[This is the most recent “Feeding on the Word” article for our church newsletter].
In most Bibles, Luke’s second book is entitled, “The Acts of the Apostles.” However, as many commentators have noted, a more accurate title would be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit” because it is the Spirit who is responsible for convicting, converting, and creating the church. Yet, even this title is insufficient, because it tempts us to think that the Father and Son are absent. Thus, a better title might be, “The Acts of the Triune God Through the Church of Jesus Christ.” While lengthy, such a title rightly emphasizes God’s work in and through the early church.
With this trinitarian framework in mind, lets consider how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together in Acts to convert sinners and create the church.
Repeatedly in Scripture, God calls his people to fear, worship, and serve Him. In Exodus, Moses records that Israel is redeemed in order to serve the Lord. So does Titus 2:14, which says that Christ redeemed a people who are zealous for good works. Likewise, Paul says that those who were once slaves of sin are now slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:17-19).
These verses give us a starting place for understanding how we should serve. But we need to dig a little deeper to understand how God intends for us to serve him.
True Service Is Radically Dependent on God
First, we must serve God as those who abide in Christ. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; if a man abide in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me he can do nothing” (John 15:5). We cannot serve unless we are getting are united to him. God does not commission us to go and do great things for him. He calls us to join him in his work; he gives us his Word and his Spirit; and he expects that we would daily feed on his grace and truth.
Second, we must come to get before we give. We are leaky buckets and we need to be filled with the Spirit of God daily. Too many churches have a history of putting people in places of service prematurely, and sadly these young believers never grow up (cf. Heb 5:11-6:3). They burn out, fade out, or just eek it out. Instead, churches need to do a better job shepherding the hearts of their servants so they serve out of overflow.
Third, service is as an extension of worship. Church work should never detach itself from or replace worship. Worship must always be the fountainhead of good works. In fact, when Christians lose an appetite for worshiping God and put in its place works of service, their soul will soon shrink. And what’s worse—they may not even be aware of their deadly condition. By contrast, those who enjoy the Lord most are ready to serve—just as Psalm 100 indicates.
Psalm 100: A Hymn of God-Pleasing Service
In this hymn of praise, the Psalmist calls believers to “Make a joyful noise to the LORD!” Thus, service falls under the banner of praise and worship. Verse 2 extols: “Serve the LORD with gladness!” which presumes that joy is not self-generated but is a result of feasting on the grace of God (Ps 16:9-11; 32:11).
Verse 3 continues, “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his sheep; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” In this verse, there are a number of things that inform our service before to God.
First, you and I must “know” the Lord. This is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. We do not know God like we know long division; we know God as a lover knows his beloved. This personal knowledge requires conversation and the sweet exchange of personal knowledge. Thus, if we are to serve God rightly, it must flow from love to him.
Second, God is our maker and we are his sheep (v. 3b). We cannot serve unless he empowers and leads us. In John 10, Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, describes how his sheep “go in and out and find pasture” (v. 9). Applied to the question of service, this bucolic scene pictures God’s people feeding from the Lord and then going out to serve him. Extremes fail in both directions. Sheep who only feed grow lethargic and fat, while sheep who busy with empty-hearted service grow anemic and irritable. Service needs sustenance, and true servants learn how to live on and for God.
Third, the location of service is in the presence of God. In Israel, this was the temple courts (v. 4), but today, with God present wherever his saints gather, the location is the gathered church. Many good Christians give their attention to ministries outside the church, but rarely should these Bible studies, missions, and para-church ministries overshadow service to the local body. God has given Spiritual gifts for the upbuilding of his church (1 Cor 12:7), not other invented forms of ministry.
Last, thanksgiving is the fuel that drives God-pleasing service. Psalm 100 describes thanksgiving as both a condition and a command (v. 4). It is not an optional aspect of service; it is a requirement. When Christians do service with ungrateful hearts, they do a disservice to God and those whom they serve (cf. Deut 28:47). God’s people are a thankful people—thankful for the forgiveness and love found in Christ. Those who please God with their service are effusive in their thanksgiving.
