“There Are No Non-Commissioned Christians”

                      Dr. Julie Adkins

                   Text: Matthew 28:16-20

 

SERMON

 

This is probably one of the best-known passages

          in the entire New Testament …

The “Great Commission,” we call it:

          “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

The last recorded words of Jesus to his disciples,

          at least, as far as Matthew is concerned.

“…Make disciples of all nations,

          baptizing them in the name of the Father,

                   and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Rather a large job, that,

          making disciples of all nations.

We’ve been at it, on and off,

          for just about twenty centuries now,

                   and still the work isn’t finished.

In fact, sometimes we seem to be losing ground.

You’d think that in two thousand years

          we could have gotten the job done.

Especially with the kinds of transportation and communication

          we’ve had available for the last century or so.

By this time,

          we ought to have spread the good news of Jesus Christ

                   all around the globe.

Granted, there are some who would hear the message

          and then decide to choose against Christ nevertheless.

But at least we would have done our part.

 

But we haven’t even gotten that far.

We have not been witnesses of Jesus Christ

          to the ends of the earth.

And the main reason for this, I feel fairly sure,

          is that most Christians simply don’t believe

                   that the Great Commission applies to them.

We have dreamt up all kinds of clever excuses

          to weasel our way out of

                   the disciple-making business.

“Jesus made that command to the eleven disciples,” we say.

          “That doesn’t mean it applies to us!”

Well, if that’s true,

          then I guess that none of the rest of the gospel applies to us either,

                   and we might as well throw the Bible out

                   and do whatever feels good!

I don’t think that’s really what we want to do.

We know that we are disciples as well;

          we are inheritors of the tradition given to the original Twelve.

We are their successors …

          and the tasks that were given to them

                   are also given to us,

                             until they are finished.

 

Our next excuse, however,

          is even more clever.

“Surely we don’t all have to go out,” we say.

          “We can’t all make disciples, and baptize, and teach.

“After all, we pay ministers and missionaries

          to do that on our behalf.”

Now that’s partly true …

          that’s what makes it such a clever excuse.

Missionaries and ministers are

          full-time teachers, and baptizers, and disciple-makers,

                   and they have specialized training that we don’t all have.

But it’s not for them to do alone.

We are all disciples,

          we are all the church,

                   and we are all commissioned by the Great Commission.

 

We are all commissioned …

          that’s really a good word to use

                   when we think about our role and our task.

Because it means that Christians are,

          in a very real sense,

                   set apart from the rest of the world.

Not because we’re necessarily any better,

          but because we have a job to do.

We are the church,

          as of Pentecost, last week.

“Church” in and of itself is an interesting concept.

The Greek word, ekklhsia (ekklesia),

          comes from a verb which means to call someone out.

Like, to call someone out of slavery,

          or calling the Israelites out of Egypt.

We as the church are called out of the world;

          we are commissioned,

          and then we are sent back into the world

                   to teach, and to serve,

                   and to make disciples of all nations.

 

We are the church.

We, gathered here for worship this morning …

          other Christians, gathered for worship

                   all around Dallas,

                   and all around the world,

          we are the church,

                   the called-out ones.

We come here on the Lord’s Day

          to offer praise and thanksgiving and worship to God,

          to receive love and support from one another,

          to hear the word of the Lord in speech and in music,

          and to be empowered to tell the word of the Lord,

                   and go make disciples.

Now that last part is important.

Too many church folk believe that

          if we just get ourselves up on Sunday and make it to church

                   that we’ve done our duty to God for the week.

But that’s really only the beginning of it.

Notice that,

          at the end of the Great Commission,

          Jesus says to the disciples,

                   “Lo, I am with you always,

                             to the close of the age.”

He doesn’t say,

          “Lo, I’ll see you every Sunday morning

                   round about 11:00 o’clock.”

Christ is with us, always.

We are his, always.

And we must be disciples, always.

 

Now most of us will probably never

          be foreign missionaries …

          we may not have the chance literally

                   to make disciples in other nations.

But there’s plenty of opportunity

          for us to be commissioned disciples

                   right here and now.

And I’m not even talking so much about

          converting people from other religions to Christianity …

          that may happen, of course,

                   but at least people of other faiths are worshipping God in their own way.

I’m thinking more about the need for us

          to reach out to people who really don’t know God at all,

                   or who have quit believing somewhere along the way.

I mean, casting out idols such as

          worship of the almighty dollar,

          or worship of a God who looks and thinks just like us,

          or worship of a God who puts a seal of approval on our nation and no other,

          or worship of the current favorite idol called “family,”

          or worship of anything else that isn’t God.

There is plenty of disciple-making to be done

          right here in our own neighborhoods,

          our own schools and workplaces,

                   even, sometimes, in our very own selves.

Now, when folks do feel called

          to make disciples in other nations,

          more power to them!

We can support them with our constant prayers,

          and our money, and our love;

          and in that way, too,

                   we are fulfilling the Great Commission.

 

Last week as we celebrated Pentecost,

          we heard again the wonderful story of how

                   God engineered that business about speaking in tongues,

          to make it clear that God’s church is for all people.

Not just for the Jews who became Christians,

          not just for those of us nowadays

                   who were born and raised in the church,

          but for all people,

                   of all languages, all races, all nations.

That’s what the Great Commission is about.

About being the church, and building the church.

 

Richard Avery and Donald Marsh

          have written a whole lot of church music together –

                   some of it pretty good, some of it kind of silly –

One that they’ve written about the church is pretty good theologically,

though it’s simple in its music and language.

Part of it says,

          “The church is not a building,

            The church is not a steeple,

            The church is not a resting place,

            The church is a people.”

And then the refrain says,

          “I am the church, you are the church,

            We are the church together;

            All who follow Jesus, all around the world,

            Yes, we’re the church together.”

Actually, that doesn’t scan real well either,

          but it’s still good theology!

We are the church,

          the called-out people of God,

          the commissioned people of God.

And a large part of our commission and calling is

          telling the good news,

                   making new disciples,

                             inviting others to join us in this calling.

Jesus tells us so …

          the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do it.

Each of us in our own way,

          whether it’s large or small,

each of us is called by God

          to be a disciple,

          and to make disciples.

We have different gifts,

          so we will go about it differently,

                   and each of us will reach different kinds of people …

          but the calling is there, and it is ours,

                   for as long as we live.

The Great Commission is for us …

          for me, a paid full-time disciple-maker,

          and for you, disciples in

                   and sometimes in spite of

                   your everyday life and work.

 

Go, make disciples.

For Christ is with us, always.

How could we not share that good news?

 

Amen.

 

© 2002 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)