A Disciple Is One Who Follows a Certain Discipline; a Pupil Or Student of Someone Or Something

PASTORAL THEOLOGY

LECTURE 24

TEACHING:

TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS

Matt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

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What specifically does it mean for a Pastor to ‘teach’ the church members the Bible? How much of the Bible is he suppose to teach them? Is teaching behind the pulpit satisfactory in this? What do most Pastors do on this? Let’s take a brief look at these items:

The main concept we are looking at in a Pastor “teaching them to observe all things” involves ‘Discipleship’. The Pastor is to disciple the disciples (just as Jesus Christ did His). Let’s briefly look at what it takes to be a ‘disciple’ so we can better understand what it means to be a ‘discipler’. “A disciple is one who follows a certain discipline; a pupil or student of someone or something.” (Webster’s 1828)

Acts 11:26 And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Jn 8:30-31 As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Jn 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Luke 14:25,26 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Understanding a ‘disciple’ a little better, let’s now look at Mt 28:20 and see the role of the Pastor as a teacher, as a discipler –

Teaching them:

The main application of this is for the men (and women) sent out of a church to teach the scripturally baptized converts (new church members) in their field of ministry all these things. The ‘them’ here is referring to ‘all’ the new members in that church that the man is pastoring. It is everyone…not just those that are interested (they all should be if they’ve been baptized). It for sure is the adult males. Probably will include the adult females. And, by proxy, will include all the children, too (other teachers for them)! So, Pastor, make sure you know who it is you are to be teaching all these things to…

All things:

Is this everything in the Bible? Is it the whole counsel of God? Is it all the New Testament? Is it simply just what was recently said by Jesus Christ to them? Is it everything that Jesus Christ stated to them? These are good questions. It surely is ‘all things whatsoever I have commanded you’. I assume that that means all those commands that Jesus Christ gave to His disciples. We can only know the ones that are recorded in the Bible; they would be those in ‘red’ (in a ‘red-letter’ edition) in the New Testament that are commands to His disciples. There are a whole bunch of these.

Most Pastors pick and choose what they are going to teach; omitting those items that aren’t ‘popular’ or ‘politically correct’ (i.e. sacrificial giving, fasting, soulwinning, holy living, hating self, abstaining from all appearance of evil, etc.)! Still more Pastors are not very organized in their teaching and omit many commands simply by oversight; they bounce all around the New Testament and will miss many, many key commands of our Lord’s. Pastor, get organized and make sure you systematically teach ‘all things’ that the Lord is referring to here! This would be covered in something like a “survey of the New Testament”; a verse by verse commentary of it. And, Pastor, don’t be avoiding certain topics just because it is not popular with ‘your people’.

Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Commanded you:

Here are just a few of the many clear commands from the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples:

Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Matt 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Matt 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Matt 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Matt 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Matt 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Matt 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

To observe:

Don’t leave off the most important part of teaching!

A pastor is to be a teacher; a feeder of the flock; a teacher of the Bible; apt to teach. His teaching involves speaking the truths of God’s word to those in the church he is pastoring. But it is more than just saying it to them. He needs to ‘teach’ it to them. Teaching involves getting the student to actually ‘understand’ what it is that you are ‘saying’. One who speaks above the students head is not ‘teaching’ anything; they are saying a bunch of stuff that can’t be comprehended by those listening…what good is that?! The one who is supposedly teaching needs to make the information in such a format that those listening can readily understand it. They are to be able to understand its basic meaning, its underlying principle, and how to apply it. Understanding is not just recognizing the words in English; it is involving them being able to explain back to you in their own words what the term or topic means to them; if it lines up with what the teacher already understands and was trying to teach them, then they have taught them it! It is like the term ‘propitiation’; if you taught them this, the students might be able to recognize it as a word that deals with Jesus Christ’s death, but is that what you taught them? You probably taught them that ‘propitiation’ means “that 'satisfaction' or 'appeasement' by which it becomes consistent with Jesus’ character and government to pardon and bless sinners.” (Wikipedia) And, if they can quote that back to you…that is good. But do they understand it? In elementary school, teachers often ask the students to use the word in a sentence, or give a synonym of it, or give an antonym, or define it in their own words. This helps the teacher to truly be able to discern whether or not they have adequately ‘teached’ the thing to their students.

But, there is one more thing in teaching. The student might truly understand the term ‘holy’, in the command “Be ye holy”. He might be able to define flawlessly, give appropriate synonyms and antonyms, and use it in a sentence right. But, if he has truly been taught what the ‘thing’ means, then the final, and most important part, of teaching must then take place! That is, the ‘doing of it’! The actual application to one’s life. The observing of it! “Be ye holy”! So, go and be holy.

To observe is to obey

Observe -- “To keep or adhere to in practice; to comply with; to obey;” (Webster’s 1828).

The observance is the obedience. What Jesus wants is obedience. Obedience is the test of love to Him: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15), "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14), "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3), "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”(John 14:23).

We are to be doers of the word. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:22-25). There is certainly no profit in hearing only!

You’re only half-way done!

Pastors (preachers, teachers) often do a wondrous job at teaching their church all the things of the Bible. They will stand behind the pulpit or lecturn and teach and preach ‘away’…at the drop of a hat even! They dismiss the congregation, and they feel their job is over…they have successfully ‘taught’ (fed) the sheep for that week. What good is the ‘teaching’ if the little lambs aren’t shown how to ‘observe’ it…put it into practice…perform the doing of it?! I believe that most Pastors (including me, sad to say) fail miserably at this. Most of them don’t even understand that this is required of them as a Pastor. They just figure that “all I can do is pray for them and preach to them with everything I’ve got, and I’ve done all I can”! Wrong…you’ve done only ‘half’ of what you can!

