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The last command of our Lord Jesus was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 ESV). It was given to His eleven men, His disciples, and not to the multitudes. Why? Because it takes a disciple to make a disciple. If we are going to see strong, devoted disciples of Christ raised up under our leadership and discipleship, we ourselves must be a strong devoted disciple of Christ. It’s that simple.One of the primary goals of Christian leaders and disciplers is the deepening of the spiritual lives of those they lead. Their followers must grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, developing in their effectiveness for Him and deepening their devotion. It is God’s desire that they demonstrate Christlike qualities in everyday life. The Bible is alive with examples of this. Under David’s leadership the men around him won battle after battle, defending the kingdom against the enemies of God. But the greatest accomplishments were in the lives of the men themselves. How were these men described when they came to David? “All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him” (1 Samuel 22:2 NIV).Later after association with David, these men became strong, dedicated, mighty men of valor. Scripture describes one of them, Eleazer, as … “one of the three mighty men…with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle…. He stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazer, but only to strip the dead” (2 Samuel 23:9-10 NIV).The influence of leaders and disciplers on their followers is interesting to observe in the Bible. For example, how many giant killers were in Saul’s army? None. When Goliath defied the armies of God, they shook with fear (1 Samuel 17:11). David, who came to bring food to his brothers, sized up the situation, went out in faith, and killed the giant. After David, the giant killer, became king, how many giant killers arose in Israel? Many. They were almost common in David’s army.“At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites, and the Philistines were subjugated.In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men” (1 Chronicles 20:4-8 NIV).Why were there no giant killers in Saul’s army? One reason is that Saul himself was not one. However, under David’s leadership there were many. Why? Because David was one. This illustrates a powerful principle of leadership and discipleship which runs throughout the Bible. *It takes one to make one.*Here are some questions for thoughtful prayer:1. How would we feel if the Lord called us to shepherd a church of four hundred people like those described in 1 Samuel 22:2?2. How do we react to this principle of leadership and discipleship: “It takes one to make one.” Are we encouraged, frightened, challenged, or? Why?3. What signs do we look for to see if a person is ready to make disciples, either one-on-one or in a group setting?4. Read 2 Timothy 2:2. Does this pattern work with any age? Is it different with men and women? How about a parent to a child?Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-14 (ESV) what our primary work is as pastors, missionaries, evangelists and teachers. It says “And he (the Spirit) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes”.Amen.
We come to have a personal saving relationship with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And I’ll add, for God’s glory alone from beginning to end. God uses His people, though, like you and me, to help others enter into this personal relationship and mature in it. I was saved in 1973 while in my first year of college when a staff man named Mark of Campus Crusade for Christ (today Cru) shared the Four Law booklet with me. I remember clearly when I turned from my sin to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was forgiven the penalty of my sin and began to take baby steps in my new life in Christ. God’s Spirit convicted me of my sin and showed me that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no can come to the Father except through believing faith in Him (John 14:6). I was one-hundred percent convinced of this truth and knew I was now a real Christian. As a baby in Christ, however, I needed to be taught the Scriptures and helped to develop a new identify. For four years, while in college, I was discipled by staff men and fellow students involved with Cru. I discipled those I led to faith in Christ as well. For two of those years several of us guys lived together in what became known as the “Crusade men’s house”. I thank God for those formative years of one-on-one and small group Bible studies and prayer meetings while living life together because a firm foundation was laid in my life. By God’s grace, it is still solid today.
What is my point? It is simply this. When we lead someone to faith in Christ we need to be prepared to disciple that person in the Scriptures and in their new life in Jesus. It would not be responsible to give birth to a baby Christian and then leave him/her just as a married couple should not abandon their newborn child. If we are not able to personally disciple someone we are then responsible to look for someone who can. It is my opinion that if someone who is a baby in Christ and left to fend for him/herself, then he/she is vulnerable to join a pseudo Christian group. That would be a tragic disservice to them because as spiritual parents we are responsible for those we lead to Christ which includes connecting them with a Christ-exulting Bible-teaching church. Growing in Christ and the Bible is a life-time process. God uses prepared people in this process so here are a couple questions: Who are we discipling? and Are we being discipled? Let us prayerfully think about this before we next share our faith with someone or our church has an evangelistic event. This is all about becoming mature in Christ.
Jeff Anderson