Are We Making Disciples of All Nations?
Are we “making disciples of all nations,” or “are we making nations of all nations?”
In Matthew 28:18-20 the Great Commission is given,
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” NASB
It is here the church gets its marching orders, a few participles, an imperative (command), and a promise from Christ.
The question of the hour is are we the (Church) “making disciples of all nations.”
Let’s look at a comparison of how they made disciples in the Bible (THEN) with how most disciples are made (NOW).
COMPARISONS:
World of Making Disciples (THEN) Western Discipleship (NOW)
- Hebrew way—doing, action Hellenistic way—thinking, words, ideas
- More concrete More abstract
- Integrated context is understood Most context is missing
- Emphasis on consistent behavior Much more of an emphasis on ideas
- Concerned with right doing Concerned with right thinking
- Desire to be a disciple Often content to just “believe” in Jesus
- About integration and synthesis About analysis, categorization
- Memorized Scriptures Widespread biblical illiteracy
- Submit to rabbi’s interpretation Create my own interpretation of the text
- Focus on developing discernment Lack of critical-thinking skills
- Live life in a community Functional lone rangers
We see in the comparison chart (THEN) that the Biblical way of “making disciples” is living-out faith. However, in Western Discipleship we see more fans than disciples, more thinking than doing, less of a team approach, and more of a long ranger or solo approach.
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Moses affirmed the process of “living-out” the truth centuries ago when he declared:
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
With these words, Moses was not only proclaiming the truth, he was calling for a ‘lived-out’ truth — a way of life. Moses called for God’s people to both orthodoxy (right beliefs) and orthopraxy (right actions) in a way that tied the two things intrinsically together, making the truth an integrated, relational part of everyday life.
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, and it is here we see a command to love God and obey God, which is a principle to “live-out” our faith in Christ.
Finally, we’re supposed to be “making disciples of all nations,” not nations of all nations.
Time won’t allow for an exhaustive study of the topic or subject. For further information please refer to the resource.
Sources: the KINGDOM LIFE, A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation by Dallas Willard, Bruce Demarest, Bill Hull, and others
