Teach Great Commission Discipleship Fundamentals

Here are the major teaching points for the Great Commission and Discipleship Seminar.

1. Introduction – The Significance of the Great Commission Mandates

  • Consider a fundamental question:  if you knew you were going to die within the next hour and you had gathered your immediate family, close relatives, and dearest friends, what would be the last and most significant truth you would wish to share with these special people?
    • It would probably be the most important fact or lesson you learned in life that you wanted to pass on or reemphasize to your loved ones. 
    • That is precisely what Jesus did to His disciples in the Great Commission just before He arose into heaven – He focused on the most crucial assignment He wanted us (as Believers and His church) to accomplish!

2. Great Commission Overview

Matthew 28:18-20 –And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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.”

  • GO and MAKE DISCIPLEStwo tasks for His Disciples and Church to finish!
    • Baptizing them – Lead the lost to the Lord (Salvation) = this the Starting Point and should be followed closely by the first step of obedience which is the public declaration of a commitment to Jesus – full water baptism.
      • This is the driving factor for EVANGELISM!
    • Teaching them to obey everything– True discipleship requires being a dedicated student of who you intend to become a disciple of!
      • This is the driving element for DISCIPLESHIP!
  • This is a command – Jesus did not call us to make converts, but disciples!
    • This is the main purpose for His Church – not just an add-on task after “church traditional priorities are done. 
    • Jesus modeled discipleship for us – it is always based on close relationships to be effective and efficient – and it is always intentional!
    • Discipleship happens most effectively in Small Groups – intimate relationships.

3. What is EVANGELISM?

Luke 19:10 — “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

  • ‘Evangel’ means the ‘good news’, so an evangelist is someone who joyfully spreads the good news!
  • Jesus sent us to evangelize … to be His ambassadors … to continually go and share our faith (personal testimony) with all those we encounter who don’t know, are lost, or haven’t asked Jesus into their hearts.
  • Consider this important Scriptural warning:
    • The Great Commission that Christ gave to every Believer is so important that He has asked every Christian to participate to assure the unsaved hear the message. God is depending on His disciples to be willing vessels to get this message to them. 
    • It is essential to appreciate the sobering words God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel concerning our obedience to take this message to those who are unsaved.
      • Ezekiel 3:17-21 – “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul… 
      • These versus clearly state that we are responsible to warn the unsaved that they must get their hearts right with God.  If we choose not to share the Good News of the Gospel that brings salvation to those we know or suspect are unsaved – and they die in their sin – Ezekiel says God will hold us accountable for their lost souls.  That plainly means that if you or I could have warned those in our lives who are unsaved and we choose to ignore this responsibility, God will hold us accountable for NOT telling them what they needed to know.
      • Conversely, God says in these verses, “If you do warn the wicked and tell them the truth about the consequences of sin and they don’t repent, then they will die in their iniquity.  But you will NOT be held accountable for their souls.”
    • God respects the rights of every person to say “YES” or “NO” to Jesus Christ. Each person can choose how he or she will respond to His invitation – even if it is an eternally fateful choice. We, personally, can’t save them or make the decision for them!

4. What is DISCIPLESHIP?

  • Train, equip, and release everyone you lead or influence, especially those you lead into the Kingdom of God!
  • Jesus called us to be His disciples and to make disciples!

