Message for Sunday, September 4, 2022
Brothers & Sisters,
This week I share with you on the topic “Christian Discipleship” from the website:
https://seminary.grace.edu/what-is-the-true-meaning-of-christian-discipleship/
Christian discipleship is a term that many of us never hear outside of our Christian experience, so it might be helpful to understand it from a biblical perspective.
1. So what is discipleship according to the Bible? The word for “disciple” is a learner who follows a master teacher. In contrast to our current Western era, learning in Jesus’ time was very relational and holistic. “Discipleship meant much more than just the transfer of information . . . it referred to imitating the teacher’s life, inculcating his values, and reproducing his teachings.”
2. Therefore, Christian discipleship connotes a relationship with a master teacher, following him/her, and adhering to his/her way of life because their teaching shapes your own worldview.
Jesus’ expectation for his followers was clear: to become more and more like Himself (Luke 6:40). “In the heart of a disciple there is a desire, and there is a decision or settled intent. The disciple of Christ desires above all else to be like him . . .”
3. He then told them how this would happen: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23, ESV). The painful reality of crucifixion was being applied to how one should treat the false self, the flesh, or the former manner of life, which was powered by self-reliance. These extreme terms of the master/disciple relationship must have sent chills up their spine. There is no middle ground. Michael Wilkins, in his book entitled Following the Master: a biblical theology of Discipleship says: “In order to claim the salvation He offered, each person was faced with the choice to exchange the god of his or her life with Jesus as the true God of life.”
4. Becoming a disciple of Jesus required a calculated choice to follow Him in the midst of hard teachings (John 6:60-66). Thus, we understand the costly nature of Christian discipleship and the need to calculate whether we are willing to invest fully in this all-encompassing endeavor (Luke 14:28).
Contributed