Discipleship, Jesus’ Way
Written by: Dennis Bailey, Jr.
“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ” is how Bill Hull commenced the introduction to his Complete Book of Discipleship and I feel that it is fitting to bring that to the forefront here, also (Hull, 15). Discipleship was one of the chief themes of Jesus’ ministry during his estimated three year ministry on earth. According to John 3:3, “Jesus [said], ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’” This leads to the way in which people spread the word, and that is primarily through discipleship. If people who call themselves Christians refuse to be a part of any form of discipleship, then, as the quote at the onset said, they are essentially practicing Christianity without Christ.
Jesus’ whole life was a model of how we should live and treat others, and through Jesus’ words in John 15:12 we are instructed to “Love one another as I have loved you.” Love was a central theme of the teachings of Jesus, but as important, in my estimation, is that Jesus wanted his disciples to teach others his ways. The word ‘disciple’ is derived from the Greek word mathetes, which is translated as ‘learner,’ so the act of teaching is evident in the word disciple (Breen, 23). Practically all of the other things that Jesus taught us, we were directed to teach to each other. So, a simplified definition of discipleship according to the teachings of Jesus is to teach others about God through the ways of Jesus as an example, in order to spread the gospel all throughout the world, at any cost up to and including the giving of one’s own life. I describe this as a simplified definition, because there are so many different facets of what we, as his disciples, are called upon to do, that it is impractical to list everything, short of rewriting the Bible.
The key beliefs and teachings of Jesus include the willingness to die for the cause of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many verses of scripture that deal with this directive, including Luke 9:23-24, which says, “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’” Some may misinterpret this to mean that a disciple will necessarily die the death of a martyr, but that is not the case. Although this is a possibility, there are other figurative ways in which a person can “die,” which could mean losing friendships, wealth, and other things during persecution in the name of Jesus Christ (Sidders 2011, 56). This thought leads to another scripture in Luke 14:27 that says, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” The action of “carry[ing} their cross” is an obvious direct reference to the death of a martyr, as Jesus endured death on the cross, so this is yet another warning that if someone agrees to be a disciple of Jesus, this is a possibility for them (Sidders, 57). Jesus always provided full disclosure when he spoke about what was required to be a true believer, leaving nothing to chance.
Another key part of Jesus’ teaching was found in Luke 12:33, which says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Here, Jesus is telling his disciples that if they look out for others first, at the expense of their own wealth, then they will have a direct reward in heaven due to this act of obedience. There are other ways to be charitable, instead of giving money to the poor, as well, such as buying a load of groceries for a needy family, or making a car payment or mortgage payment for someone in need (Sidders, 79). It has even been said that some in the history of the church have essentially put a cap on their own wealth and lifestyles, whereas someone can set an arbitrary amount of earnings for oneself to keep for their own necessity, and then anything over and above that amount is contributed for the good of others less fortunate. Something that I have personally struggled with is determining how much money and goods to contribute during a given period of time. I believe that it is Satan that is always telling us that we aren’t doing enough, in order to cause us more strife and anxiety, making us feel as if we really aren’t sufficiently following the Word of God, in hopes that we will then abandon our faith altogether.
The important result of charity is that the beneficiaries will then see that disciples of Jesus Christ are actively following the Word, and that will then open the conversation regarding discipleship and the Word can be spread more easily that way. I think that an important premise to spread is that, as Greg Sidders says in his book, someone can believe in the deity of Jesus Christ and not be a Christian, because discipleship is the minimum requirement to be a Christian (Sidders, 39). Many people do believe in the deity of Jesus, but they seem to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they wish to exercise in there religion, which essentially precludes them from being Biblical Christians.
This leads to John 15:8 which says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Sidders talks about the ‘fruit’ which is not intended to be a literal reference. The word ‘fruit’ has several different meanings throughout scripture, and in this context it means the people who are impacted by the act of discipleship (Sidders, 103). This passage of the Gospel according to John is explicit by telling those who are effective disciples that God is glorified through discipleship, and proper discipleship will net more disciples, and that will be evident to those around you.
The act of discipleship is often not something that, to be done effectively, can be done without some amount of planning. Churches can effectively grow disciples through smaller groups with a seasoned disciple as a leader. One of the most important things that must be conveyed to those who wish to become disciples is that they should not be discouraged when they spread the gospel and some people do not accept it. Luke 9:5 reads, “If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Here, Luke is reflecting on Jesus’ teaching that not everyone will accept the good news, and if they don’t accept it then it should not discourage others from preaching more. Sidders also says that, just as Jesus hand-selected the seventy disciples, and from that group he hand-selected the twelve disciples, we should do the same, because everyone does not have the same talents and abilities, so not everyone is cut out for every facet of the discipleship process (Sidders, 15). I would add to this that if someone does feel a sense of discouragement, then they should utilize this feeling and transform it into energy focused on the next discipling target.
Equally as important as what discipleship is, is what it is not. Bill Hull set forth several descriptions of what discipleship is not. These are fairly obvious and do not require much explanation, so I will just list them here in regards to discipleship: it is not just a program, not a production line, not just for beginners, not just for leaders, not just for the highly literate, and not just for people who like structure (Hull, 36-40). In other words, discipleship is for everyone, and there are no good reasons to believe that one is not qualified for the job.
Aside from what discipleship is not, an effective disciple should have a competent knowledge of the Bible and the things of God in general, so that they can adequately convey the gospel to others. An effective disciple should also, as the popular saying goes, “practice what you preach.” Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” and it should be obvious to others that you subscribe to this belief (Sidders, 96). When Christians treat each other respectfully and lovingly, others will notice this and will therefore be drawn towards that type of community, just as what was experienced by the early church.
The early church was essentially a conglomeration of social outcasts because they did not revere what the rest of society revered, and they did not worship what the rest of society worshipped. Yet the greatest increase in the number of disciples occurred through the practices of these people, and they have set a lofty example that by and large the rest of humanity that followed has not been able to match. It is shameful that in the United States of America, the freest nation to ever be assembled, our current culture often takes for granted the luxuries that we enjoy, which were paid for with the blood of our ancestors. The early church in many ways contributed as much to our current way of life, in that they did a lot of the hard work in order for the gospel to be spread to the extent that it was, so that it could be accepted to an extent that centuries later a whole nation could be founded upon those same Judeo-Christian principles.
Yet despite the luxuries that we enjoy, the disciples of today must be mindful that a relatively small portion of the world’s population is free to worship God and openly speak the name of Jesus. Therefore, there is a lot work left to do, and it will not be complete until His coming.
Bibliography
Breen, Mike and Cockram, Steve. Building A Discipling Culture. Pawleys Island, SC: 3 Dimensional Ministries.
Hull, Bill. 2006. The Complete Book of Discipleship. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress..
Sidders, Greg. 2011. The Invitation: The Not-So-Simple Truth About Following Jesus.
