HoHum:
Brian Jones tells the story of one elderly gentleman who came forward and was baptized. This older gentleman lived alone. After one service Brian and his family invited this elderly man out to eat. Turns out that this elderly man was soon going on vacation to Florida. The man was excited about going to the beaches in Florida. Brian used to live in Florida so began to ask the man which beaches he would visit. The man said that he was going to visit beaches where the clothing was optional. Finally, Brian asked, “Hey, are you a nudist?” This man said, “Well, yes I am.” And then he got his wallet and pulled a card that said, “National Association of Recreational Nudists.” This man attended the church for 3 years and was even baptized and saw nothing wrong with being a nudist. Good at baptizing them but poor at teaching them to observe
WBTU:
The word “Christian” is only used 3 times in the NT.
While the name Christian is alluded to throughout the NT, many other words used to describe the people who became followers of Jesus. Over the next several weeks we will discuss these other words that add so much meaning to “Christian.”
Anyone can attend church but everyone who attends church is not a disciple of Jesus. Ask this question: Am I just a person who attends church or am I genuinely a disciple of Christ?
The word “disciple” is the most common term used to describe Christians. This word is used over 250 times in the NT to describe Christians.
Simple question: What is a disciple?
Literally the word disciple means a student. In Greek and Roman society this described a follower of a certain philosopher. People became disciples of these philosophers so they could learn from and about them in order to become like them. Disciples of Christ are people who want to learn from Jesus and to learn about Him so that they can become like Jesus.
““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”” Matthew 11:28-30, NIV.
If we are going to learn from Jesus and learn about Jesus we need to be students of the Bible. Early on in my Christian walk got involved in Bible Bowl program. The bulletin has a reading through the NT in a year plan. Goes through the end of September but introduce new one 2016.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NIV.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:31, 32, NIV. What does it mean “to hold” to Jesus’ teachings? Literally it means to follow His teachings and to live the way He tells us to live.
Great Omission of Great Commission- teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you- Matthew 28:19
Thesis: Some commandments true disciples obey
For instances:
A disciple of Jesus will repent
“In past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ” Acts 17:30
The word repent simply means to turn around. It was a military term that described a soldier marching in one direction and then doing an about-face. And when it’s used in a spiritual sense, it means to change our minds. Repent is a good description of what happens when we come to Christ for salvation. We no longer reject Christ, but now we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. We do a spiritual about-face, which in turn changes everything.
And not only do we change our minds about Christ, but we change our minds about sin. God hates sin and so should we. We change our minds about the sin in our lives and we do an about face from sin and we turn toward God and his ways. At first we repent and receive Jesus Christ. However, throughout our Christian lives we continue to change our minds about certain sins and do an about face and turn toward God and his ways.
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38, NIV. Because of our repentance, a willingness to turn away from sin and toward Jesus Christ and his ways, we are baptized, immersed in water.
A disciple of Jesus will go to church
“Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?” They have it backwards. We don’t go to church to be a Christian. We go to church because we are Christians. One guy asked, "Can you be saved and not go to church?" I said, "Sure, the same way that you can be a soldier and not be in the military."
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25, NIV.
A disciple of Jesus will meeet around “the Lord’s Table”
“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread...” Acts 20:7, NIV.
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-28, NIV.
3 things to think about with the Lord’s Supper-
Think about his body and his blood through partaking of the break and juice- Past
Think about ourselves and our sins and how we need to repent and be sanctified, examine ourselves- Present
Think about the Lord’s soon coming- proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes- Future
A disciple of Jesus will live a holy life
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Ephesians 5:3-5, NIV.
4 areas of practical holiness discussed here:
1. Sexual immorality- Talking about all sexual activity outside of a marriage relationship. Goes beyond this, root word is porneia, where we get our word pornography. Not even hint...
2. Impurity. Impurity is the opposite of holiness. Christians are to be holy as God is holy. Christians are to think, speak, and act differently from ungodly people rather than conforming to ungodly behavior.
3. Greed. Greed is covetousness. We human beings tend to be self-centered. Greed is the desire to have more and more people and things and activities under our control.
4. Obscene, silly, vulgar, empty talk or words. To jest about a thing or to make it a frequent subject of conversation is to introduce it into the mind and to bring nearer the actual doing of it. Paul warns that some things are not safe even to talk or to jest about.
V. A disciple of Jesus will love others as Jesus loved us
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” John 13:34, 35, NIV.
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” 1 John 3:14, NIV.
Because of our love for each other, we will carry each other’s burdens. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Because of our love for each other, we will help those who are in need. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, NIV. “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales” Acts 4:34, NIV.
So What?
We can sum this up with what Mary told the servants at the wedding feast in Cana about her son Jesus: “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:5, NIV.
A big difference between saying that we are willing to obey whatever Christ commands and actually doing what Christ commands us to do.
““Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46, NIV.