Overall, there is no greater gift than knowing God. And by divine design, that knowledge leads to effervescent service. Sometimes suh service is hard, even painful and deadly, but on the whole, the promise of serving with God brings the greater reward of resting with Him when the age closes.
This is our calling. As you come to church this Sunday may you come thirsty for Christ, but may you also come with towel and basin ready to meet the needs of others. In embracing such service, you are not only becoming like Christ, you are pleasing your heavenly father, who has redeemed you, given good works to do, and supplied you with his Spirit to accomplish those good works. Rejoice in the Lord and perspire in his work—this is how we please God with our service.
For Your Edification is a weekly set of resources on the subjects of Bible, Theology, Ministry, and Family Life. Let me know what you think or if you have other resources that growing Christians should be aware.
BIBLE
Read the Gospels. When N. T. Wright is wrong, he is very wrong; but when he right, he is really right. And in this video, he is really right. Asked the question what legacy would you want to pass on to your children, he points them to the inimitable Jesus of the Gospels. Have a look.
What is General Revelation? Baptist Pastor, Fred Zaspel, lists a number of helpful biblical truths about General Revelation–the doctrine that describes how God has revealed himself to all humanity in nature (externally) and in human nature (internally). His outline synthesizes the truth content of passages like Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-23; Acts 14:16-17 and Acts 17:22-31. He concludes with a number of practical implications, including this last point:
Since general revelation does not provide a knowledge of God as Redeemer, it cannot be made the basis of anything more than a preparation for the gospel. General revelation cannot be viewed as a means of salvation, even to such as have never had opportunity to hear the message of salvation from sin through Christ’s incarnation, atonement, and resurrection. Only a radical new birth, in which spiritual life is imparted to those who are spiritually dead, will suffice; and such a sweeping transformation cannot be brought about by general revelation, but only by the gospel of Christ!
Meditations on the Fear of God. In the Bible fear is a complex thing. For instance, Psalm 25:14 says that “the friendship of the Lord is reserved for those who fear him.” Psalm 130:3 states, “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” And in Exodus 20:20, “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'” But, the positive outlook on fear changes in the book of 1 John, when the beloved disciple writes that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 5:18).
From these four verses alone, it is evident that knowing if and how and why we should fear God takes some serious biblical reflection. This week John Piper helps us think about a couple aspects of Goldy fear. It is not long so I have included the whole thing.
I think that when we are sinless we will still fear God in the sense of reverential, trembling awe — as when we stand on a peak before vast stretches of unscalable cliffs. And we will also fear, I suppose, in the sense of shuddering with thankfulness that we are not among the number who still dishonor God.
But the painful fear, the guilty fear, the craven fear, the humiliating fear — all such fear will one day be taken way. But only in the way God intends. And in his time. We should not be done with it in the wrong way, or too soon.”
Here is the way C. S. Lewis puts it:
Perfect love, we know, casteth out fear [1 John 4:18]. But so do several other things — ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption, and stupidity.
It is very desirable that we should all advance to that perfection of love in which we shall fear no longer; but it is very undesirable, until we have reached that stage, that we should allow any inferior agent to cast out our fear. (“The World’s Last Night” in C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, 51)
Today, Pray for the conference as it equips leaders to take the message of purity back to their churches.
Desiring God INTERNATIONAL. Have you ever met someone whose heart language is not English. With a desire to share the gospel, you feel like your are at an impasse because of the language barrier. What do you do? Well, here is a resource to know about. Desiring God has a growing list of resources translated into other languages. It takes the teaching of John Piper and puts them in the heart language of your friend. Check it out.
[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune].
What makes Good Friday good?
What is good about illegal arrests, puppet trials, executing the innocent, and setting free the guilty? Nothing. And everything. For centuries, Christians have deemed the Friday of Jesus’ death “Good Friday.” But why? How? When the day centers on death and defeat, what makes it good?
How we answer that question says so much about what we believe about God, the gospel, and our own lives. In a word, the event that makes Good Friday “good” is what happened on three days later.
When the sun went down on that fateful Friday, the disciples hid themselves from the world. On the Sabbath (Saturday), they did not move. But on the first day of the week, they awoke before dawn, walked to the place where Jesus was. And what happened next changed everything! The tomb was empty. The Lord was risen. His promises were true, and what the disciples would discover is that the worst day in history has now become the best day in history.
