“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). This powerful and timeless verse has great implications for each generation of Christ-followers. The necessity of sound doctrine and biblical faithfulness in our lives cannot be understated. The same is true in our ministries in our local churches. We must maintain biblical fidelity in each generation. If we do not, it is to the detriment of those present and those to come.

The church is called to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). The command in the passage is to, “Make disciples of all nations” (v. 19b). To do so, we must:

• “Go” – We approach others and seek to make disciples. We don’t simply wait for those who need Christ to come to us.
• “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Those who repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are to follow the Lord in obedience by receiving believer’s baptism.
• “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior and been baptized are in need of being taught. This ongoing training is what we commonly refer to as discipleship.

The great encouragement we have in this mission is:

• Jesus has been given, “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).
• Jesus will be with us, “always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

So, as we seek to carry out the mission the Lord Jesus has given the church, he possesses all authority in heaven and on earth and he is with us to help us. We are not alone. We are not to rely on our own strength and authority. We are obeying Christ and relying upon him.

We must be wise and discerning as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a temptation to do things to “get results”. This tempts us to do things to please the unbelieving world. We reason that it will help increase numbers. The numbers in mind usually refer to people. Bear with me as I unfold the logic behind such a mindset. If we have more people then we are successful. If we have more people we will have more money. If we have more money we are successful. If we are going to accomplish these things then we have to do church in a way that unbelievers will like or at least not be offended. Brothers and sisters, we never determine success in ministry by merely analyzing attendance. Faithfulness to the Lord and his Word is greater than mere attendance figures. Faithfulness to the Lord is greater than mere financial figures. These are easy to evaluate. The world evaluates businesses and entertainment based on financial statements and attendance. The problem for the church is when the goal becomes numbers alone (attendance and finances as primary indicators of health). The goal in such a situation is not more disciples. It is just more people. The goal ceases being increased service and giving as a result of growth in Christian maturity because the focus has shifted from the Lord and toward people. When the focus is on people as consumers, we will seek to please them rather than Christ.

How do we maintain a proper focus and biblical balance? As Christians, we must hold fast to the Scriptures as our authority. They are sufficient and authoritative. We must know them. We must adhere to them in how we live and serve. We must not look to the wisdom of man for the authority or standard for how we live and serve. Secondly, we must hold fast to the gospel as our hope. The gospel is what God uses, by his Spirit, to save those who repent and believe. We don’t give people a message of false hope. They do not need to believe in themselves or follow their hearts. They do not need to feel better about themselves as they live in rebellion against God. Finally, we must honor Christ as Lord. We belong to him. Jesus is Lord of every local church. It is according to his Word that we will carry out this ministry. Jesus has called Pastors to ensure this is the case (Acts 20:26-32; 1 Pet. 5:1-5). They will give an account one day for how they have led you and the evaluation will be based upon how faithful they were to teach and lead local churches to do things according to God’s Word (Heb. 13:17; cf. 1 Tim. 4:15-16; 1 Thess. 5:12-13).

We must know the Lord and fear his holy name. This sets us apart from the unbelieving world. It is a God-honoring, biblical reality (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Titus 3:3-8). As Christians, we are supposed to be different because of Christ and his Word (1 John 2:5-6). Let us rely upon the Lord in prayer as we seek to love and honor him in our lives and service in our local churches.