We Have a Discipleship Problem
Vincent Bacote, a theology professor at Wheaton College, believes that American evangelicalism is facing a discipleship problem. In his book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory,” author Tim Alberta quoted Bacote along with Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton who opined. “We’ve got to show again who we really are. There are things that need to get discipled out of this movement that’s called evangelicalism, and new things that need to get discipled in.” (Kindle, p. 134)
He continued by saying, “I believe we’ve got to call God’s people back to radiating the beauty of the gospel.” (Kindle p. 135) From Stetzer’s comments, Alberta concluded that “It was time for evangelicals to stop talking about Christianity and start practicing Christianity. Key to that practice is discipling.” (Kindle p. 135) We are called to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20) Too many pastors in America focus heavily on sermons that use clever illustrations and offer practical applications, but they often neglect to teach the Bible.
Many Christians but Few Disciples
Dr. Tracy Munsil, executive director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, cited a Barna study that reported that 69% of US Adults self-identify as Christian, but only 6% “possess a biblical worldview and demonstrate a consistent understanding and application of biblical principles.” Only God knows who is truly saved. But, considering numbers like that, it is easy to understand these words of our Lord. “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7:13-14 | NLT In the current hyper-politicized climate of evangelicalism, it appears that many who believe they have found the narrow gate are mistaken. Those who do find it display the qualities that Jesus expects of his disciples.
Six Traits of a Disciple
Faith
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10 | NLT Apart from Jesus, we are sinners destined for eternal separation from God. He is the only one who can save us.
Jesus is the Son of God, co-equal with the Father and Holy Spirit. He has always been with God and he is God. (John 1:1-2 | ESV) Jesus chose to leave his eternal home to walk in human form, experiencing all the limitations and struggles that come with being fully human while remaining fully God. (Philippians 2:5-7 | NIV) He came to serve as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the imperfect people in the world. Despite having reservations about the suffering and separation the cross represented, he chose to obey his Father’s will rather than his desire to avoid humiliation and anguish. He died so that we might live. Faith in who Jesus is and what he did is the only way to have a relationship with a holy God. (John 14:6 | ESV) And the only way we can be declared innocent (justified/saved) by God is through our faith in the Son. (Romans 5:1 | ESV)
The Holy Spirit, who preexisted with Father and Son, opens our eyes to the truth. Once we know the truth, everything changes. We become a new person, a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17 | ESV) Surrendering everything to Jesus lifts the weight of sin from our shoulders and we begin seeing everything through the lens of Christ. Faith saves us. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 | NIV) Following Jesus is more than signing a card or repeating some sort of prayer. It is a complete surrender to his teaching and emulation of his life. (Romans 12:2 | ESV)
Submission
Jesus encouraged prospective disciples to count the cost before committing to him in faith. You can’t serve Jesus and the world. Disciples must be willing to give up everything to follow him. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. There is nothing ambiguous in what Jesus asks of his disciples. We don’t have to take a vow of poverty, but we cannot allow anything, including family, to be more important to us than he is. Even our lives must be held loosely.25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16:25 | ESV)
Love
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:34-35 | ESV) Disciples are to love God and love others. (Mark 12:29-31 | NIV) We must extend our love even to our enemies and the unlovable as well as to our believing brothers and sisters. (1 John 4:21 | NLT) Loving others is a debt owed to God. Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8 | NLT)
Fruit
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8 | NIV Those who are fully surrendered to Jesus and filled with his Spirit mirror his life. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Luke 6:40 | ESV Many disciples possess the gifts of the Spirit, but the real evidence of discipleship is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a | ESV)
Works
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 | NIV) It is popular in many churches today to shrug off sanctification, walking in the footprints of Jesus, as “works.” James, the half-brother of Jesus, offers this counterargument. “You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18 | ESV
One of the first “works” such churches ignore is repentance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer a 20th century Christian martyr, called grace without works “cheap grace.” Cheap grace does not save. We must turn from the world to follow Jesus. The key to salvation is outlined in the first full-length, post-resurrection Christian sermon contained in the Bible.
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized 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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:38-41 | ESV)
Notice the “works” contained in that passage: repentance, baptism, and receipt of the Holy Spirit. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:10 | ESV It’s important to understand that condemnation is the result of unbelief, not the absence of baptism. The thief who was crucified alongside Jesus is a perfect example of this, as he was not baptized but still saved through his faith. Although Peter acknowledged the significance of baptism, it is not a requirement to be saved. However, we should not forget that Jesus himself was baptized to “fulfill all righteousness,” and therefore, it’s important to follow His example.
Obedience
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.John 8:31 | NIV Jesus asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46 | ESV Elsewhere, he says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 If you are still willing to be his disciple, spend time measuring yourself against Matthew 5-7, his Sermon on the Mount. Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit living within us that empowers us to do what Jesus asks of us.