This historical reality has and will changed the world, and has the power to change every person who believes in it. Consider: Paul says that in comparison to the eternal weight of glory, today’s sufferings are light and momentary. While the pangs of death do not feel light and momentary, the power of the resurrection reinterprets our current pain, loss, and heartache, even as it reinterpreted Christ’s cruciform execution.
Even better, the resurrection is not just a palliative for temporary relief. It is not a best-selling strategy to make you feel better about yourself. No, the resurrection goes deeper. It tells us that life exists on the other side of death. Our best life is not now. It is later.
This is the gospel message: Jesus died on a rugged cross so that from the grave, he could raise the dead. Jesus does not help us find a way in the wilderness of life. Resurrection is not just a spiritual experience; it is a reviving flesh and blood. The broken bodies of believers buried in the ground will be raised to new life on the last day, and the goodness of Good Friday will be experienced for eternity. This is what makes Good Friday good.
This week as you prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, remember that the resurrection of Christ has the power to overturn the horrors and heartbreaks of life. Even more, the cross and resurrection of Christ secure the promise of abundant life. For all who call on the Lord will find the goodness of Good Friday to overwhelm the badness of any other day. Resurrection life is what Christ offers, and that is what is makes Good Friday good.
Last year, when the storms ripped through Joplin, I felt helpless to do anything, so I prayed and wrote. This year, when the storms came a little closer, our church was able to help and will continue to help our neighbors. Today, in the face of destruction, it was a great sight to see many local churches, Southern Seminary students, and others pitching in to help.
Keep Henryville, Indiana in prayer. Pray for Toby Jenkins and his church (First Baptist Henryville), for their ministry to the community, for the gospel to go forward, and for many whose lives have been broken to be put back together by the only power that gives life–the resurrecting message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In light of the storms that passed through Henryville, Indiana yesterday — a town located just thirty miles south of Seymour — I thought a re-post of my article reflecting on the tornadoes in Joplin last year would be appropriate: “The Words of Christ and Midwest Storms.”
The Words of Christ and Midwest Storms
When the winds raged and the waves threatened, the disciples awoke Jesus with fear in their hearts. Jesus arose, stood on the storm-tossed boat and spoke three simple words, “Peace! Be still!” The winds ceased and the storm ended faster than it came (Mark 4:39).
In that moment, the terrified fishermen were more frightened by the man in their presence with the power to subdue nature than they were of drowning under the heavy waves. God’s Son in human form had just displayed his divine power, and that with a word. On that lakeside journey, Jesus stopped the storm with a sentence. On May 22, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri and again on March 2, 2012 in Henryville, Indiana, he didn’t.
For the disciples, Jesus stopped the storm and it led to a question of his identity: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41). For the survivors in Joplin, the question is different. For them and for anyone staggering from a recent world-halting tragedy, the question is closer to that of the Psalmist, “How long oh Lord? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Ps 13:1). Because Jesus word did not stop the storm before it hit last week, there is now the need for Jesus word to come speak “Peace. Be Still.”
With such a need in mind, let me suggest four words from God’s Word that I pray may bring a biblical perspective to those bruised and broken by the storm, and to those ministering to them.
An Unspoken, Tear-Filled Word
In the face of raw tragedy, we have at least one example where words were not spoken. When Jesus came to Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus, he came to some of his closest friends. Jesus loved Lazarus, and yet the Bible actually suggests that when Jesus learned of his illness, he intentionally waited so that Lazarus might die (John 11:5-6). When Jesus arrived, Martha came to meet him, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:21)—surely a similar sentiment arises from Joplin.
Yet, Jesus response to Martha and Mary did not express detached stoicism or impatience with broken people. To the contrary, he grieved with these sisters, with perfect understanding. When Jesus encountered the death of Lazarus, he wept (John 11:35). While he knew that his own death and resurrection would one day restore this man to eternal life, tears were the most appropriate response. For those left speechless by the horrorific damage—personal and material—Jesus sees. Jesus knows. Jesus understands.
