Called to Discipleship
Matthew 28:19
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
It is extremely hard to convince Christians and especially Pentecostals, that the Church was never called to save souls but to preach the gospel. The saving of souls is the work of the Holy Spirit.
So, the question would then be what have we been called to do?
Well, I am glad you asked.
Jesus tells His disciples in Acts 1:8
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
1. CALLED TO BE WITNESSES
First and foremost, we are called to be witnesses to Jesus, we are to declare to the world the good news of what Jesus has done for us. In sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, through words, our attitudes, our actions, and our reverence towards God.
2 Timothy 4: 1-2
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
We tell the world the Good News by preaching the Word. Paul continues in verse 5 and says.
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
To evangelise or witness is to share the gospel, share the good news to those who are far away from God that they may be brought near by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul goes on to tell the Corinthian Church how important it is to preach the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:16
16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!
Jesus puts this way
Mark 16: 15
Go into all the world and preach the gospel. to every creature.
Luke 24: 47
And that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name to all nations.
John 20:21
As the father has sent me so have, I sent you.
Luke 19:10
The son of man has come to seek the lost. We are called to be disciples
2. CALLED TO MAKE DISCIPLES
We are not called to build the church of Jesus Christ but to make disciples.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
The call and commission of Jesus to His Church is to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all nations. He has promised to build His Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Jesus will build His Church, the more we try to build His Church, the less effective the Church becomes. We are called to make disciples. If we put all our efforts into making disciples, I believe the Church will become more effective. The Church will experience God’s power in an unprecedented scale and way.
WHAT IS DISCIPLESHIP?
Discipleship is the reproduction of Christ in others. When a person comes to the Lord by the grace of God, we are called to disciple them.
Christian We as disciples are called to imitate our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Paul, Peter and Jesus have this to say about discipleship.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
1 Peter 2:21
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”.
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.
Jesus Himself has this to say in:
John 13:15-16
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
I will want us to look at verse 16 again, we can never be greater than Jesus who sent us. We are called to be like Him not better than He is. The whole ethos of discipleship is to be imitators of Christ.
1. To live continuously by the Word of Christ. In Matthew 28:20 this is what Jesus said to His disciples before His ascension.
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. We as disciples are called to teach others what He has commanded us. Teaching them to observe His teachings, while observing them ourselves.
2. We are called to live a life that is submitted to Jesus. A life of surrender to Christ
In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
3. We as disciples no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again. We as disciples are called to live a sacrificial life for Jesus where we put Him first
Luke 14: 25 – 26, 33
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said
to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he
has cannot be My disciple.
4. Disciples have been called to bear fruit, as we walk together with Him our master Jesus.
John 15:4 and 16
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
5. We as disciples have been called to live a life of sacrificial love for others.
John 13:34-34
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
6. We as disciples are to be committed to the great commission. We are commanded to make disciples of all nations.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
What the Church has been called to, is to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.
Further readings
Matthew 4: 18-20, Matthew 16:24, Mark 16:15,
Luke 6: 40, Like 14:33, John 8:31-32, John 13:34-35, John 15:16-17, Acts 11:26, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Ephesians 4:16, 1 Peter 2:21, 1 John 3:2
