20240406 Our Philosophy of Discipleship

Recently, I read a book on parenting called, “The Whole Brain-Child” by Dan Siegel. The author writes that parents want their children to grow up to be responsible and caring adults. They want them to be resilient in the face of trials. They want their lives to be full of love, happiness, and meaning. What the book stresses the importance of intentionality in parenting to cultivate the qualities children need to thrive. The qualities parents want to see in their children do not magically appear, they require work. Parenting and discipleship overlap.

The church is like a parent who wants to cultivate mature Christians. The church has a mission to make disciples and nurture disciples. In Matt 20:19-20, Jesus gives us our job description. He says, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you….” In Acts 14:21-22, we read about biblical missions, “They had preached the gospel and had made many disciples, they returned to [other cities], 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

These passages define discipleship. Discipleship refers to the human activities God uses to lead people to faith and strengthen their faith. Like parents, a church must be intentional. There are specific qualities that we want to see in the Christians we disciple. We want to be intentional about cultivating these qualities.

We will look at the goal, the theory, and the practice of discipleship.

First, we look at the Goal of Discipleship

The Bible describes what a mature Christian looks like. This point is exciting because I am going to tell you God’s will for your life and I want you to want this for yourself.

In one word, the goal of discipleship is Christlikeness. Discipleship aims to conform every aspect of a Christian’s life to the life of Christ. Now here are twelve qualities of a mature Christian.

I’m assuming no one perfectly meets any of these qualities. Discipleship is never complete in the life of a Christian. We can all grow in each of the following areas. Please see each as an invitation to the discipleship journey to greater Christian maturity. I’m excited about this list because this is what I want in my life, and what I want in your life. I really believe these are the qualities the Holy Spirit wants to develop in the lives of all Christians.

Mature Christians obey everything Jesus commanded according to Matt 28:20.

Mature Christians suffer and persevere in the faith according to Acts 14:22.

Mature Christians believe and speak truth according to Eph 4:14-15.

Paul writes in Eph 4:14-15, the goal of discipleship is “14that we may no longer be … carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love.”

Mature Christians enjoy loving and committed relationships according to Eph 4:13, 16.

Love is the test. If love is absent from our lives, no matter how much theology we know, we are immature.

Mature Christians have a deep self-understanding according to Eph 4:17-24.

Mature Christians understand the depth of their sin. They understand the danger of the impact of their past on their present. We can easily slip back into former habits, beliefs, and toxic ways of relating to others. Mature Christian learn, v.22 “to put off the old self, which belongs to [their] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of [their] minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Mature Christians are not slaves of their emotions according to Eph 4:26-27, 31.

Mature Christians feel very deeply. They express their emotions. They empathize well with others. They use their emotions to connect with others and build up. Their strong emotions do not lead to destructive behavior. Eph 4:26-27 says, “Be angry and do not sin, 27 and give no opportunity for the devil.” v.31 Let all bitterness and wrath, slander, malice be put away from you.”

Mature Christians make a positive impact around them according to Eph 4:28-29.

They work hard and share with those in need. Their words build up.

Mature Christians live out of their Christian identity according to Eph 4:29 31.

As forgiven sinners, sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption, they forgive as they were forgiven (Eph 4:29, 31).

Mature Christians are self-controlled according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-16.

These texts describe the qualifications to be an elder. They describe Christian maturity. They emphasize self-control, discipline, and gentleness. Mature Christians are not slaves to their emotions that can make them quarrelsome. They are not slaves to lust, money, alcohol, or other addictive substances that affect self-control.

Mature Christians can teach according to 1 Tim 3:2, Tit 1:9.

A mature Christian can explain the gospel and important aspects of the Christian life. They understand their salvation, Christian beliefs, and Christian behaviors.

Mature Christians practice self-denial according to Luke 9:23

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus denied himself and offered himself up for us. Mature Christians will give up their preferences, time, energy, and resources for others.

Mature Christians do not rely on themselves but on the power of God, according to John 15:5.

Jesus said in John 15:5, apart from me you can do nothing. When we plan, work hard, think hard, and expect amazing results, we set ourselves up to be anxious and crushed, or anxious and proud. If I work hard and get the results I want, I expect the glory. If I begin with God and his sovereignty, everything changes. I acknowledge his kindness in including me in a project. I will use his tools and see my strength as his gift to accomplish his objectives. When we do his work, with his gifts, according to his wisdom, and trust his power, we are abiding in Christ. Our hard work will combine praying and worship that gives the Lord his proper place. We will not be depleted, anxious, crushed, or proud, but in awe of our God.

