Discipling the Nations

There is a curious statement by Jesus found in Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” It interests me because this seems to be the dying end of a long tradition of Israel reaching people with a message of Godly culture. They had not always been so wrongly motivated or as apparently ineffective at communicating God’s love to lost people.

The short story of Ruth gives us a glimpse into evangelism by a different method than what those Pharisees were attempting. This is an ancient story set in the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1). There had been a famine in Israel so the man Elimelech took his wife Naomi and traveled across the border to Moab and they made a life for themselves there. However, after several years both the man and their two sons died. This left Naomi and her two daughters in-law to fend for themselves in the land of Moab. It was with confident resolve that Naomi determined to return to the land of her heritage.

The famine had ended in Israel and there was no practical way to continue in Moab. All of the breadwinners were gone and these women were on their own, except that Naomi had retained her faith in the God of Israel. Besides this she knew the law of that land and its favorable treatment of the orphans and widows. There was a righteous culture there to which she could appeal for some of the help she needed. It was Israel that had gleaner’s laws. These were laws, which became custom as laws often do. They demanded that farmers leave the corners of the fields uncut and when gathering a crop that they must not re-work the field after having passed over it once (Leviticus 19:9). The stated purpose was to provide food that the needy could glean. This was God’s concern.

There were also laws providing for the re-marriage of widows and the responsibility of family to help family. All of this was written into God’s statutes for Israel and had to some large degree become the culture of that nation. It was a reflection of the living God, His character, and His ideals for righteous society. So, when Naomi decided to return to her homeland it was not just an emotional turning back to the land of her youth. Rather, it was a very practical trust in God and the culture of her former life. It was a return to that righteous place where widows were helped and the culture of God was expressed in law and the behavior of obedient people.

There is an emotional moment when Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth, a now widowed Moabitis, announces her firm decision (Ruth 1:16-17) to travel with Naomi to Israel declaring, “…where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything parts you and me.” Ruth obviously understood that she was transferring her life and trust to Naomi’s God and Naomi’s ‘people’. There was an implicit cognizance that Israel was a people. They were not just whoever happened to be living on the land. Israel had been made into a distinctive group marked out by its adherence to Godly law and culture. Ruth was dedicating herself to that God, law, and culture. This is conversion. It is evangelism through culture and it is every day testimony to the Living God who makes law and culture after His own mind. It was a journey toward the God of truth and involved a firm commitment to die in that faith.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” it is important that He did not say to make disciples of all individuals. Rather He spoke of nations as the goal. Evangelism involves the making of disciples (not just converts) and nations are to be the intended goal. As nations are discipled into Biblical faith there will be a turning of surrounding nations toward the light of those who are redeemed. When the Lord established Israel as an example for us He promised them (Deuteronomy 4:6-8), “so keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?”

This is what we should pray and work toward. If God’s redeemed will establish righteous law and culture whole nations can be turned to God and then be a beacon of light and hope to the surrounding lost peoples. We are not to be just waiting for a final miserable end to history and of the nations. Rather, we are to disciple all nations. We are to teach them all that God commands thereby transforming the world, and by God’s power making salvation common. Eventually, the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters fill the seas (Isaiah 11:9). The earth will be evangelized. An integral part of that success will be the implementation of Biblical law and culture throughout the world. God is transforming the nations. We can be a part of that great work.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach