The Great Commission says, “19 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, 20 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.” Amen. (Matt 28:19-20).
The Great Commission tells Christians to make disciples of unbelievers. To ‘make disciples’ means to make unbelievers become disciples of Jesus Christ through the procedures of soul-winning, baptism, and teaching or nurturing them in the obedience of the word of God; hence make disciples consists of:
1. Soul-winning
2. Baptism
3. Teaching or nurturing them to live by the word of God.
Presently, these seemingly easy steps may not be as easy as one would perceive, in that making disciples is ever becoming challenging – as challenging as the very world in which we live. King Solomon, inspired by the Spirit of God, once said, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc 1:9). Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun, for every situation and event occurring at present has some historic references. In the same way, ‘make disciples’ is nothing new; it is of old. Jesus, the one who enjoined us to make disciples, lived up to His own command; He made many disciples for Himself irrespective of the challenges. We too can make disciples successfully if we follow His command.
How to make disciples
1. Soul-winning
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:35-37).
Congratulations Philip, you just won a soul. And congratulations Ethiopian eunuch, you just became a new convert. The unbeliever is described as the child of disobedience and an enemy of God. Obviously, he does not regard God in his ways. Making such a person a disciple of Jesus takes a procedure. The first thing to do is soul-winning, for you cannot go ahead to baptize an enemy of God in God’s name, neither can you teach an unbelieving, disobedient soul to obey a God whom he does not believe. In fact, all unbelievers identify with the Scripture that says “… they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.” (Psalm 78:22).
To make a disciple of such an unbelieving and disobedient enemy of God, soul-winning is the inevitable first step to take; you really have to win the unbeliever’s heart for Christ first before baptism and discipleship. And to win the unbeliever, preach the Gospel of salvation to him, and if he is willing, lead him to pray or confess His faith in Jesus. It is written —
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9)
There are quite some biblical examples of believing and confessing:
- Philip led the Ethiopian eunuch to confession, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37).”
- Jesus moved Nathaniel to confess, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (John 1:49)!”
- Etc.
Today, most people who come to accept Jesus Christ are made to say a short prayer, which is normally called the sinner’s prayer.
If you win a soul for Jesus; that is, if you lead an unbeliever to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, you have fulfilled just one part of making a disciple and your job is far from over; there is more to be done. Making disciples for Jesus should not be understood to be a one-day event or a few hours event. Your responsibilities are actually spread over an unknown period of time until the new convert gains a foothold in Christ.
2. Baptism
After winning the unbeliever for Christ, baptism should follow. Make an arrangement for your pastor to baptize your new convert. Also, with the help of church leaders such as the pastor, elders, deacons, or deaconesses, ensure that your new convert has received Holy Ghost baptism.
Every Christian has to experience two types of baptisms: water baptism and Holy Ghost baptism. It is written – Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
Water baptism: The first event of water baptism since the resurrection of Jesus is recorded in Acts 2:41 – “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized (with water) …” How did the disciples come by the authority to baptize new converts? The authority was given to them by Jesus Himself. Jesus Christ showed baptism a great deal of respect when He availed Himself to be baptized by John the Baptist. He also baptized people (John 3:26). Moreover, He emphasized the necessity of baptism in John 3:5, and finally, He commanded His disciples to baptize in the Great Commission (Matt 20:19,20). Hence, baptism became a Christian ordinance. One good example of Christian water baptism can be read from Acts 8:36–38:
Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
The new convert cannot attain water baptism by himself. He needs to be baptized by someone. Who? Normally, in the Scriptures, the person or persons who led him to believe have to baptize him. When? In the Scriptures, it was immediately after he has believed. However, the situation is quite different now. For the sake of certification, the church, as a body, has assumed the role of baptizing new converts who are won by soul-winners. Today, you would have to be a registered pastor of a certain denomination to be able to baptize. And having baptized, the denomination concerned would issue a certificate to that effect.