A Word of Resurrection Life
Jesus weeping is not hopeless, but hopeful. In the face of death, Jesus does not chain himself to the grave. He, instead, points people to the resurrection. John 11:23-26 records the dialogue that Jesus had with Martha, where he spoke of Lazarus’ impending resurrection: “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Staring into the eyes of someone whose heart was overwhelmed with unspeakable loss, Jesus spoke the only words that can defeat the sting of death. He promised life from the grave. In fact, Jesus intention of permitting Lazarus death was to show the world that he had the power to raise the dead. While calming the storm with a word demonstrated great power; reconstituting life and raising the dead revealed more.
So it will be at the end of the age. All those who have died in Christ will be raised in Christ (Rom 6:3-4). Jesus’ own resurrection confirms that he is the first-fruit of those who will be raised to life. While this does not immediately remove the pain and anguish of death, it does not allow death to have the last word. Instead, Jesus can say: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:54-55).
A Word of Sadness and Sober Judgment
Of course, there were other victims of the storm who did not know the Lord. For them and for those who knew them, Jesus words to Martha will not comfort. Instead for them, and this word is perhaps the most bitter of all, the Lord’s judgment is swift. While trusting in themselves and in their future plans, their life was immediately extinguished (Luke 12:20). Jonathan Edwards’s captured this dreadful reality in his sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” when he expounded Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’
For some in the storm who had rejected the gospel, this was their appointed day of judgment. While this does not necessarily bring sentimental comfort, it brings repose in the fact that the “stormy winds fulfill[ed] his word” (Ps 148:8). Thus, in the particular providence of God, the same wind that brought some into eternal rest brought others into eternal torment. Indeed, all things work according to his sovereign will.
At the same time, it must not be forgotten that the death of the unconverted simultaneously grieves God, just as it does man. Ezekiel 18 records that the Lord “[has] no pleasure in the death of anyone” even the wicked (v. 23, 31). In this complex but complementary way, the God who delights in the judgment of evil-doers is yet grieved by their deaths.
A Word of Repentance to the Rest
This leads to the most pressing word that Jesus has for us who read this today. In Luke 13, when some of Jesus followers bring up the subject of human tragedy, Jesus response is surprisingly harsh. Responding to the slaughter of some from Galilee, Jesus brings up the death of eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. He says, “Do you think that [these dead] were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (v. 4-5).
Jesus rebukes anyone who says that the tragedy in Jerusalem or Joplin happened because they deserved it more than me. Jesus tells us who live to see these deaths as a divine lesson: Death is the judgment of God that is coming upon all men. It is appointed for all men to die because all men have sinned against God. While some die “peacefully” in their sleep, others die under twisted rubble. The typological lesson from Joplin and every other cataclysmic tragedy is that there is coming a day when all men will be caught up in the whirlwind, and unless they have turned from sin and to Christ, they will face a greater danger than an F-5 tornado.
Knowing When to Speak and When Not To
Today, Jesus of Nazareth cannot be found walking the shores of Galilee. He is enthroned in heaven, where he governs his church and intercedes for his saints. Consequently, it is not Jesus who speaks an audible word today; it is his church. You and I who comprise the body of Christ are his hands, his feet, and his mouthpieces. Thus, it is not enough to speculate what Jesus would say. By the leading of his Spirit, we must speak.
In our immediate context, one week removed from the tragedy in Joplin, Jesus’ words in Luke 13, do not yet seem appropriate. In cases of tragedy, timing matters. Jesus knew this. When he arrived at Lazarus’ grave, he wept and then offered gospel hope. Yet, when he was confronted with a wrongful understanding of theodicy, he proffered a more robust theological answer. In the first case he knew to stress mercy; in the second to teach about God’s judgment.
Pastors and parishioners need to understand both of these responses and when to employ them. As Ecclesiastes teaches, there is a time for everything—a time to cry and a time to catechize; a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking.
Indeed, for those facing this tragedy firsthand, sorrow and prayers of silence are appropriate. Words get in the way of feelings that are best expressed with groans and cries. Yet, there will come a day when words need to fill the gap, and when they do, the only comforting Word will come from the one who said, “Peace. Be still.”
