What is the Universal Christian Call to Action?

What is the Universal Christian Call to Action?

Primary References

Matthew c. 28 v. 18-20; Ephesians c. 4 v. 11-16; Colossians c. 3 v. 16-17, c. 4 v. 5-6; Hebrews c. 3 v. 13; James c. 2; 1 Peter c. 2 v. 9, c. 3 v. 15-16

Supporting Cross-References

Proverbs c. 28 v. 1; Matthew c. 5 v. 13-16; Acts c. 8 v. 1-4; Romans c. 15 v. 14; 1 Corinthians c. 12 v. 12-27; 1 Thessalonians c. 5 v. 11, 14; Hebrews c. 5 v. 12-14, c. 10 v. 24-25; 1 Peter c. 4 v. 10-11

INTRO

Greetings, and welcome to —
The Wisdom Crucible with Jakob McClain —
where you and I engage in the ongoing practice of applying biblical thinking to deepen our understanding of biblical truth.

Originally, I was planning to pivot from my theology of faith project straight to Psalm 89, but the LORD kept impressing on me a question.

What is the universal call to action for all Christians?

Over the course of a few days, He kept nudging me to think about evangelism and discipleship.

Then I heard a message emphasizing discipleship from another brother in Christ, which he claimed God had laid on his heart to bring to the Bible study that week.

Then I went to a breakfast and discipleship gathering the next morning at the church, where we participated with and discussed — you guessed it — discipleship!

All that said, the aspect of discipleship that I felt called to discuss in brief for this episode pertains less to definitions or strategies of application,
but more specifically to the universal nature of the command to make disciples.

I tend to explain things at length with detail, but this is a short reflection and exhortation — because even a handful of bread and fish given to God can feed thousands.

THE MEAT

It has always bothered me when I’ve heard comments suggesting that faith is private or evangelism, discipleship, and apologetics are for other people.

If you think that your faith is your own to keep to yourself, think again!

Ephesians 2:8 says that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”.

Even our faith is a gift from God, rather than something that we produce within ourselves with the right to govern whether or not we express it!

So, what does the sovereign God of all creation command you to do with the gift of faith?

Ephesians 4 v. 11-12

He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

End quote.

Can we say that the elders — the pastors — the missionaries have evangelism and discipleship handled on behalf of the rest of the Church?

No!

As I just read in Ephesians, the ministers are here to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

Who are the saints?

All who put on Christ under the New Covenant!

1 Peter 2:9

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

End quote.

That passage is not exclusive to professional ministers. Peter was writing to the discouraged exiles who had experienced persecution because their surrounding cultures hated Christ.

In this encouraging instruction, God doesn’t tell Christians to keep their faith to themselves and stop shoving Jesus down people’s throats.

He says that you are not your own, and that you have been called to proclaim the glory of your risen Savior!

If you have trusted your spirit to God then you are his possession, and He declares you part of the royal priesthood.

Colossians 3 v. 16-17

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

End quote.

How can the word of Christ dwell in you richly if you aren’t studying it?

How can you be teaching and admonishing one another with wisdom if you keep your faith private?

How can you sing spiritual songs if you skip praise and worship because it’s not your style or you don’t like singing?

How can you do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus with thankfulness if your faith is barely awake enough to drag you from Sunday to Sunday?

Biblical faith should be as loud on Friday night as it is on Sunday morning if everything that we do is in the name of Christ, and if you need that stated more explicitly, then I would recommend you sit with Hebrews 3:13, in which God commands us to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Newsflash: that applies to every day, in its time.

Tomorrow is only tomorrow until it is today, and on that day, you will also be called to proclaim Christ to each other again and again as we wrestle against the sinful nature of our flesh until its last day!

Colossians 4 v. 5-6

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

End quote.

What does it mean to make the best use of the time through walking in wisdom with gracious speech as the salt of the earth?

The phrase “making the best use” implies a purpose for which to work efficiently.