5. Three Interrelated Biblical Descriptions Regarding True Disciples of Jesus:

  • FIRST, a true disciple is a person who observes all things Jesus commanded.
    • John 8:31-32 — Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
    • The Word of God has a lot to say about the issues we’re facing in society today.
      • Isaiah 5:20-21 – Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
      • If we stay silent, then unbelievers — those who don’t have a biblical worldview — are going to be the ones establishing all governmental policies and determining what we should and shouldn’t think, what we can and can’t say, and what we can and can’t do. 
    • If you’re going to be a disciple of Jesus, you can’t observe only the parts of the Word that you like. 
    • If your attitude, your doctrine, or your worldview doesn’t line up with the Word of God, you need to change it, not try to change or reinterpret the Word of God.
  • SECOND, the Law of Christ provides another description of a true disciple.  
    •  Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”.
    • The Law of Christ is better known as the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:35-40) – Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 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.”
      • This is the foundation of the Great Commission!
    • Many people like to call themselves “Christ followers or disciples.” – unfortunately, their attitudes and behavior towards others are inconsistent with that declaration.
    • John 13:35 – Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
    • The evidence of our being a true disciple of Jesus depends upon how we love one another and bear each other’s burdens. 
    • John 15:16-20 – 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. These things I command you, that you love one another … Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
    • Being a disciple of Jesus is not simply helping those who are like you; rather, it is loving everyone – even your enemies – and seeking to bear their burdens.   
    • Matthew 5:43-47 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
    • We must also choose better relationships! That means praying for and planting the seeds of faith in those around us (especially family) but avoiding toxic people who will consistently try to lead you astray and create pain, conflict, discord, and disunity in your lives.
    • This is the mark of discipleship: we must love the person, but still hate and resist their sin (lifestyle, lie-based thinking, deception)!
  • THIRD, a true disciple is a person who studies, obediently conforms, and teaches others.
    •  Ezra 7:10 – “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
    • In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “disciple” means “student.” A disciple, then, is one who studies.
    • This is the progression of biblical discipleship: study leads to doing, and as one progresses with study and doing, he or she gains the ability to teach others (having attained a measure of experience, credibility, testimonies, etc.)
    • Biblical discipleship requires study – it is at the very core of achieving spiritual maturity.
      • Luke 6:40 – “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.”
      • Our Teacher is Jesus – through the tutorship and revelations of the Holy Spirit!
    • We must enthusiastically and consistently pursue knowledge, understanding, and wisdom by:
      • Reading and meditating on the Word.
      • Pursuing qualified mentors and teachers.
      • Maintaining a teachable attitude and spirit.
      • Seeking reliable and accurate teachings from sources other than just your pastor at Sunday services.
      • Actively participating in Small Groups.
    • Jesus indicated that the way one truly becomes like Him is by being “fully taught,” meaning that we diligently study and faithfully practice His commands and directions.

6. We must become a disciple of Jesus

  • We must learn what it means for us to be a disciple.
  • When we take each step toward intimacy with God, we experience three fundamental benefits:
    • A deeper relationship with God.
      • Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have direct access to relationship with God, and we will know Him more with every step.
      • 2 Corinthians 3:16 – But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
      • Romans 5:1-2 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
    • A life of true freedom.
      • Freedom and Lordship are connected.
        • Every step we take, we are choosing God’s way over our way.
        • We are choosing to live our lives within the restrictions defined by God.
      • 2 Corinthians 3:17 – For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
        • We think freedom is living with no boundaries. – FALSE thinking!
        • We think freedom is living with our own boundaries. – FALSE thinking!
        • True freedom is living inside God’s boundaries.
    • A role in God’s missionthe Great Commission!
      • When we live out God’s purpose for our lives, we reflect God’s glory to the world.
      • As a disciple, we begin to make disciples.
      • 2 Corinthians 3:18 – So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.
      • 2 Corinthians 4:4 – The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
      • 2 Corinthians 3:18 – And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
  • If God has all of this and more in store, then what is your purpose and why are you waiting to start?

7. The Scriptures are full of key references Jesus made regarding disciples:

  • Matthew 7:18-23
  • Matthew 16:24-26
  • Mark 8:34-36 
  • Luke 14:33-35
  • John 6:55-68
  • John 13:34-35
  • John 15:6-20
  • Acts 6:6-7

8. Self-assessment

  • Are you a convert, just a follower, or a true disciple of Jesus? 
  • How can you tell? 
  • By the fruit you produce for the Kingdom of God!
    • Souls won to Jesus.
    • Disciples equipped to lead the lost to the Lord and make disciples.