Baptism by the Spirit: John (the Baptist) answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One (Jesus) mightier than I is coming, …… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16, also Matt 3:11). In Acts 2:3, the first example of baptism by the Holy Spirit occurred when, as foretold by John the Baptist, tongues of fire came upon the disciples and they were filled by the Holy Spirit and they spoke in tongues. As usual, the new convert cannot get Holy Ghost baptism by himself; someone needs to help him get it. Who? In scriptural examples, church leaders did it. E.g. Peter and John went to Samaria, prayed for the new converts, laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 8:14-17).
Paul also laid hands on some twelve believers and they received the Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 19:6, 7). When should a new convert be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Any time. There is no deadline to it; however, the sooner the better for the new convert needs the power of the Holy Spirit baptism to lead a victorious Christian life. How do you become certain that the new convert has received Holy Spirit baptism? Holy Spirit baptism should be confirmed by the speaking of tongues (Acts 2:1-4; Acts 19:6,7).
Now which one of these baptisms should be done first? Anyone of them can be first (Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7). Which one of these baptisms is necessary for the new convert? Actually, all of them are necessary for the new convert. In fact, every Christian convert, new or old, should experience the two. See –
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples, he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus [water baptism]. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them [Holy Spirit baptism], and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. (Acts 19:1-7)
3. Teaching or nurturing the new convert to obey the word of God
Do not think winning and baptizing an unbeliever is enough to secure your victory of discipling him. Understand that the new convert is like a child who must be nourished to survive and grow, and must be taught to know, and must be directed in the way he should go. Leaving the new convert to himself is a dangerous disservice you are doing him and you are not far from losing him back to the devil and eternal doom out of which he was saved. If for any reason you think leading an unbeliever into accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is enough to secure his salvation, maybe this piece of Scripture would change your mind –
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. (Hosea 4:6).
If you do not teach the new convert or nurture him in the word of God and the obedience thereof, he would not last long in the faith; he stands the risk of perishing again. In fact, you make room for, at least, two possible outcomes in his life:
1. He becomes a sinning Christian.
2. Apostasy: You stand the risk of losing him to the devil and eternal condemnation.
You really do not want a soul you have won to fall into any of these states above, do you? That is why you should not relent from nurturing him in the word of God. How should you go about nurturing him? The following would be helpful:
- First of all, be a good example for him to emulate; live by the word of God to demonstrate to him how a Christian ought to live his life; let your deeds, actions and words, be a light before him that he may follow.
- At every opportunity of meeting or communicating with him, share or encourage him with the word of God. You may create these opportunities yourself by visiting him, or calling him, or inviting him to your end, etc.
- Ensure that the new convert gets a Bible and, if possible, a daily devotional book and teach him to have Quite Time. You may call him once daily to remind him of having his Quite Time.
- What if the new convert misunderstands what he reads in the Bible or has questions to ask? Do not overlook his questions for they are part of the things that build his faith and knowledge and make him grow. Use all resources available, both online and printed resources, to find answers to his questions.
- If your church has a New Convert Class, do encourage him to attend regularly; do call to remind him and, if possible, accompany him to church for Bible lessons.
NB: When a Christian wins a soul, he wins him into the church. Do not forget that when Jesus issued the statement of the Great Commission, though, He appeared to be imposing a task on the disciples as individuals, he was also speaking to them as a unified body, a church. The church, as a body, has a crucial responsibility to play in making disciples so much that it should not be overlooked.
When it comes to teaching or nurturing the new convert in the obedience of the word of God, the church, no doubt, has a significant role to play in it. Some denominations have risen to the occasion and have come up with New Convert Classes, where new converts are taken through a well-prepared syllabus of Bible teachings. The church can help better by providing every new convert with a Bible to read at church or at home.
Conclusion
The Great Commission simply tells you to make disciples of unbelievers. To make disciples you must take the unbeliever through the activities of soul-winning, baptism, and teaching or nurturing him to obey the word of God. Jesus Christ did every one of these activities; He won souls, baptized, and taught them. We should follow His ways to make disciples.
Food for thought
- Having gone through this lesson, can you explain to someone what it means to make disciples?
- If you win a soul, will you have the patience to teach him the word of God?
- If you win a soul, how will you ensure that he is baptized?
- Supposing a new convert asks a question for which you have no sure answer, what will you do to help him?