Understanding Discipleship

The next step in the development of a born again believer is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ—a disciple enters into an exclusive allegiance with Jesus Christ. All other allegiances are either forsaken or made secondary. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other" (Matthew 6:24). Scripture spells out in many places the requirements of a disciple of Jesus Christ:

The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matthew 10:24-25)

And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple ... So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-27, 33)

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35)

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:5-7)

All these scriptures culminate in John 15:8: "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." The disciple through self-denial, study, faith, obedience, suffering, and discipline, shall "be as his master" and shall manifest the evidence that exhibits the righteousness of God—he shall bear and retain fruit. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Disciples become skilful in the word of righteousness and "have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:12-14). Moreover, disciples reckon themselves "to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). "Being then made free from sin, [they become] the servants of righteousness" (Romans 6:18). Righteousness leads to holiness (sanctification)—"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27), and holiness leads to the resurrection of life. Oswald Chambers, in his daily devotional speaks on step number one, denying yourself, in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. He wrote:

The natural life is not sinful; we must be apostatized from sin, have nothing to do with sin in any shape or form. Sin belongs to hell and the devil; I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence and self-assertiveness, and this is where the battle has to be fought. ... "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh"—it is going to cost the natural in you everything, not something. Jesus said—"If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself," i.e., his right to himself, and a man has to realize Who Jesus Christ is before he will do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.²¹⁶

In the Old Testament the word disciple only occurs once; however, the definition of a disciple can be gleaned from the requirements stipulated for a Nazarite:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD. (Numbers 6:1-8)

David E. Schroeder, in his companion workbook, Follow Me! Manual, to his book, Follow Me: The Master's Plan for Men (Camp Hill, Christian Publications, 1992), wrote:

Some prefer an easier road in the Christian life, but if every Christian had followed the easy road, there would be no Christian church. Discipleship is the rough road to the kingdom of God.

It's a road strewn with obstacles, danger and mishaps, not a tour on a scenic cruiser designed to fill our leisure with luxury. It's the trailblazing of the pioneer. The Master didn't say, "Follow me, except when it's raining, snowing, hot or uphill." He didn't come to make life easy, but to make people spiritually strong. He came to make disciples.

But what is a disciple? How will I know if I am one, or becoming one? In a word, disciples of Jesus are people whose sole motivation is to be like their Master.

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. (Luke 6:40)

We need to be realistic. Jesus knew that the radical hate, the vicious crime, the fierce fighting, the gross injustice and the rampant ungodliness of our world and the human heart will not even begin to be challenged by a wimpish, faint-hearted, superficial Christianity. We need to know that same truth. The world needs to see virile, committed disciples, not passive, lukewarm Christians ...

In addition, Schroeder wrote:

If we would be disciples of Jesus, the Lord, we must spend time in relationship with him and other disciples ... True followers of Jesus are broken, in that they have surrendered any pretense of their own righteousness, and recognized their total dependence upon God. Having done so, and continuing to acknowledge this dependence, true disciples are made bold, not in their own strength, but because of him whom they serve ...

There is no quick and easy formula to becoming a disciple of Jesus. Perhaps that's painfully obvious to you. So don't try to go it alone. You will need help. You will need the help of God's [h]oly Spirit giving you insight and power. You will need the help of God's holy Word giving you faith and direction. And you will need the help of God's holy community giving you encouragement and holding you accountable.

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, draws a parallel between being a disciple of Jesus Christ and being a soldier. "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully" (2 Timothy 2:3-5). As a soldier in the army of Jesus Christ, are you fully "up to speed" on your operations manual—the Word of God? Are you making decisions presumptuously assuming that God will forgive you? Are you making decisions and hoping they line up with scripture? Or, like a good soldier, have you disciplined yourself to continuously study your operations manual and continuously check in with "headquarters" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to determine today's plan (Matthew 6:34)? Afterall, we are inherently limited "for we know in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9). Have you checked in with your "commanding officer" today? "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour" (John 12:26). "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that" (James 4:13-15). Good soldiers of Jesus Christ say to themselves, "I can of mine own self do nothing ... because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30). "If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome. Do we so appreciate the marvellous salvation of Jesus Christ that we are our utmost for His highest?"²¹⁷

In the natural, suffering for success is normative. We suffer through school in order to graduate. We suffer through physical exercise to improve our health and bodies. We suffer through mean co-workers and bosses in order to climb the corporate ladder. We suffer through bodily pains to achieve success in sports. "All of these means of self-development require great effort and a considerable amount of time if they are to be successful."²¹⁸ We suffer through many things in the world; however, we seem to want a handout when it comes to salvation. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:9-10). For "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. (Hebrews 5:8-9). "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). It should be of no surprise then that suffering is also required in growing spiritually (see "A Living Sacrifice" and "Abase Him That Is High"). "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Jesus was the firstborn; he set the example, the path, for us to follow. "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God" (1 Peter 4:1-2). Quite often our obedience to God may cause others to suffer:

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people's plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it—"You call this Christianity?" We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be paid. Our human pride entrenches itself on this point, and we say—I will never accept anything from anyone. We shall have to, or disobey God. We have no right to expect to be in any other relation than our Lord Himself was in (see Luke 8:2-3). Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole thing ourselves. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected. Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say—I will not cost other people suffering? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him. Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him.¹⁸¹

In addition, it is in suffering that we learn patience: "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" (Hebrews 10:36). "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 10:22). In suffering we gain more intimate knowledge of God; that is, we increase our experience of him delivering us out of our troubles as we obey: "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). Moreover, in suffering we increase our hope in the Lord: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope" (Romans 8:24). Thus our suffering builds patience, experience and hope (Romans 5:1-5), and it is through our hope in the Lord that we can rejoice with joy unspeakable "that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28). Aaron Clark puts it this way:

Things get better when we receive Christ, but not in any sense that we can see. We are often blind-sided looking for something that's not going to come. The peace that passes all understanding came by a great tragedy and the tragedy affected all who had their hope in God. God had finally come to redeem Israel and then, He died. Knowing what the scriptures said, they were still shocked and heartbroken. They were still in hope of triumphing without the tragedy. They wanted the life without the death. It is impossible.

