learned that he was to teach others. Among those were two young men — Titus and Timothy. Here is what Paul said to Timothy: “And the things you have heard me say to in the presence of many witness entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others” (II Tim. 2:2).

      Just think, the salvation of the apostle Paul led to him teaching others, and those who learned from him taught others. That wonderful work of evangelism and discipleship has, for centuries, been carried on — reaching to Europe, and then to the Eastern shore of the United States. Settlers pushed westward, but they did not fail to make disciples and then they taught them to teach others. The result, we who are alive in 2024 now have the responsibility to make disciples and to teach them everything our Lord has taught. And His promise remains: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).