We call the method of making disciples that Jesus used DiscipleBuilding. In Matthew 28:19 when Jesus says for us to “make” disciples the use of the word make indicated that disciple building is a process. Any builder knows that in order to build a solid, sturdy, and dependable structure you must start by laying a good foundation. If the foundation is not firm the structure will shift and become damaged. If the foundation is not the right width and depth you limit how far you can go in building the structure. If the foundation is not laid properly it will soon crack because of the external pressures of moisture, temperature and time.

When we are building disciples we can’t just haphazardly throw them together, we must lay a foundation that will endure for the rest of their life. If the foundation is weak then when the storms of life come they will shift with the storm and eventually fall. If we rush the job and don’t make the foundation deep enough or broad enough by rushing them through a few new member classes teaching them about ‘OUR’ church and a few of our favorite doctrines, we’ll limit their potential and stunt their Christian growth. If we attempt to lay foundation without a proven process then the external pressures that life brings will cause them to crack and eventually crumble.

A Solid Foundation

The education of Jewish children was primarily the responsibility of the parents. When a boy became old enough to work, his father became his principal teacher. Being raised in the home of a carpenter Jesus grew up learning the trade of his earthly father Joseph. We see on several occasions in the gospels that Jesus would refer to the building process. Undoubtedly he understood that in order to build a good building you first need to start with the right foundation. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 7 and Luke 6 we will look at Matthews’s account of this teaching of Jesus.

24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

We see that what determines the quality of the house is the foundation that it is built upon. The first builder built his house on a rock. As a result the house was able to withstand the storm. If we want those who we disciple to be able to withstand the storms that life will throw at them they need to be given a firm foundation. The second builder built his house on sand. Unlike the first, when the storms came the house was destroyed.

The difference in the foundations of the two houses was that the first was a rock and the second was sand. A rock is a single entity and denotes strength. Sand is made of millions of tiny particles, which are related only by their close proximity to one another with nothing to hold them together. To build a house on millions of tiny shifting particles is a plan for disaster. While building a house on a single solid rock insures stability. When we try to build up new Christians using all of the many changing teachings and doctrines preached in the church today they are like a house built on sand. When the storms of life come they have nothing that holds them together and it all comes falling down.

If we look at this through our modern eyes, we lay foundations for buildings using concrete. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, and water. The difference between a sand foundation and a concrete foundation is the absence of cement and water. The sand foundation lacks the elements necessary to bind the grains together to form one strong unified foundation. When cement, sand, and water are mixed they form concrete but the concrete is not usable as a foundation until the water has evaporated from the mixture through the drying process. So the difference between the sand foundation and the concrete one is the presence of cement. In Matthew 7:24-27 the difference between the foundations of the two houses is that Jesus says that the wise builder,

heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them.

The cement that gives stability to the believer is that he hears, obeys, and applies the words and teachings of Jesus to his life. When we are making disciples we are moving them from hearers of the Word to doers. This is done through the building of a foundation through a process that takes the teachings of Jesus and communicates them to new believers in such a way that they can easily apply them to their lives.

Another place where Jesus stresses the importance of building upon a good foundation (rock) is in Matthew 16:13-18,

13. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is obvious from the question that Jesus asked at the beginning of this passage that this is clearly about his identity and the understanding that his disciples had of who He was. He started by asking them who others said that he was. One thing that we quickly learn about Jesus was that he knew what others were saying about him. Many times he responded to their thoughts and secret murmurings before they had a chance to express them. This question was used to set up his next question, which was,

But whom say ye that I am?

Peter answered:

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Which was to say that Jesus is the promised Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for and that he was the Son of the living God not just the Son of man. Impressed with Peter’s response he proclaimed that this was not just something that Peter came up with; it had to be a revelation from God himself. Jesus then reemphasizes the name that he had given him at their first meeting (John 1:42), which was Peter meaning rock. Upon this rock, the correct understanding of who Jesus is, he (Jesus) promises to build his church. He further states,

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The reason that hell will not prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ is that it is built on a solid foundation. This foundation is the revelation of who Jesus is.

According to the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 7, Luke 6, and Matthew 16 Disciple Building is a process that begins by building, within believers, a solid foundation consisting of an understanding what Jesus taught and of who is. Without this foundation any Christian is an unstable house built on shifting grains of sand never stable enough to endure the storms of life and destined to fall under the pressure that those storms will bring.