Doing All That Jesus Commands
Doing All That Jesus Commands
Zac Poonen | 20th?October?2024
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“Teaching them to do all that I commanded you…” (Matthew 28:20)
This is the next part of the Great Commission. First, we go into all the world and tell people that they are sinners, that Christ died for their sins and rose up from the dead, that He ascended to heaven and is returning, and that He is the only way to the Father. Wherever we find people responding, then we invite them to make Jesus Lord of their lives, to be disciples who are going to follow Christ all their life, baptize them into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and introduce them to the mystery of the Godhead. But it does not finish there; all of that is like coming to the starting line of the Olympic marathon race. It would be a great feat if you were selected to represent your country and to get to come to the starting line of the Olympic marathon race. That itself is a feat, but it does not mean anything on its own, because coming to the starting line is just the beginning of the race. The fact that you have become a disciple and have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is likewise great, but just like the picture of the Olympics, you must begin to run the race. And to run that race is to do every single thing that Jesus commanded us. This will take a lifetime for every Christian, and this is what every church should be teaching people. If a church is prioritizing making disciples and baptism, it should not stop there. What should they be teaching every Sunday in their church services? Every single thing that Jesus taught. All that Jesus taught, not just a few selected things, and certainly not psychology or mere entertainment. It's sad when a church is more interested in improving its music than improving the quality of its members. That's extremely sad. What do you think God in heaven is more interested in?
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Suppose a new church is gathered together. Assume they are full of people who are really born again, and they really want to make Jesus Lord of their life. If you find that such a church is concentrating on music, do you think God is pleased? It's good to have good music. I'm not against that. But it is a question of priority. What is God more interested in, the quality of the people in that church becoming more Christ-like, or the music becoming more entertaining? There we can see how Christians have drifted away, because Christian leaders haven't understood what pleases God.
“This must become a passion of every disciple: to do all that Jesus commands”
What are we supposed to do in our churches? We are to teach people to obey every single thing that Jesus commanded. We cannot teach others how to obey God's commands if we haven't obeyed them ourselves. Notice the difference between these two statements: “Teach them all that I commanded you,” and “Teach them to do all that I commanded you.”
If I just had to teach others all that Jesus commanded, I can take all the teachings of Jesus and teach them just like a man teaches chemistry or physics or history. I study the concepts and I teach them. But to “Teach them to do…” would require that I've done it myself first, so that I can teach them how they can also do it. If I have not done it myself, I would be like a person teaching swimming when I do not know how to swim. If you understood the principles and techniques of swimming, you could explain it clearly on a blackboard to a whole lot of people, and yet not be a swimmer yourself. That's merely "teaching them." But "teaching them to do…" is showing them in the swimming pool or in a river how you can actually swim on the surface of the water, and how to move from place to place.
A biblical Christian leader has the responsibility to teach people to actually do every single thing that Jesus commanded, and that is a huge amount of teaching. That's why I wrote the book, “All That Jesus Taught” — to fulfil that command. All that I am seeking to do is to fulfil the command of Jesus, to teach all that Jesus taught, and to teach you to do it as I've sought to do it myself in the last 65 years of my life. Not just emphasizing the things that are my favourite commands, or the ones that are easy, and neglecting the others. This must become a passion of every disciple: to do all that Jesus commands.