What's A Follower To Do?

The more I study the Bible the more I've become aware of God's mission in the world and my place - the church's place - in the mission. I believe God is a sending God and that believers are sent just as Jesus was sent.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you!

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

(John 20:21)

Our Lord spoke these words to his followers, his disciples. Often Jesus addressed a specific group but a larger group also heard. It was as if Jesus wanted the others to hear what he said. (In fact, he did!) But these words were spoken to the disciples, not the crowds, not the opposers.

Jesus was sending his disciples on the same mission the Father had sent him to accomplish. So what was Jesus' mission? He came to redeem lost people by taking the punishment for their sins through his death on the cross.

He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

He came to give his life to set sinners free from sin (Mark 10:45.)

Obviously, his disciples can die on a cross to absorb the penalty of sins for someone else. We aren't even an acceptable sacrifice for our own sins. We are sinners in need of a Savior and that's who Jesus is and that's why Jesus did what he did.

So what is our role in the mission of God? We are sent just as Jesus was sent but we can't do what Jesus has done. But we can point people to Jesus. We can show others who are lost in and bound by sin that Jesus has died to reclaim them and set them free.

The details of the disciples' mission is not just the same as Jesus' mission but the purpose and desired result is the same. Jesus died for sinners' sins; we proclaim this truth to them. Jesus died and rose again to gain victory over sin and death; we proclaim this truth.

The last words of Jesus that Matthew recorded in the Gospel are these:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the earth."

This Great Commission, like the sending passage in John 20, is intended for Jesus' followers. Whether that numbers in the dozens, hundreds, or millions, followers of Jesus are to make disciples - or other followers of Jesus.

We do that by joining the mission of God.

We do that by proclaiming Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

We do that by proclaiming truths found in Scripture that guide the way we are to live.

And really, aren't disciples supposed to live out their beliefs? Shouldn't what's in our mind be exposed in our actions? I think that is true. I think it does happen. Our actions do reveal what we really believe. I can't really judge if a person has trusted Jesus for salvation but often it's obvious whether or not that person is truly a follower or disciple of Jesus.

Professing believers ought to live by the instructions of the one they claim to follow. The Bible has plenty of passages that describe how a disciple ought to live, but just read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. Our worship, our relationships, our finances, our priorities all fall under the authority of Jesus Christ. Our entire lives are to reflect him.

I don't measure up to well with these passages, do you? What's a follower to do when you realize you aren't following very well?

1. Repent or turn away from your sins and seek forgiveness.
2. Turn toward God's word for help knowing how to live.
3. Yield to the Holy Spirit as He guides you.
4. Huddle with other believers to encourage and equip each other to live for Christ's glory.
5. Go and make disciples of all nations because that's God's mission.