____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ October 16, 2005 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Discipleship (Denny Diehl) 2) Christians Only: A Personal Commitment (Dan Petty) 3) Evidence of the Grand Designer (Jamie De Long) ____________________________________________________ -1- Discipleship by Denny Diehl For many years I was under the false impression that the main thrust of Matthew 28:19-20 was "Go." I saw charts of the commandment to "Go," but Jesus didn't say how we were to "Go," therefore, we could go by whatever means were available to us. Even though I agree with the conclusion, I believe that a disservice has happened in misdirecting our attention in that important direction of Jesus. "Go" is not the main idea but is only a participle, a subordinate to the main thought of the sentence, as the following original translation will show: "Therefore, after you have gone, disciple all the nations, while you are baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and while you are teaching them to obey everything which I have commanded you...." We notice that the main thrust is not going, baptizing or teaching, but, after having gone, and while baptizing and teaching, Jesus in all of this is saying make sure that you make disciples. Making disciples is the goal that we need to strive for ultimately. The usual definition of a disciple is that he is a learner. It is usually used in a teacher-pupil relationship with the pupil, obviously, being the disciple, learning from the teacher. Jesus said, "A pupil is not above his teacher..." (Luke 6:40, NASB). The word translated "pupil" is mathetes, the word usually translated "disciple." But for our relationship to Jesus, this understanding of disciple as one who is just a learner is shallow and inadequate. I have been a student for many years. I have learned many things from many teachers, but my relationship to those teachers is different than the one I am to have with Jesus. Therein lies the basic difference between being a disciple and a learner. We notice in the rest of the verse of Luke 6:40 the true and full meaning of being a disciple of Jesus. "A pupil (disciple) is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." Our purpose then for being a disciple of Jesus is not just to learn things about Jesus or about the Bible, but our purpose is to use the things that we have learned to become like Christ. Notice other Scriptures that bear this thought: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the imagine of His Son..." (Rom. 8:29 NASB); "conformed to the likeness of His Son..." (NIV). "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image..." (2 Cor. 3:18). "My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you" (Gal. 4:19). When Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples as a number one priority, what did He mean? When we are baptizing and teaching, make sure that those two avenues are used to make the individual into the likeness of Christ. Baptism and teaching are of no usefulness unless Christ, through those mediums, is being formed in the individual. When a person is being baptized, he is to understand the very important significance of what he is doing. He is not just "joining a church," etc., but he is spiritually crucifying the old self with Christ to be raised up a new creature (cf. Rom. 6:4-6; Gal. 2:20). When a person is being taught, he is to understand the significance of the purpose of those things being presented to him. They are to be used to change his being into the likeness of Christ. How can we teach with discipleship in mind? Put the emphasis not on knowing but on doing. One teacher related to me how that she was teaching her class a Scripture which said "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone" and "if your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Rom. 12:17-20). She put the emphasis upon doing, not just learning. The next week the class came together, and she asked them how that passage of Scripture had changed them, if indeed it had. One little girl said that during the week her brother was being mean to her, teasing her, etc. The teacher asked what she had done about it. The girl replied that she had baked him a batch of cookies! We are not just to know Scripture, but to allow it to change and form our lives. As James says, "But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). -- Via Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 4, p. 112, February 16, 1984 ____________________________________________________ "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26). ____________________________________________________ -2- Christians Only: A Personal Commitment by Dan Petty The quest for pure, unadulterated Christianity is a worthy challenge. Many brave souls have risked rejection, ostracism -- even death -- to question established forms for the sake of truth. The desire for a purer form of Christianity has led some to pay a heavy price. The leaders of the Restoration Movement who rejected denominationalism and preached the unity of all believers based on "the Bible and the Bible alone" were first prepared personally to face the challenge. Undenominational Christianity did not come without a price tag. Nor does it come cheaply in any age. True discipleship has always been costly. The most important quality for would-be disciples is not intelligence, education, or social prestige. Neither is it a unique spiritual insight or moral stamina. Above all, it calls for a personal commitment to Christ that supersedes all else. To get to the heart of the matter, Jesus emphasizes the unqualified, uncompromising love for Him that is necessary for discipleship by telling us to "hate" mother, father, family -- even our own lives (Luke 14:26-27). It is a matter of comparison, of course, but the degree of personal loyalty that Christ requires cannot be misunderstood. Certainly this loyalty also excludes all other pretenders: all "different gospels" or those who would preach them are divinely anathematized (Galatians 1:6-9). Christ is the cornerstone of the church (Ephesians 1:20), and is jealous of its purity. Personal preparation to plead undenominational Christianity means arming oneself with Truth (Ephesians 6:14). It also means removing all hindrances to the task. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will not allow any human relationships to stand in the way (Luke 14:26-27). Even family ties must come second. Religiously speaking, Jesus Christ shares our loyalty with no one. Family relations are dear to us, and praised in God's Book, but our soul's salvation -- and that of our loved ones -- is the pearl of great price. We must also remove the hindrances of creedal beliefs or religious traditions which we may have inherited. The teachings of men are vanity in worship (Matthew 15:9). In Colossians, where the issue was false teaching, Paul admonished, "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize..." (2: 18-23). Don't be robbed of your greatest legacy, your soul's salvation, by something that someone has concocted. Indeed, do not allow men to stand in the way in any form or fashion. To adhere to any man -- whether apostle or apostate -- is to be, in Paul's words, "carnal" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). The same promotes divisions among Christians (1 Corinthians 1:10-14). Be realistic enough to know that there will always be the problem that "men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20:28-30). Perhaps the greatest hindrance to overcome is self. And the threat is most unexpected, which is the genius of the devil. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Confident assurance in our relationship with the Lord is one thing; closing our eyes to the possibility that we might be wrong is another. A false pride that "we" have all the truth could end up being our downfall. The day we decide we have all the questions answered, and in our satisfaction, are no longer capable of genuine study of where we stand in the light of the gospel, is the day that we are ready to be defeated in the quest for pure Christianity. "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" (2 Corinthians 13:5). -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, August 22, 2004 ____________________________________________________ -3- Evidence of the Grand Designer by Jamie De Long Today's automobiles are marvelous machines. Computer enhanced engines provide more power and efficiency. Improved suspension systems give a smooth ride. Air conditioning, cruise control and even video monitors make traveling a relaxing and enjoyable experience. What if I told you that this marvelous machine was the result of a tornado hitting a junkyard? You would say that such an idea would be nonsense. The intricate parts and systems making up the vehicle are evidence that the automobile is the product of intelligent designers. A common philosophy today is that the universe and all that is in it is simply the result of a cosmic accident. Yet just as the automobile exhibits evidence of design, so too does nature. Consider the human body. Like the automobile, our bodies are made up of complex parts and systems that work together. The heart, for example, pumps about seventy-two times a minute continuously. The blood pumped by the heart travels through 75,000 miles of blood vessels. The lungs, working with the heart, exchange carbon dioxide in the blood with oxygen. The blood then takes the oxygen, along with nutrients picked up from the digestive system, to feed all the cells in the body. And all of this happens without any thought on our part. Add to this our brain, eyes, ears and other organs and we now have a machine greater than any man-made invention. Could such an intricate system exist without a Designer? Listen to the words of the psalmist, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them" (Psalm 139:13-16). -- Via Faith Builder, San Marcos, TX ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________