Fri Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

Jesus tells us to go make disciples, but what does that mean? What do you do to make a disciple? It specifically tells us.

“…baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The first step of someone who is not a disciple, but has become a disciple, by receiving Christ and trusting Christ is to be baptized. When you read the New Testament you will find that every person who made a decision to enter into discipleship was immediately baptized.

The order in which these instructions are given are not accidental, but fundamental. There is a reason why Jesus said this in the order in which He said it. He didn’t say we are to baptize people, and then teach them, and then make disciples. He didn’t say we are to teach them, then baptize them and then make disciples. He said we are to -

Make Disciples -> Baptise -> Teach

You make disciples. You baptize them and then you teach them. That is the biblical order.

Baptism is more than just getting wet. There is a lot more to baptism than just getting into a pool of water. How do I know that? We are to be baptized, “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The word “in” can also be translated “into.” That phrase “into the name of” comes from the world of banking and it literally means “to the account of” or “into the possession of.” In other words, it is by baptism that a disciple is pictured as coming into the account of and into the possession of the family of God.

Jesus is even more specific. He says this is to be done into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is a picture that we have been joined to the family of the Father. We have been placed into fellowship of the Son and we now have the fullness of the Spirit. That is why membership in our church requires baptism. There is no such thing as an unbaptized member of a New Testament church.

Remember the order. If someone has made a disciple of you and you have become a disciple of Jesus by trusting Jesus and following Jesus and you have not been baptized, then that is your next step of obedience to Jesus. That is the next and really the first step a disciple takes. Also, if you are a disciple of Jesus and you have not been baptized since you’ve become a disciple, you’ve never been biblically baptized. If you are here today and you would say that you have become a disciple, and you are a disciple, you are a follower of Jesus, you have surrendered your life to Jesus, and since that point in time when you decided to become a disciple, you have not been baptized, then your next step is to be baptized. Baptism is how you get into the membership of God’s church.

That is why baptism is a big deal. That is why one of the most important things this church does is baptism. That is why we put such an emphasis on baptism. That is why I will baptize at Christmas Eve and Easter, which are two of the most special times of the year. Our job in making disciples is not just to go after people outside the church, but to get people inside the church. Then, our job has really just started, because there is one other instruction we have to follow or else we fail.