Obey...

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 16-20)

In my last blog post, we explored Jesus command to make disciples, baptizing them... This topic is clearly of interest to many of you as it has been one on the most read blogs I have posted. If you missed it, here it is... http://www.dalesdailybible.blogspot.com/2013/05/baptism.html. Dig into the scripture and read for yourself what the Word has to say about baptism. Moving on from there, Jesus commands His disciples to make disciples and "teach them to obey all that I have commanded you." He had spent three years training these people. He had told them countless things and commanded them many others. This part of disciple making is the most time consuming and requires the greatest effort on our part. Let's explore this together.

Teaching someone about Jesus takes a little time, teaching them the Biblical way to respond to what they have learned requires some more... but teaching them to obey all that He commanded is a lifelong pursuit. His disciples wrote 21 letters (books) that are in our Bibles that deal with just that. Sandwiched between Acts and Revelation you will find the content of the teaching that we are to both learn ourselves and teach other disciples. I had a close friend and brother in Christ tell me that there is nothing contained in these 21 books that is not found in the four Gospels. I trust him to be correct, but I believe the the 21 books explain in more detail and perhaps give application to a teaching.

For example, Jesus told his followers that the second greatest command is to "love your neighbor as yourself". Good enough... but what does that look like in real life. How does the Christian love his neighbor that way. Paul gives us some insight in Galatians 5:13-15 - For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Paul wants us to know that living out Jesus words means that we will consider the other person and limit what we do based on that. If my actions harm a brother or sister, even though it might well be "legal", I will not do it. We have great freedom in Christ, but love rules our actions. We are to be servants of one another.

You get the idea. When we are being discipled and when we are discipling others, we must stay in the scriptures. I am not teaching my thoughts; I am teaching Jesus thoughts. I am not speculating on what He meant by something I find in scripture; I am learning the intent based upon the whole teaching of Christ. This is not a two week course, this is a lifetime of learning.

Lastly, I am afraid many of us read the Great Commission like this... "teach them all that I have commanded you". Some of you are saying right now... "Isn't that what He said?". No! Go back and read it again... we are to teach His disciples to "obey". Interesting isn't it. Teaching someone what Jesus said on a subject is wonderful... but to fulfill His commission, they must be taught to obey. Obedience isn't always a natural thing. We are often disobedient by nature. (ask your parents, or look at your kids) So, how do you teach obedience? Tune in next time for a discussion of that very thing.

I am closing with a prayer request today. Moore, Oklahoma suffered a tremendous tragedy yesterday... lives have been lost, homes destroyed and families torn apart... please take a moment to ask Gods' blessing on those that have experienced such overwhelming loss. My thoughts and prayers are with all those in that community today. I like the quote "everything will be alright in the end, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end". God will wipe away all tears.