How does one observe to get them to observe?

So, how does one go about getting ‘them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded’???! How does a Pastor ‘observe’ this? You may preach and teach your heart out every Lord’s Day, Wednesday, and other church meeting times throughout the week; but, what happens if they don’t all immediately get up and start wonderfully doing all that you have said? What happens if almost no-one does it?! This is the all-to-often sad commentary for the preacher: preaches his heart out, and few or none ever follow thru with what he preached. Well, the Pastor’s job is not done when he steps down from the pulpit. He needs to complete what he has been commanded to do in Matthew 28:20. The Pastor needs to ‘teach them to observe it’! Wow! How praytell does he do that?! He’s going to get a bunch of people mad at him if he goes and starts ‘meddlin’ in their lives! He’s going to get himself fired if he tries to ‘make the people do something’! He’s likely to get ‘beat up’ if he gets a bit ‘ornery’ with them and kindly keeps after them throughout the week to ‘do the thing that he taught them last Sunday’.

Here are some insights on ‘teaching them to observe’:

*Let them know that you expect them to observe it – tell them point blank that they have ‘learnt nothing’ until they actually are doing it! Sometimes folks misinterpret what you are wanting; they may figure that they are suppose to understand this in their brain, and then they are ‘good to go’. They might not actually even think much about ‘preaching the gospel’ themselves, when they are taught for 45 minutes on the subject (believe it or not). They may have thought that it is just ‘preachers’ who are to be doing this; or they might think that this is for every one else, not them. Bring it right down to them personally; even say it to them one on one…use their name…make sure they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you, as their Pastor, are lovingly exhorting them to ‘observe’ this thing!

*Clearly lead by example – The Pastor is to be an living example (ensample) for his disciples (church folk) to follow.

1 Peter 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock..He is to lead the way for

them in putting into practice what has just been taught. The Pastor therefore ‘must’ ‘practice what he preaches

(teaches)’!!! The Pastor must show them exactly how to do it; e.g. in preaching the gospel, take one with you and

go up to someone and preach the gospel to them….do this many times so that the student clearly understands what is

it that they are to ‘observe’. It probably will take more than the standard ‘see one, do one’ approach. You might

have to consistantly display the ‘doing of it’ for them for months, even years, until they not only understand it, but

finally are motivated enough to ‘observe it themselves’!

*It’s going to take you, as the Pastor, getting involved in people’s lives, one on one! Yikes! Yes, that’s right! Oh

how many Pastors dread the thought of this! They are fine as an ‘authoritative figurehead’, but don’t dare ask them

to be ‘folksy’ and go and talk to someone one on one. Of course, one Pastor can’t possibly go one on one with

everyone in a large church (200+). They will need to have helpers in the ministry for this. Nonetheless, the Pastor(s) need to be the one leading the charge on this. Times will need to be scheduled where you meet with them. Jesus Christ had 12 that He trained; so, it is very Scriptural to have small groups that you are working with. Jesus Christ also taught one on one. So, as a Pastor, you need to teach it from the pulpit to the masses, teach to the smaller group frequently throughout the week, and teach it to them one on one in private counselling sessions. Wow!

That’s a whole lot of teaching! Yep! And, I’m sure, if done right, would take a lot more time than just 1 hour extra per week in the Pastor’s schedule. It’s going to take ‘most of the hours’ in a Pastor’s schedule. Yikes!

*You probably are going to have to keep re-teaching it to them – Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. It usually takes we ‘spoiled Americans’ many, many times hearing something before we are ‘willing’, ‘able’, ‘desiring’, ‘ok with’, doing it ourselves (just take a look at soulwinning!). Thus, we Pastors are going to need to teach each truth of Scripture more than just one time to the beloved flock. How many times does a Pastor need to teach ‘Tithing’ before the folks are tithing? Ten to twenty times?! Why not just once?! Oh well…

1 Tim 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

*You can’t ‘force them to observe it’, though – Jesus Christ never forced His disciples to follow Him; He

commanded them to, but it was going to be their own decision if they did or not. This is shown in John 6:66 –

“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” They need to know that they have

a clear decision to make; they need to know that you (and God) strongly desire them to do this one thing. And, then

leave to them to make the decision. If they choose not to (as often is the case), then keep exhorting them, lovingthem, helping them, but don’t grab them by the collar and put a gun to their head and demand that they go up to thenext door and preach the gospel to who ever comes to the door! We Pastors should do everything we can to getthem to observe it, short of ‘forcing them to’.

*What do you do if they just won’t observe it? Of course, you don’t force them to do it. You will need to keepteaching it to them; keep being an ensample of it for them; keep praying for them; keep encouraging them to do it;and never give up on them (though they may give up on you and God, sad to say). I believe, in today’s climate ofeasy-goes-it Christianity, most ‘disciples’ will not observe to do very much of what Jesus Christ has commanded us.They will pick and choose what ‘appeals’ to and agrees with them. The ministry of the typical Pastor can be a veryfrustrating one, indeed; trying your ‘hardest’ to get them to observe these commands, but oh so few will actually doit. That’s why so many go to other churches (the grass is greener syndrome), or just quit all together.

James 2:20,21,26 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Lk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Lk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Dear Pastor, please realize that the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded you to ‘teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you’. You are to be a teacher; not just a lecturer; not just one who teaches behind a lecturn; but a disipler! May God bless you greatly as you fulfill God’s design for you as a Pastor of one of the Lord Jesus Christ’s churches!

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