Matthew 11:1
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.”
Whenever you find a model that works, you would be wise to follow that model. God gave us a model for the local church in the church of Jerusalem, and anybody wanting to reach their Jerusalem for Christ would be wise to follow that model. God gave us a model to world missions with the church in Antioch, and anyone wanting a solid missions program would be wise to follow the model God gave us through this church.
The Great Commission is oftentimes not fulfilled in the life of many Christians. Leading someone to Jesus Christ is one of the easier parts of the Great Commission; however, that is only one part of the Great Commission. If you are going to fully follow the Great Commission, then you must get a convert baptized and then disciple them so you can send them back out. Jesus shows us in the verse above a great model to follow in discipling Christians.
First, action without instruction causes discontent. One of the areas that causes many young Christians to become discontented with the Christian life is that they immediately want to go and reach others, which they ought to do, but oftentimes no one gives them instruction on how to do it which leads to discontentment. Many Christians have become discontented because they have not been instructed like Jesus instructed the disciples in the verse above. If a person is going to be successful as a Christian, then you must take the time to instruct them.
Second, instruction without action breeds a disgruntled Christian. God didn’t save the Christian to sit and do nothing, but He expects them to go out and give what they have learned. You can only soak up so much instruction, but eventually you need to go act upon what you have learned. If a person wanted to learn to fly a plane and all they received was instruction and never got behind the yoke of the plane, then they would become disenchanted with the instructor. Likewise, a Christian who never puts the instruction they received to use, then they will become disenchanted with their church and pastor.
Third, instruction results in confidence and action results in hunger. Both instruction and action are important to keeping a Christian growing. If you don’t receive instruction, then you will lack the confidence to act. Once you receive the confidence to act, then you will find that you will continually hunger for more because you are giving out what you have received.
Fourth, instruction with action results in solid growth. Growth will never be realized in anyone’s life without instruction followed by action. If you want those you lead to grow in the LORD, then you are going to have to take the time to instruct them in the ways of the Christian life. But, you must not stop there. You must give them avenues to put what they have learned to action so they will continue to grow. Instruction and action together are the key to helping others to grow in the LORD.