This is the goal of discipleship, Christlikeness.

We want our wills, minds, thoughts, emotions, source of power, motivations, passions, and relationships to be transformed. They must align with our identity of saved sinners and God’s adopted children.

May we want to see these qualities in each other. Lest anyone is feeling discouraged by my list, let’s rush to the next point to see how these things happen!

Second is The Theory of Discipleship. This is our Theory of Change.

We need to know how people change to be effective in discipleship. Suffering changes us, but it is out of our control. We address suffering, but it is not part of the discipleship strategy.[i] The theory of change I will propose has three elements: The work of God, Faith in the Gospel, and Loving Relationships.

The first element of change is the Work of God.

In Matt 15:19, Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” According to Ezek 36:26, God gives us a new heart and a new spirit. According to Col 3:10, he renews our minds. God changes us. He causes us to become born again (1 Pet 1:3; Titus 3:5). God is the agent of change.

The second element of change is Faith in the Gospel

Discipleship is the church’s or an individual’s effort that God uses to make and grow disciples. Both occur through faith in the gospel. We make disciples through faith in the gospel. Paul writes in Rom 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Then, according to Gal 2:20, the Christian life continues by faith, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” God's love manifested through his redemption of sinners captures us and changes us. Through faith in the Gospel, the Holy Spirit transforms us to love God and people. He transforms our thoughts, emotions, desires, actions, motivations, and our relationships.

God changes us, he uses the gospel to stir up our faith and transform us. But how to people encounter the gospel? We will look at these appointed means.

In Exod 20:24, God says, “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.” These places God has appointed to bless us, we call the ordinary means of grace. They are God’s Word, the Sacraments, and Prayer. Through these outward means, we remember God. We have a renewed encounter or experience with the gospel and grow in our faith. These means are not religious duties, but deeply relational means to experience God's grace. If God has given us these means, it follows that we must establish rhythms in our lives to make diligent use of them.

The Word reveals the story of redemption God invites us in. The Word reveals God’s attributes and his will. 2 Cor 3:18 teaches that when we marvel at God’s glory, God changes us from one degree of glory to another. Rom 2:4 teaches God’s love and kindness leads us to repentance. 1 Pet 1:15-16 teaches God's holiness is the basis for our holiness. 1 John 5:3 and Ps 119 connects loving God with loving his commandments. As we treasure the Word, it becomes a means of relationship with God, it transforms us (2 Tim 3:16-17; Ps 119:9).[ii]

The sacraments, like the Word, display God's grace to sinners and strengthen the faith of Christians. God uses baptism and the Lord’s Supper to stir up faith in the gospel for salvation and Christian maturity.[iii]

Prayer is the relational practice of enjoying communion with God by talking with God. Luke 11:9-13 teaches that God gives the Holy Spirit and so saving benefits to those who pray and ask. God’s forgiveness of sins in Christ allows us to pray and approach boldly before the throne of God. Praying to the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit is a Gospel informed prayer. It assumes Christ's work gives us access to the Father. Once we are Christians, the enjoyment of communion with God strengthens our faith in the gospel. According to Rom 8:16, the Holy Spirit “bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God.” Prayer is a relational means of enjoy God that strengthens our identity as his children.

So God transforms us. He has appointed the gospel to be the means he uses to change hearts. He has appointed the word, the sacraments, and prayer as means the Holy Spirit uses to stir up our faith in the gospel to transform us.

A Third element of change are Loving Relationships

The last element in the theory of change is people. 1 John 4:20 teaches that we cannot love God if we hate our brother or sister. Matt 6:14-15 connects the forgiveness we offer to others with the forgiveness we experience from God. The depth of our relationships with people reflects the depth of our relationship with God, in that order! It is impossible to separate love of God and love of people. To enjoy the love of God we must also be enjoying grace-based human relationships.

Our relationships with people shape us (Prov 27:17). Ordinarily, God uses the people to bring us to saving faith with the gospel. Our relationships reveal areas where we lack maturity. Our relationships form us. Prov 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Through repetition, a parent teaches a child how to live in this world. God uses people to teach us to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matt 28:18-19; Deut 6).

Mature Christians live in relationships. They have transparent lives. They give themselves to others. They confess their sins to people. They are curious about others. They know the testimonies of those around them. They weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. The gospel shapes the life of a mature Christian and all their relationships. Then in return, intentional Christian relationships makes us more Christlike. 