Until that Resurrection Day, we all groan and wait with anguish. Tragedies like the one in Joplin serve to remind us that the world still quakes under the curse of God. It awakens us from our comfortable slumber. And it calls each of us to repent of our sluggishness and sin and to prepare to meet our God, because none of us know when the master will return or when the whirlwind will strike.
May God be pleased to comfort the people of Joplin in the wake of this tragedy, and may those who know the Lord know how and when to speak words of comfort and hope into the lives of those suffering in the storm.
Yesterday we considered what a disciple is, today we answer the question: Who Makes Disciples? And I would suggest that there are two ways to answer that question. First, churches make disciples; second, mature believers make disciples. Let’s consider.
Churches Make Disciples
At the institutional level, God has created the church to be a disciple-making community. This is not to say that parachurches, camps, publishing houses, or Christian radio cannot be involved in the process, but in his wisdom, the church is the ordained means of defending the gospel, proclaiming salvation, and making disciples (Eph 3).
Accordingly, churches would be served by asking: If Jesus came today and evaluated our church, on what would he evaluate? What are his expectations? I think the answer and expectation is simple. Jesus would inquire “What are you doing to make disciples?” I don’t think he is very impressed with all sorts of activities, fellowships, and programs that make us busy but fail to make disciples. He has not called us to be active, but to be active in making disciples. Since Christ is in the business of making disciples, that is what he expects of us.
God’s word on this is clear. As the body of Christ, we are to be the hands, feet, mouthpieces of our Lord. Accordingly, if God is going to make disciples in this age, it is through the church, by his Spirit. If his greatest passion is to see the lost converted into disciples, then he expects that his body would be about the same work. The Great Commission is the explicit statement of this truth. “Go into all the world and make disciples.” Churches that excel in ministry but do not excel in making gospel-centered, word-saturated disciples who are able to reproduce themselves are not excelling as much as their numbers might indicate.
Big or small, churches are called to make disciples. That is the first level.
Mature Believers
At the individual level, it is mature believers that make disciples. As in life, mature adults have babies, so adult Christians “give birth” (or rather, serve as attending nurses to the birth from above) to new Christians. While young Christians, infants in the Lord, can and do witness with great zeal and effectiveness, it is mature believers who are in a position to “disciple” newborn Christians.
The Great Commission includes a call to teach all that the Lord has instructed. New believers rarely know all there is in Scripture, or how to apply it. This is why Scripture repeatedly demonstrates older believers mentoring or discipling younger believers (think of Paul with Timothy, Titus, and Silas, or Barnabas with Paul or John Mark). Titus 2 gives clear instruction that older women are to teach younger women, and older men are to be models for younger men.
Thus, all disciples should strive for maturity such that they can disciple others. This is not an optional calling, this is part and parcel of being a growing disciple. Sadly, as Hebrews 5 laments, many who should be teachers are in need of learning the elementary truths again.
As a way of evaluation, we can say that mature believers are those who exhibit Christlike character and who are able and actually discipling younger believers. Discipling others shows Christian love, an understanding of God’s purposes in the world, and a self-sacrificing, others-centeredness that behooves a mature believer. By contrast, maturity should not be measured by the number of years a person has gone to church or even by how many studies they have led, how many committees they have chaired, or even by the number of Bible certificates or degrees they hold. Maturity is measured by ones personal Christlikeness and their reproduction.
May God continue to raise up disciple-makers in this generation, that more and more disciples would be born, raised, and sent out.
Answering the question “What is a disciple?” is not as easy as it might first appear.
First, there is a shift in the meaning of the term disciple from the gospels to the book of Acts. For instance, in John 6, many of Jesus’ “disciples” leave him. These are the ones who follow him to hear his teaching and to eat his bread, but when he calls them to eat his flesh and drink his blood, they can go no further. In this situation, disciples are simply those who followed and learned from him, but were not saved by him. Likewise, you could say of Judas, that he was a disciple in one sense (he followed and learned from Jesus), but not a disciple in another sense (he failed to follow Christ until the end and he betrayed his master). Thus, in the Scriptures themselves, there is some ambiguity in the term.
