Discipleship III
Text: Lk. 14: 27 & 33
Introduction::
The Bible teaches us that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Eph. 2:8, 9) Salvation cannot be earned or merited. It is a free gift of God to all those who have put their trust in Christ alone and in the merit of His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.
The continuance of that salvation is also based on the grace of God alone. There is no work that we can do, no matter how merit-worthy; no matter how religiously motivated; no matter how morally or ethically based -- that will keep us saved. We kept "…by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Pet. 1:5).
But God has ordained that those who have been saved by grace alone, and who are kept by grace alone, are to do works for God. We are to practice Discipleship. Our Master is Jesus. Jesus Himself said of those that believe in Him: "…the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works that these shall he do, because I go unto my Father" (Jhn. 14:12). Again He said, "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me…"
Disciples must first reckon ourselves to be dead unto the world, but alive unto God. We have been crucified with Christ. We are dead people raised to life spiritually.
We must also deny ourselves, "…and take up our cross…" and follow Christ (Matt. 16:24).
We are to practice discipline. In Hebrews 12: 1 & 2, we are told to "…lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…"
Disciples must also practice devotion. We are to give our all for Christ and His Kingdom. Devotion is the "whole-hearted and irrevocably giving away to God of what we never plan to take back again: our soul, our life, our all, to Him and Him alone.
Disciples must also be holy: separated from evil. We are to "…touch not the unclean thing" (II Cor. 6:17). We are to “…lay aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking…and abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (I Pet. 2:1, 11). But real holiness is not of outward adornments, but is "…the hidden man of the heart" (I Pet. 3:4).
Disciples must be yielded to the will of God. We must accept whatever happens to us as from the hand of God, and that He will ultimately "work all things together for good, to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8: 28). Nothing happens to Christians except God divinely ordains it to happen, or permits it to happen. Whether we are up or down; whether in the fiery furnace of trial, on the mountaintop of God's blessings, or in the valley, we are to, "…rejoice in the Lord always" (Php. 4: 4).
Disciples must be loving. Love is not an option for Christians; it is a commandment of the Lord Himself. We are not only to love those who love us, but we are to love those who hate us (Matt. 5: 44-46). Love is the "more excellent way" (I Cor. 12: 31). We are not just to say we love God, but we are to show we love the God we cannot see, by loving the world that we can see -- feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, sheltering the homeless.
Disciples must also be obedient. Faith is the door of blessing, but obedience is the key that unlocks that door. We saw that disobedience to God's word is equivalent to the sin of witchcraft and the worship of idols (I Sam. 15).
Disciples must also be humble. We are to follow our Master's example. As He was "…meek and lowly of heart," so must we also be. We must be willing to accept the lowest and most menial task in God's work, because there is no high or low work in God's household. It is all God's work, and it is all good work.
For the next for moments I am simply going to list, without too much adornment or comment some other characteristics of those who want to practice disciples. Here they are: Disciples must 1) read the Bible; 2) disciples must pray; 3) disciples must go to church; 4) disciples must give financially to the work of the Lord, and 5) disciples must share their faith with others
I. Disciples must read the Bible
A. The Bible is "God's word, written." What the Bible says is what God says.
1. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction and instruction in righteousness…" (II Tim. 3: 16).
2. It is "… able to make us wise unto salvation…" (II Tim. 3: 15).
B. When we don't know the Word, we will make spiritual mistakes. Jesus said errors occur because "…ye know not the scriptures…" (Mark 12: 24). We are kept from sin by knowing the Word of God. David said that he had hid God's word in his heart so that he would "…not sin against God" (Psm. 119: 11).
C. Absorbing the Word of God sanctifies us. Jesus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them through thy truth: they word is truth" (Jhn. 17: 17).
D. The Word of God shows us the will of God for our lives. God called Paul so that he would, "…know the will of God" (Acts 22: 14). The Word of God is "…lamp unto our feet and a light upon our path" (Psm. 119: 105). Reading and studying the Bible is essential for discipleship
II. Disciples must pray
A. Reading the Bible and prayer must go hand-in-hand. Reading the Bible only without prayer can lead away from grace and into legalism. Praying without the guidance of the Bible can lead to emotionalism and fanaticism.
B. The first disciples didn't say, "Lord, teach us to heal, or Lord teach us to do miracles or cast out devils," but they said, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk. 11: 1).
C. Jesus said, "When you pray," not "if you pray." He said that, "Men ought always to pray and not to faint" (Lk. 18: 1).
D. Prayer is our lifeline to God. It is the highway to heaven. The Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians: "Brethren, pray for us" (I Thess. 5: 25), and that they should "…pray without ceasing" (I Thess. 5: 17).
E. James wrote: "Pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5: 16).
F. Paul told the Ephesians and us that we should be "Praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Eph. 6: 18). Prayer is indispensable for disciples.
III. Disciples must go to church
A. According to Strong's Concordance, the church is mentioned specifically 119 times, just in the New Testament. It is referred to so many times as the "house of God" in the O.T., that I didn't have the time to count the references. The church is important to God. Church attendance is important to God. It is called "the glorious church" in Eph. 5: 27. It is called "Christ's body" in Col. 1: 18, and 24.
B. We are commanded and instructed that we are not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching," (Heb. 10: 25).
1. Forsake means to "neglect." So we are not to neglect church attendance. Exhorting means, "encouraging," because we come face-to-face at church where we can then encourage one another.
2. "As is the manner of some," tells us that even in that early day, Christians were missing church and the Holy Spirit thought that this was so much a problem that he prompted Paul to write about it.