This was the theory of change. God changes us with the gospel. God uses people and gospel encounters with the word, the sacraments, and prayer to make us more like Christ.

Third we look at the Practice of Discipleship in the church.

So, what do we do? In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, Make disciples by baptizing and teaching. In Acts 2:42, the church devoted itself to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer. We have the word, the sacraments, prayer, and the fellowship.

For us, Sunday Worship services are discipleship. We saw that we become Christian by faith in the gospel and grow by faith in the gospel. Our worship must be about Jesus and his gospel. We arrange our worship services to be a big gospel presentation. We saturate our worship services with the gospel of God’s reign and his grace to sinners. We want all the elements of the worship service to cause us to marvel at God’s glory. As we marvel, 2 Cor 3:18 teaches that God transforms us.

God appoints the Word, Prayer, and the Sacraments as means to enjoy a relationship with him, and so that is what we use in our services. The Spirit uses the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

A big element of the Sunday service is teaching. We want to announce the whole counsel of God’s word to help God’s people live God’s way in his world.

According to Matt 28:20 discipleship is done by teaching to observe what Jesus commanded. It is not just about increasing our knowledge. Jesus said, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17). Paul also wrote that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Knowledge must be applied and lead to love. To apply knowledge, we must have it.

The Bible stresses the importance of knowledge. Hos 4:6 reads, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The NT letters stress the importance of knowledge with these "do you not know" phrases. "Do you not know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? (James 4:4). "Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Rom 6:3-4). "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? …” 1 Cor 6:9-10. "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20). Paul was concerned about false teachers and false teaching (e.g., Col 2:8).

The solution to lack of knowledge and false teaching is good teaching. Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Paul wrote to Timothy, "Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching" (1 Tim 4:13). "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16). "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Tim 4:2).

We want to be a church that teaches truth and that applies this truth. This happens in the worship service, our community groups, and the youth group. We also want to add a teaching hour before church for adults and children. You will hear about this soon.

Lastly, we must devote ourselves to the fellowship. We want to offer contexts that focus on love and relationships. These include community groups, women’s fellowship, men’s fellowship, and the youth group. We need to be careful. We do not want to be involved in lots of Christian activities without allowing ourselves to be known or letting others be known by us. People need people.

Andy Crouch says, In relationships, “We are formed by proximate inescapable encounters with people who loves us deeply, who are willing to let us be vulnerable in their presence who are themselves willing to be vulnerable in our presence and call us to a renovated life. That is the way that anybody changes." Real friendships must be a priority for us to love well. As disciples of Jesus, we must be known for our love for one another.

Conclusion

Making disciples is our job. Individual Christians have responsibility in this. We disciple our children and others as opportunities arise. Everything a church does fits in discipleship somehow. We become Christians and grow as Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit. God uses gospel ministries in the context of loving relationships to make us more like Jesus.

Is there any step you want to take to become a discipled-disciple-maker? Maybe you need to spend more time marveling at God through his word and prayer? Maybe you need to make Sunday worship a higher priority? Maybe you need to start viewing Sunday as an opportunity to marvel at God and become more like him? Maybe you need to grow in knowledge and apply that knowledge? Maybe you need to develop one true friendship that reflects God's love? Discipleship is a lifelong journey. You are invited. It is guaranteed that on this road, God will make us more like Jesus.

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[i] Suffering leads to maturity (James 1:2-4; Rom 5:3). And when a mature Christian suffers God strengthens their maturity. Suffering is dangerous, for many it is a means God uses to confirm a person’s unbelief. Suffering is part of our spiritual formation, but it is not discipleship.  

[ii] Ps 119 makes this connection even more passionately, “Psalm 119:97 – “Oh how I love your law!” (Ps 119:97), and “For I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.” (Ps 119:47-48), “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Ps 119:10-11).

[iii] Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are vivid pictures of the Gospel. Baptism reminds us of our baptism of the Holy Spirit, the washing away of sins, and our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. The Lord's Supper displays Christ’s broken body and shed blood for the forgiveness of our sins. It shows God's judgment for sin and God’s mercy in providing a substitute. The signs also show our connectedness to other believers. We are baptized into the church (1 Cor 13:12; Acts 2:41), and we eat from one bread (1 Cor 10:17). When we witness and partake in these signs, God stirs up our faith in the Gospel. His kindness leads us to repent, his Holiness and justice lead us to holiness. Like the Passover meal (Exod 12:26) the Lord Supper is a teaching tool for our children.