Why does this matter? Well, the other day, I heard a radio preacher stating that the disciples in the Bible are just like us. Yes and no. There is much similarity between the followers of Jesus in his day, and in genuine believers today. However, there is dissimilarity too. Few are called to leave their fishing nets behind to become Christ’s disciples and none are called to to follow a wandering Nazarene through the hills of Israel. Likewise, at a more doctrinal level, many of the followers of Jesus did not abide in him, and thus were not saved (cf John 6:66). But this reality should not form the basis of our doctrine of discipleship. True disciples today are those who are born again, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and will not fall away because through the Spirit and the Word, God will preserve them even as they persevere in faith.
(1) Disciples are COMMITTED believers. Salvation is one thing, discipleship is another. There are Christians and then there are disciples. This posits a two-tiered system in the Christian life–with the saved and the sanctified. The problem with this is that it rips apart the unified work of salvation, and it does not fit with biblical language. In Acts 4:32, the church is described as a band of believers; but Acts 6:2 describes the church as “the full number of disciples.” Disciples are believers; believers are disciple. No tiers!
(2) Disciples are ministers. Like the twelve, disciples are called to a special ministry of service. This results in a view where churches have clergy and laity, disciples and congregants. This separation is often found in special dress for the clergy, or unhealthy veneration of church leaders. By contrast, the Great Commission calls all people to discipleship and to disciple others. Church work is for everyone. Disciples are ministers, but if I am reading Ephesians 4 correctly, we are all called to various roles of ministry in the church. Christianity is not a spectator sport. Jesus calls us to join him in the work.
(3) Disciples are Christians. Christians are disciples. While we are at different phases in our journey with Christ, Christianity is not two-tiered, any more than your families are two-tiered. While wisdom cautions against young disciples leading, there is no two-stage approach. Rather, as in any family, there are babes, children, young adults, and mature adults. The same is true in the church, and every age are called disciples.
A Definition of Discipleship
In light of these previous observations, here is an attempt at a definition: A disciple is a man or woman who is a new creation in Christ that no longer lives for self, but who has (a) believed on Christ for the forgiveness of sins, (b) possesses eternal life, and (c) lives to learn, follow, and imitate Christ in all areas of life.
To say it another way, if we take our cues from the Great Commission: (a) Disciples identify themselves with Jesus Christ in baptism; (b) Disciples learn AND practice all the words of God has given us; and (c) Disciples serve our Lord, going into the world to herald the message of Christ and to reproduce disciples. This is the Great Commission. This is what the twelve did, this is what Paul did (Acts 14:21), and this is what Paul called his followers to do (2 Tim 2:2).
Another place to get our bearings for defining a disciple is Mark 3:13-19. There we find that discipleship goes all the way back to Jesus, and that three things stand out. Those whom he calls to be disciples (and apostles– a calling that makes the twelves position different than our own), he gives three requirements: First, the twelve are to be with him so that they might learn from Jesus, copying him, imitating him; Second, the twelve are sent to preach. So they are not passive learners but active servants. Third, the twelve were given authority to cast out demons as is witnessed in the Gospels and Acts.
Now, on this last point, we may think that this is only for them, after all we do not cast out demons. But I would suggest, that the calling we have to win souls and to nurture them in the grace and truth of the gospel is even greater than the commission given in Mark 3. Just listen to John 20:23: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” In the gospel, we have been given authority to declare forgiveness and eternal life. We are not simply casting out demons, we are calling men to eternal life, and by God’s design, the effectual call that converts a man is conveyed through the general call of God’s human witnesses.
Thus, according to Mark 3–if we can use this text in any sort of prescriptive way–Scripture shows that disciples are those who are with Jesus, who serve at Jesus commission, and who are involved in Christ’s ministry of making other disciples. Certainly, more can and should be said, but this is a start.
Tomorrow, we will consider in more detail who is able to make disciples.
A number of years ago, I followed the Christian crowd and wore the trendy WWJD bracelet. For those who have forgotten (or never heard), the letters stood for “What would Jesus do?” Developed from the book In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon, a book that favored a social gospel and promoted a man-centered kind of Christian imitation, the bracelet asked an important question: How should we live our lives in a manner that would please our Lord? The question was meant to stimulate obedience and lifestyles that reflected the kind of things true believers should do. While missing the beautiful, objective work of Christ for us, it did helpfully ask how we ought to live for Christ.
