Discipleship

As we study the Scriptures we see that Jesus chose twelve men to be his disciples.  A disciple is a student, one who learns from another in a specialized way as he is dedicated to that person as his teacher.  Jesus was well-recognized as a great teacher, and he also had other followers that accepted his words and learned from him.  But only twelve were called to be his primary disciples.  One of the initial men betrayed Jesus and was replaced, and then these twelve disciples became apostles, or the ones who established the foundation of the church. 

The discipleship Jesus taught his first students is also taught to every Christian.  Although there were only twelve initial disciples every Christian is called to a teacher-student relationship with Christ even today.  And there are great blessings for those who learn from Christ as we learn the truth of God and the path of righteousness in a world of sin and brokenness.  Even more, we discover that the teachings of Christ are eternal as God doesn't change through the ages of men.

One of the primary requirements then is to learn from the teachings of Christ himself.  We must read the Scriptures directly to know what it says.  We must ask ourselves 'What does it say, what does it mean, and how does it apply to life.'  To be sure of what it says we should compare translations one to another and even reference the original language.  To know what it means we must not ask what it means to me, but what it means objectively, or to God.  We need to know the immediate context historically and grammatically, and then compare this with the plenary context.  Also, we should cross reference each passage with other similar teachings as Scripture interprets Scripture.  God's truth is never contradictory, and we must not read a pretext into the text or context. 

We also see that Christ calls all believers to a certain amount of sacrifice.  To the fishermen Andrew and Peter, Jesus called them to leave their nets and follow him as he would make them fishers of men.  The sacrifices the disciples made in the physical world were repaid abundantly in the spiritual world as they won great numbers of followers.  This discipleship also requires dying to ourselves and picking up our cross in the same way so that we deny sinful activities and learn spiritual strength. 

In the same way Jesus calls his disciples to a life of obedience.  In order for any person to learn from another they must do what that teacher says and not just say they believe.  We cannot learn to pray by only studying prayer academically, we must pray.  We cannot learn to be responsible at work by sleeping in from our jobs or skipping out from practice in sports.  We must be diligent to be on time and earnest in our obligations. 

As Christian disciples we become lifelong students of the Word of God and develop a worldview that places Christ above all things.  We learn to think Biblically and not be conformed to the pattern and principles of the world.  In the power of the Holy Spirit we seek to worship Christ as both Creator and Savior in our everyday lives.  In short, we see the preeminence of Christ in all of life as we learn that He is the Lord of life. 

Our faith in Christ cannot grow or mature if we are partially committed to Christ.  But because of the truth we know from Christ in Scripture, we learn to accept the sacrifices, obedience, and Lordship that he calls us to live by.  We come to realize we can only have true faith if we first fall before him in repentance and submission.  Jesus calls us to be his disciples in our hearts and minds so that we would live out our faith in every aspect of the world.  And this is a joy, not a burden to live for Christ as he has told us, "my burden is easy and my yoke is light." 

FAITH TODAY:  Luke 9:23, "And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.""