What’s the purpose of the Gospel?

There’s a fitting symbolic answer in the metaphorical armor of God.

We don’t have a cushion for the Gospel of comfort so that we can sit tight until judgement day.

We have the shoes of the Gospel of peace to ready us for spreading the good news of Christ!

1 Peter 3:15 commands us to “honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you”.

You may not be called to train as an academic apologist, but you are called to be prepared to give a reason for your faith, and if you don’t know what that reason is then I challenge you to figure it out because you might not know why you believe what you think you believe because you don’t really have a reasoned faith, but rather a blind belief — which leaves you at risk for being converted to blind disbelief.

As a Church, we believe in God because He is real — He is trustworthy — and He has proven Himself more than sufficiently throughout ancient history and modern times to make that claim with eyes wide open to the plain truth of reality.

As an individual, the primary reason for the strength of a Christian’s faith is most likely found in their personal testimony of transformation by the Holy Spirit.

At the very least, as a genuine disciple of Christ, you will have a personal testimony to give as a reason for your faith, and while that may not win any academic awards, it can win hearts and minds for Christ.

All of the verses that I’ve read in this message thus far are derived from the purpose and heart of v. 19-20 of Matthew 28, in which Jesus commands us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that” He has commanded of us.

WRAPPING IT UP

In summary, we are not all called to formal positions of leadership, but we are all called to serve as saints ministering to each other and the world under the New Covenant of Christ.

Be the salt and light of the earth, speak wisely and graciously among each other and the unbelievers, always be ready to give a reason for your faith, and participate in discipleship!

Jesus did not offer a second membership plan for the Kingdom of God.

There is one plan for all people:
be disciples of Christ making disciples of Christ!

It’s one thing if you only have a few seconds to interact with someone that you may never see again.

Likely, all you can do is quickly plant a seed or water an existing seed in that situation.

However, it’s an entirely different circumstance to consider your responsibility for your coworkers, your neighbors, or especially your family!

1 Timothy 5:8 claims that the one who does not care for their own family is worse than an unbeliever!

How do you think God feels about you keeping your faith to yourself if you have children asking questions, needing prayer, or lacking discipline in the faith because you don’t feel comfortable talking about your Creator and Savior?

Perhaps you’ve been told that you should keep your religion to yourself because that’s a personal issue that everyone needs to work out for themselves.

Who told you that?

Was it God, or was it merely an ungodly opinion from the enemy of Christ trying to minimize the impact of your faith for the Gospel — to snuff out the light of Christ that should be shining through you into the hearts and minds of those around you.

James 2 suggests that someone who claims to have faith without visible evidence of faith will appear as a hypocrite: one without genuine faith.

Our faith is not effective for the Kingdom of Christ if it appears dead, dormant, or sidelined.

We are the body of Christ, and on this team, there is no bench to sit on while the few who bear the mantle of leadership carry the entire burden of discipling the world on behalf of Christ!

We are all called to take our place on the field in the army of Christ — to trust God with our lives and march out in solidarity against the flaming arrows of the deceiver with our shield of faith raised high for all to see — bold as a lion, just as it says in Proverbs 28:1.

So, choose this day who you will serve: the one who conditions people to be so uncomfortable with the truth that they are offended by the mere presence of people speaking it, or the God who commands us to always speak truth, to always be ready to explain the reason for our faith, and to show those people the light of Christ — because their status in eternity is more important than their momentary discomfort with the truth.

OUTRO

The study and application of God’s Word always blesses and restores me.
I pray that what you’ve heard today draws you to deeper reflection and conversation with the LORD.

In the crucible, wisdom is tempered by truth as transformation is born through Scripture.

If this message encouraged you, you can follow this podcast or find The Wisdom Crucible on YouTube for more reflections and teachings.

The algorithms may run on numbers, but this ministry runs on God’s truth — and my hope is that it kindles your faith in Him.

May the Lord bless you — and within you continually refine wisdom through truth.