That is what we are after this week too: How do we adhere to the Great Commission imperative to “make disciples”? What is a disciple? How should we go about making disciples? And why should we do it? Those are the questions we will consider this week, but instead of asking “What would Jesus do?” which orients the Christian life around subjective obedience of Christ’s followers, our inquiry begins with the better question: “What did Jesus do?”
Putting Christ at the center, instead of our Christian obedience, we will be able to see how central disciple-making is to our Lord and then from their to see how we might follow him in the work. Therefore, today as we consider what Jesus did (past tense), we will look at a number of purposes statements spoken by Jesus that explain why Jesus became a man (Cur Deus Homo?), and how each of these purpose statements relate to disciple-making.
Here are five reasons why Christ came to earth.
First, Jesus came to preach the gospel
The first thing to note is that Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Mark 1:38 records Jesus’ words, “And he said to them, “Let us go to the next town, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came.” When we are introduced to Christ, in the Synoptic gospels, the first act of his ministry is to go out into the regions surrounding Galilee preaching the gospel and calling sinners to repent and believe (Mark 1:14-15). What was his purpose? The answer is surely pluriform, but it at least involved the calling and creation of disciples.
Second, Jesus came to fulfill the law
Not only did Jesus come to preach the gospel, he came to fulfill the law—to keep covenant with God, so that he could establish a new covenant, not based on works of the flesh, but faith in the Spirit. So he says in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” In fulfilling all righteousness, Jesus made it possible for his disciples to one day be clothed with his righteousness (Isa 61:10). Likewise, he provided a perfect example of love and service to God that disciples are called to imitate (cf. John 13).
Third, Jesus came to provide salvation
In Luke 19, Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector, for the singular purpose of making this unlikely sinner a son of Abraham. Verse 10 gives a larger explanation of Jesus’ ministry: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Clearly, Jesus the lost, so to make them his disciples. The same thing can be gleaned from Matthew 9:13, which states, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Here, Jesus explains that his target audience is not religious professionals, or even good people, but those who weary and heavy-laden with sin. Jesus life, death, and resurrection served the purpose of making disciples.
Which leads to a question: How can a righteous God who cannot stand the sight of sin or sinners (Ps 5:5; 11:5; Hab 1:13), extend blessings to sinners? Again, the life of ministry and his biographical purpose statements explain. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The many harkens back to Isaiah 53:11-12, but it also bespeaks of the many disciples that Jesus is purchasing with his blood.
Fourth, Jesus came to judge the world
Jesus came not only to save a people for his own possession; he also came to judge the world, to cleanse the world from those who stand opposed to God. In John 9:39, Jesus debates with the Pharisees concerning the healing of a blind man, and he says, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Likewise, with greater graphic illustration, Jesus states in Luke 12:49, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” The fire is that of judgment. While John can say that Jesus did not come to bring judgment; in another sense he did. He is preparing the way for his return when he will call all men to account.
Even the demons recognize this, though they did not know how it was going to work out. In Mark 1:24, Jesus heals a man suffering from a demon, and they reply “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
Jesus is not directly making disciples with these judgments, but in another way he is. By judging the world, Jesus is creating a place for his people to abide with him. Today, we do not yet see all things in subjection to Christ. The new creation is not yet here in its geographic form. However, Christ is saving me and women. These are his new creations, disciples who are learning how to live in his kingdom–the kingdom that they will inherit at the end of the age (Matt 25:34). Thus, Jesus purpose statements about judgment promise that all those who have become his disciples will escape his coming judgment, and will instead be protected by his sword. This leads to a final point.
Fifth, Jesus came to create a new community of disciples
The final answer to the question of what Jesus came to do is this: Jesus came to call a new community of disciples. Now indeed all the previous purposes are related to this. (1) He preached the gospel to call people to faith; (2) he fulfilled the law and died on the cross so that he could remove the sin of his followers and clothe them with righteousness; (3) He announced his kingdom authority and his right to judge in order to assert the kingdom he was going to establish—a world free from sin, evil, Satan, and death. Jesus came to create a new humanity. He came to make disciples.