3. "As we see the day approaching," refers to the belief in the soon coming of Christ back to this earth. If those early Christians thought Christ's return was imminent in their day, and because of this they should be faithful in church attendance, how much more should we be faithful in church attendance 2000 years later, and thus so much closer to the 2nd coming of the Lord?
C. I think it is significant that the verse immediately following this one says, "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins" (Heb. 10: 26). Interpret this as you will, but I believe the context is important, and the context links unfaithfulness in church attendance with willful sin.
D. The church is where God's Word is preached; where the songs of Zion are sung; where the saints pray for one another's needs; where people are saved, and baptized.
E. Attending church is the least we can do as disciples. It takes little effort on our part. We are going to get up anyway on Sunday.
F. We usually go somewhere on Sunday. We usually do something on Sunday. Christians should get up and go to church on Sunday. Even Christians that don't pray and read their Bibles as they should can at least go to church and have the Bible read and preached to them; and hear the prayers of others, and be exposed to a setting conducive to prayer.
G. Going to church requires the least effort on our part of all Christian duties. If Christ suffered a cruel death on the cross to buy our salvation (and He did), isn't attending church the least we can do in return?
H. Missing church is the first step in backsliding. I have seen it invariably: begin missing church for no good reason, and you will soon backslide.
IV. Disciples must give financially to the word of God
A. God does not mean that giving should be a burden on His people, but a means through which He can bless His people. Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and shaken together shall men give unto your bosom" (Lk. 6: 38).
B. God told His people that if they would give their money to His work, that this would be a way for His people to "prove Him," a way for them to put His faithfulness to the test. He said if we do so, He will "…open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Mal. 3: 10). Notice He said "pour YOU out a blessing."
C. Not just a "free-for-all" blessing that everyone would get out and root for and scramble for with all the rest, but an individual blessing for individuals. Solomon, the richest man who ever lived -- richer than Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet, or the Sultan of Brunei, or Donald Trump, said it this way: "Honor God with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase; So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine" (Prov. 3: 9, 10).
D. These are the blessings associated with giving to the work of the Lord, but what about the commandments? There are many.
1. "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do you also. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…" (I Cor. 16: 1, 2). Notice the word "order." Paul gave an "order" for the collection.
2. Much of the money given into any church goes to support the ministry of the preached word. Paul said that "…the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word (preaching) and doctrine. For the scripture says, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward" (I Tim. 5: 17, 18). In other words, just as the ox that treads out the corn is not muzzled, but allowed and expected to eat the very corn he is treading, so to should those that preach the word be expected to have a portion of the money given into the house of God where they are faithfully proclaiming the Word of God.
3. No true minister of God will tell God’s people to give because they want to personally profit, but because it is God's will that Christians give to the work of God. 26 different passages or individual scriptures are referenced to support the orthodoxy of giving to the work of God. Giving is the means by which the word is propagated and the means God uses to bless His people, and support His ministers and other workers.
V. Disciples should share their faith with others
A. When Jesus was going back to heaven the last words He said as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that His disciples were to teach all nations (Matt.), preach the gospel to every creature (Mark), and to preach repentance and remission of sins among all nations (Luke). In the gospel of John, He tells Peter to feed His sheep and His lambs, and as the Father sent Him to preach, He was sending us.
B. When Paul the Apostle was saved, God sent Ananias to pray for him, and God told him that Paul would bear His name before the Gentiles and Kings and Children of Israel (Acts 9: 15).
C. And we have the examples of Lydia, a sales lady; Dorcas, a seamstress; Cornelius, a soldier; Pricilla and Aquilla, tent-makers, and Erastus, a city treasurer
D. We should know enough of our Bible, that if given the opportunity, we can lead a person through the scripture that teaches how one can be saved and become a Christian. The Romans Road to salvation is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive salvation, and what are the results of salvation.
1. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
2. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
3. Romans 5:8: “But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
4. Romans 10: 9, 10: “That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart a person believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
5. We should then be able to give the person direction on how to say a simple prayer to God. Tell them that saying this prayer is a way to tell to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. Also make sure they understand that just saying the words themselves will not save them. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! It should go something like this: "God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!"
E. And in our lifestyle, we witness that we are different. We don’t gossip, or curse, or tell risqué jokes, or do anything that would diminish our testimony for Christ.
F. For a Christian, witnessing is not an option, it is mandatory
Close:
So we see that disciples should, 1) Read their Bibles; 2) disciples should pray; 3) disciples should faithfully attend church; 4) disciples should give to the work of the Lord, and 5) share their faith with others. Yet, in all this we will fail from time-to-time; we will become lax through the weakness of the flesh. We will be inconsistent in all our Christian duties; in all our spiritual disciplines. We will falter along the way. From time to time, we may be “caught in the snare of the devel,” (I Tim. 3:7; II Tim. 2:26). But we overcome him, “…by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony” (Rev. 12:11); and that James tells us to “Resist the devel and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Let us remember, if we sin, "We have an advocate with the Father." If we confess our sins, "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I Jhn. 1: 9; 2: 1). Let us remember, that, "There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8: 1). He loves His own with …”an everlasting love" (Jer. 31: 3), and He has made an "…everlasting covenant" with His people (Jer. 32: 40). He said, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me; and I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one” (John 10:27-30). Finally, let us remember, that even with all we do, if it is any good we do, it will be all by His amazing grace.
(EVANGELISTIC APPEAL)