To expect some great life to come to us without some great death is a distortion of the truth. "Sin revived and I died" (Romans 7:9). This death must take place in me before I live. "Ye must be born again." This life comes when the former life comes to a tragic end. The tragedy is that all I thought to be true outside of Christ Jesus is rubbish. My personality, my desires, my standards, the stances I took; they're all rubbish. The whole life has to be trashed - suddenly and tragically. You will not taste the slightest remnant of the new until you spit the old out.

This is where you can find many of us; wading in the shallow end of a lifeless pool of false hope, believing one day we will just end up in a sea of life. We avoid the tragedy of the old life; afraid that it's gonna hurt; and it will. But there is no triumph before that tragedy.²¹⁹

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" (Philippians 3:8-11). Ultimately, a disciple may have to be prepared to lay down his life for his master, declaring: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory" (1 Corinthians 15:55)? This is what was faced by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when challenged by Nebuchadnezzar: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up" (Daniel 3:16-18).

DECLARATION OF DISCIPLESHIP

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I covenant to trust in the LORD with all my heart, to not rely on my own understanding, and to acknowledge him in everything; being confident that he will direct my paths. I will demonstrate my love by studying, believing and obeying his Word: by loving righteousness and hating iniquity. I covenant to deny myself, to bear the burden of others, and to follow Jesus even unto death. I will pursue this by presenting my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is my reasonable service and by not conforming to this world: but by being transformed by the renewing of my mind, that I may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. I will renew my mind daily as I study to show myself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. In addition, I will exercise my senses daily to develop the ability to discern both good and evil. I also covenant to not grieve the holy Spirit of God, to not forsake the assembling together with other believers; to openly confess and forsake my faults and sins, to pray for others, and to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ... until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. I ask all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

"Jesus Christ did not say - Go and save souls (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but - "Go and teach," i.e., disciple, "all nations," and you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples came back from their first mission they were filled with joy because the devils were subject to them, and Jesus said - Don't rejoice in successful service; the great secret of joy is that you are rightly related to Me. The great essential of the missionary is that he remains true to the call of God, and realizes that his one purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. There is a passion for souls that does not spring from God, but from the desire to make converts to our point of view."²²⁰ The prayer above and this entire "Understanding Salvation" chapter should be shared with a new Christian. For additional study see John 14:12-15; 1 John 5:1-5; Romans 12:1-3; Romans 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:14; Hebrews 10:25; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 2:3-5; Ephesians 4:13; and Philippians 3:8-11. Once they have read and understood discipleship then they can be invited to begin their journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Wrestling Against

"Signing up" to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not about taking a vacation from the world, nor is it about getting paid in the world's currency, nor is it about improving your worldly life, nor is it about retiring from the world. Becoming a Christian is all about defecting from the enemy's camp and declaring your unwavering allegiance to the king of kings, lord of lords, Jesus Christ. Upon joining, you enter "boot camp" to learn to be a good soldier in God's army (2 Timothy 2:3-5). There are sixty-six books to study, know and understand, and there are countless drills (tribulation) to hone your spiritual muscles and discernment. When you fully enter the battlefield after boot camp, you will find that the battlefield closely resembles boot camp. The enemy is the same—subtle as ever; however, the attacks are more sophisticated. You, however, are a lot "stronger" than when you first began: "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Romans 8:37). Jesus Christ the Word of God is also the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). We are told to be strong in Christ and in the Spirit of God. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10). "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). We need to be strong in the Word of God because we are at war every day with evil spiritual forces. Demonic possession can happen in an instant to Christians and non Christians. The myth that a Christian cannot be possessed by an unclean spirit is unfounded. Is it the Spirit of God at work in Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) or in Simon (Acts 8:13-24)? Why are we warned that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12)? As Christians, we need to be aware that our enemy is stronger (2 Peter 2:11), older, and much wiser than mankind (Ezekiel 28:12-15). We must remember that it took Jesus, God himself, to defeat Satan. None of us could do it. Therefore, we must live each day in right standing with the Lord. We need to have all trust and faith in the Lord that his word is true and that we prevail only through him. Satan can come and possess us anytime if we stand on our own. It is only when we stand in our RIGHT position, under the Lord, through studying and obeying his word, that we can defeat the enemy. Be strong in HIM brothers and sisters.

A spiritual warrior's arsenal needs to include both armor for protection (defensive) and weapons for attack (offensive), which are all based on the Word of God. The defensive armor includes:

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation ... (Ephesians 6:13-17)

Helmet of Salvation

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13)

Breastplate of Righteousness

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness (Romans 8:10)

By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left (2 Corinthians 6:7)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)

Truth

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently (1 Peter 1:22)

Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7)

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. (1 Timothy 4:6)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Shield of Faith

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Matthew 21:21-22)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:8-9)

The offensive weapons for attack include:

... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:17-18)

Sword of the Spirit

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)

Praying in the Spirit

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

Each day the spiritual warrior enters the battlefield with full armor and weapons, and at the end of each day he must be diligent to sanctify and cleanse his arsenal and prepare for another day of battle "with the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26). "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3); "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). Finally, the spiritual warrior is ever vigilant: "They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me" (Nehemiah 4:17-18). "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world" (1 Peter 5:8-9). "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him" (James 1:12).

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