Significantly, this is what we find then in Matthew 10:34-35. In a context where Jesus has sent his disciples out to proclaim the message of the kingdom, Jesus explains his purposes after there return: “Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Everything Jesus did, he did for the purpose of making disciples. His life, ministry, death, and resurrection, and heavenly session are all aimed at bringing in the sheep of his fold. While acquiring many names in he gospels (sheep, children, given ones, friends), Jesus did everything for the purpose of making disciples. So should we.
In the days, ahead we will answer four more questions on discipleship, as we consider this central feature of our Lord’s work.
Gossip. It is a common disease—easily contracted, hard to cure. Yet, the surprising solution is not to gossip less. Just the opposite: You need to gossip more.
Let me explain.
You were made to gossip. God gave you speech and a heart curiously intrigued by other people. How else could talk radio, talk shows, and talking heads be so popular? They scratch a human itch—the desire to be in the know and to talk with Gnostic wisdom about someone or something.
There is a kind of pleasure that comes from hearing something known to a select few. We love secrets, and gossip is the pipeline for passing them, though every carbon copy erodes the secret. Therefore, we want more.
Now, in steps the religious professional who says: The Bible condemns idle talk and God hates gossip. Therefore, stop! His premises are right. God does condemn idle talk and hates any speech that tears down another. However, knowing the law never changed anyone.
No, pernicious gossip that plagues the human race does not need to reduced or discontinued; it needs to be converted! It needs a new object, a new secret to keep and then divulge.
Enter the gospel of grace. Nothing is more hidden and revealing than God. No person is more intriguing than Jesus. No secret is more fascinating than the news that sinners condemned to death have been declared innocent, set free, and rewarded because another has volunteered to take their place on the electric chair.
Indeed, evangelism is simply gossip about Jesus. This is what happened in Samaria (John 4). Jesus, a man of marriageable age, conversed with the town’s loosest woman at the local watering hole. Talk about gossip! This conversation surely evoked a few whispers. Even more, when the woman raced off to tell her town about the man Jesus Christ, she participated in God-ordained gossip.
The result was amazing. The whole curious town lined up to hear Jesus. And many were saved.
Here is the point: If you want to stop gossiping about things that will pollute your mind and shrink your soul, start gossiping about Jesus and the scandalous grace that he offers. This will mean that you need to know him, but that is what he loves to share with all those who come curious about his secrets.
This week, don’t gossip less. Gossip more about the only one worthy of such gossip!
The weeks that follow Christmas present a unique challenge. For all the holiday highs, there often comes an unforeseen holiday hangover.
As the lights come down and the daily grind resumes, a wintry chill easily replaces Christmas cheer.
But is that how it must go? Isn’t there anything lasting about Christmas besides credit card bills and an unwanted fruitcake? Such naïve hope is often shoved aside because like everything else in life, what goes up must come down. To get through it, we tell ourselves, life is short and so are most of its pleasantries.
However, it is different for those who know the child born in the manger. For Christians, there is just as much light on Jan. 13 or Aug. 27 as there is on Dec. 25. Indeed, if January blues follow the red and green of Christmas, it probably is the case that you are paying too much attention to the flickering lights of this world and not enough attention to the true light of the world.
In truth, Christmas is much more than a festive season; it is the announcement that the light of God has entered the world to stay. Those who know this know that the light has come to dwell among a sin-darkened people and will one day remove all darkness.
In fact, the gospel of John says as much. It reads, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming to the world” (1:9). In a word, this is Christmas. However, this luminescent arrival is only the beginning.
Christ gives light for all seasons. In fact, John later records the words of Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12). In context, Jesus says these words during the festival of booths, a season in Jerusalem when the whole city was covered with lights. Jesus intends for his audience to know that he is the superlative light, one that will never fade away.
The same is true today. He is the true light today, and all those who follow him, walk in the light of his truth, beauty and goodness. His radiance is able to outshine the darkest winter night, and his love is able to fill the emptiness caused by another Christmas past. For, he is the light of the world, and his light will never fade or disappoint those who look unto him for light and life.
[This is the most recent “Feeding on the Word” article for our church newsletter].
Via Emmaus 