Month: January 2018

Discipleship is the pursuit of Christ which makes it more like a verb than a noun.

Discipleship is the personal, persistent pursuit

of knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ

by means of critical spiritual disciplines

in the context of supporting relationships,

resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.

Jesus broke with Jewish and Greek tradition in His concept of discipleship.  The contemporary leaders of Jesus’ time, called people to follow their philosophy or explanation of the Torah.  Jesus, however, called people to follow Him:  His person making Him the true North on their personal compass.  This timeless and universal invitation forms the common ground for all of His disciples; each one actively pursuing a personal and persistent relationship with Him.  This pursuit, with dependence on the work of the Spirit, is the life style of a disciple.

Pursuit   

The New Testament uses several metaphors to describe the effort needed to pursue and emulate Christ and His kingdom.     

• Athletic:  to walk or run
• Physical:  to grow
• Warfare:  to fight
• Architectural:  to build

Each metaphor implies the need to overcome elements that resist and impede progress: fatigue, enemies, even nature itself.  In like manner, spiritual progress is also resisted by our own sinful nature, the influence of the world and the devil (1 John 2:15-16).

Our efforts do not gain or sustain our position with Christ, but having been called and accepted on the basis of the merit of Christ, we now have the responsibility to work hard at training for and living out the kingdom life – not for acceptance but for victory.

Personal

The action verbs of discipleship (work, run, put off/on, take up, labor, follow, fight, build, obey) are all terms of personal responsibility.  No one can do it for us.  We have been given resources to use, but ultimately it will come down to personal choices.

We might think about our relationship and responsibilities in the same way a computer functions.  Computers complete complex tasks at incredible speeds by using a series of simple electronic switches based on a binary code of yes/no or on/off.  The binary code is the foundation for every computer’s operating system.  Designers make use of this simple combination to program everything from smart phones to space travel.

The revelation of God in Scripture also has at its core a binary code which is the combination of covenant/kingdom or relationship/responsibility.  This binary code has been the foundation of God’s dealing with His people from Adam to the present.  On one side there is God’s covenant relationship offered by grace to His people.  On the other side there is the responsibility to respond in acts of obedience.  This code could also be expressed as identity/obedience or grace/effort.    This binary code is the foundation for discipleship and could be called the “operating system” on the resurrection side of the cross.

The result is a life lived in the tension of these truths (seemingly opposing principles) without sacrificing one for the other.  The NT letters basically give instructions that say, “Here is who you are in Christ and now here is what you are to do as a result.”  Therefore, we must not abdicate our personal responsibility because of a distorted view of grace that leans towards passive irresponsibility.

 Persistent

The letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelations 2 gives helpful insight into our journey of discipleship.  The church was commended for her defense of the faith but rebuked for her loss of intimacy with Christ. They had substituted the thrill of the battle for their love/pursuit of Christ.

Two words that help describe persistence are fortitude and faithfulness.  Fortitude is not commonly used today, but it is one of the four cardinal virtues of antiquity.  It means strength, resilience, courage, endurance, determination, and boldness.  Persistence like fortitude involves determined action over time.  It means to run the race of life with endurance all the way to the end (Hebrews 12:2; 2 Tim 4:7).

Faithfulness is another aspect of persistence.  Faithfulness is a key virtue expected from the people of God throughout the biblical narrative.  Israel’s unfaithfulness created God’s displeasure and even wrath.  In the New Testament Jesus taught that we are to faithfully/daily follow Him even when we don’t feel like it (Luke 9:23).

Questions for reflection

1. Think of a time in your life that required persistence/fortitude.
2. Why do you think that so many people start their faith journey well but end poorly?

The compass was first used for navigation in the 13^th century.  Since then it has been an essential tool for travelers of all kinds to find and keep their bearing.  Based on the earth’s magnetic field, the compass points to north no matter where you are on the earth’s surface.

I want to look at the first part of our description of a disciple:  The personal, persistent pursuit of …Christ.

When Jesus called the initial disciples in Matt.4:19, he gave them a compass.

                 Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.

 The implied subject is the potential disciples.  The action verb is “follow” but the direct object is “Me”.  Christ’s great invitation for us (as it was for the disciples) is to set our compass on Him: to seek Him wholeheartedly.  Out of that relationship He will make us spiritual fishermen.

This relationship makes being an apprentice of Christ very distinctive from the Greek model of discipleship.  The Greek teachers invited students to follow their philosophy or teaching, but Christ invites us focus on a personal relationship with Him and then His teaching and mission.

The writer of Hebrews identifies our spiritual North when he writes, “… let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith” (Heb. 12:2).

If we understand Scripture as the revelation of Christ, consulting it consistently is much like checking our compass.  No matter where we are or the direction we are headed, we can always reorient ourselves and find North.

When Jesus invited the initial disciples to follow Him, there were several implications that came with it.

• The focus was on Him as their ultimate authority and leader.
• It would require personal choice to change the direction of their lives.
• It would result in participation in the “family fishing business”.

This simple call to be His apprentice, is still in effect, but we need to consistently check our spiritual compass to void being pulled off course by sinful desires and complacent attitudes.

We also must be careful we don’t substitute even good things for what is essential. We can easily focus on mission, teaching, church, or even kingdom issues and lose our sense of North.

One way to check our compass setting is to ask ourselves why we follow Him.  Motivation has a great deal to do with keeping our bearing fixed on Him.  Scripture offers several possibilities:

• Life is better when we live God’s way
• A sense of duty and responsibility to be obedient
• A heart of gratitude for all God has done for us
• Desire to bring glory/honor to Him

Each of these is valid and at times effective, but the highest motivation, elusive as it is, comes out of a heart of love that desires simply to please Him.  Paul frequently reminded the early believers that pleasing Him was the ultimate “so that” of discipleship.

“… we have not ceased to pray for you … that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects… (Col. 1:9-10).

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2Cor. 5:9).

 “Live as children of light… and find out … what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:8-9).

 “Finally then brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:1).

It is an amazing thing that we can actually bring joy/delight to the heart of God.  We usually think of our faith resulting in our joy but not so much His joy.  While it is certainly true that our motives are not pure and we may not even be conscious of them, our desire to give Him pleasure is an evidence of true discipleship.

Many years ago my wife and I were given balcony tickets to the musical “Phantom of the Opera”.  However due to a ticketing error we wound up seated in the front row on the far side.  Part of the stage was obscured, but we didn’t care; we had never been so close to the stage!

During intermission, I took advantage of our position to explore the orchestra pit that was directly under the stage.  This little world of musicians was interesting in that from their place in the theater, they could not see the stage or even the audience.  They were completely hidden from the main event other than a clear line of sight to the conductor.  It dawned on me that they didn’t need to see the stage.  All they needed to do was play their part and focus on the conductor who could see the stage.

We are much like that orchestra.  Our role is to play our part and watch the Conductor because He is our compass.  It is His pleasure, not the audience or the players, that needs to motivate us.  If He is pleased, nothing else matters.

Questions for reflection

1. What are some common substitutes for North on our compass?
2. Can you think of a time when you sensed God’s pleasure with your life?