"THE MEANING OF DISCIPLESHIP"
Before we can ever hope to be an effective Christian, Husband,
Father, wife or mother, or Example in the Lord's church we must
understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is
defined as "A pupil or follower of any teacher or school; A follower of
Jesus." (Webster). A Christian learns that he or she must forsake
everything and every person and put Christ FIRST in their life. To
Forsake is to "Give up; renounce; to leave; abandon; desert." (Webster).
Those unwilling to do so, will not enter into heaven and will never
become the servant that Jesus wants one to be. When one grasps the true
meaning of discipleship and the importance of FOLLOWING CHRIST then that
one will become an effective servant in His kingdom.
Many are not able to grasp the true meaning of discipleship and
as a result find themselves trying to serve God and at the same time
trying to conform to society. Let us understand the truth of Jesus'
words as He said: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt 6:24). It is an
impossibility to serve Christ Jesus and hold onto the fleshly
enticements of the world around us. So many seem to want Christ to hold
on to one of their hands, while they are holding onto the world with the
other hand. That simply will not work. With Jesus Christ it is either
all or nothing. If He is not at the top of you priorities, then He is at
the very bottom. He will not accept a place in the middle. If you are
not willing to surrender completely to the demands of Christ, then stay
in the world and continue to do the things like the masses around you.
You just cannot serve Christ and mammon. Jesus makes that very clear.
Jesus appeals to all mankind to come unto Him. His words are
tender and sweet as he pleads "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11:28-
30). As a result of this invitation, many follow Him, seeking to become
His disciples. Jesus warns that we cannot be His disciples UNLESS we
first count the cost. We must take a stand for Jesus above all else!
Notice from the following verses the cost one must pay to be a true
disciple of Jesus: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I
came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at
variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and
the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be
they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is
not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after
me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt 10:34-39). Is the
Lord saying that if we follow Him, then we cannot have any kind of
relations with our family, our father or mother, son or daughter? No, He
is not saying that. He IS saying that I cannot put them ahead of my love
and service of Christ. He is saying that everything, and that includes
everything, must be secondary in our life. When the choice comes to
decide between Christ and whatever else it might be, we must choose the
Lord and His desires in our life. In Matthew 16:24-25, we hear the Lord
saying unto his disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find it." Here Jesus puts following Him above even our own life.
Those early Christians were faced with that decision on a continuing
basis. Many of them suffered death rather that renounce their faith in
Christ. Fortunately, we are not faced with that kind of decision, at
least not in the country in which we now life. But whatever cross comes
into our lives, we must be will to accept it and bear it, rather than
renounce our faith in our Lord. In Luke 9:57-62, we read, "And it came
to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him,
Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto
him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of
man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me.
But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said
unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the
kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let
me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus
said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Is there anything wrong with
burying the dead, or bidding houseguest a fairwell? No. But, Jesus is
saying that if these things take precedence over doing the will of
Christ, then we MUST obey Him. We see from these scriptures that the
Lord wants all to follow Him -but they first must count the cost of
doing so. If one is not willing to be TOTALLY committed to Jesus he
cannot be one of His disciples! By His own life Jesus demonstrated what
it meant to be a follower and to deny self. Did He not come to do the
will of the Heavenly Father? Listen to Him, "My teaching is not mine,
but his that sent me" (John 7:16). And again, in the prayer of Christ,
we hear Him, "I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the
work which thou hast given me to do" (John 17:4). Christ submitted to
the will of His Father. And so must we!! If we would be His disciple, we
must allow His word to lead and guide us in all that we do, in all that
we say, yea, in every facet of our life.
Jesus expects us to serve Him all the time. If one serves only
when it is convenient and pleasant he has not denied himself; neither is
he the Lord's disciple. To be His disciple we must REMAIN in His word.
Jesus said: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John
8:31-32). Paul reveals that it was for this that Jesus died, so that
those of us who "live" as a result of His death might stop living for
our own pleasure, but for the pleasure of Him who died on our behalf.
Hear the apostle Paul as he speaks by inspiration in 2 Cor 5:14, 15,
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one
died for all, therefore all died, and he died for all, that they that
live should not longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their
sakes died and rose again." We are exhorted to continue in the faith and
as a result will encounter tribulation but all is worth while as we
strive for the everlasting kingdom, that reward in the very presence of
Jehovah when this life has ended.
A Disciple of Christ will therefore study his Bible daily and
desire to come to a full knowledge to the truth and of his teacher. Are
we like our teacher? If so, then be determined right now to follow
Jesus. If we do, we can have peace through His word which says: "But if
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin" (1 John 1:7).
I have been talking about "The meaning of discipleship." But, who
is a disciple of Christ? A disciple is one who is willing to follow
Christ in every aspect of their life. In Acts 11:26, we learn that the
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Thus, a disciple of
Christ Jesus is a Christian, a follower of Christ. Our question just
here is: How does one become a Christian? That can be answered quickly
and easily. To become a Christian, one must first believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that seek after him" (Hewbrews 11:6). Since faith comes
by the hearing of The Word of God (Romans 10:17), it is essential that
one hear the good message of the Messiah. Then, faith in Christ will
lead one to ask, "What shall I do," to which the answer was given,
"Repent ye and be baptized, everyone of you for the remission of your
sins" (Acts 2:38). From these scriptures, as well as many others, we
learn that one must Hear the Word of God, believe that Christ Jesus is
the Son of God, repent of past sins and be buried in the waters of
baptism in order to be forgiven of past sins. The one who does these
with an honest heart will be cleansed by the blood of Christ and the
Lord will add his or her name to the saved (Acts 2:47).
(Adapted from Rio Grande Valley Bulletin, Richie Thedford, editor)
Would you like to hear more? If so, please drop us a card or letter.
The address is: White Park church of Christ; Route 1, Box 502, Anahuac,
TX 77514.
Or, why not visit with us at any of our services. We meet this
morning at 9:00 a.m. for classes for all ages; at 10:00 a.m. for our
morning worship period and again this evening at 7:00 p.m. for worship
once again. Classes for all ages on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m.
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