What Is Discipleship?

What Is Discipleship?

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

 
A basic dictionary definition of the word disciple is; one, who believes, one who follows or obeys, and one who spreads the teachings of another by their words and lifestyle. Therefore, a Christian disciple would be one who believes, one who follows and one who spreads the teachings of Jesus Christ by their words and actions to others.

 

One Who Believes...

In matters of faith, believing is incredibly important. You see, both in the Old and New Testament, we see that God uses faith as the standard to decide whether someone is righteous or not. As it is written: Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)
 Abraham for example "believed God, and God credited him as being righteous" (See Genesis 15). So important is the idea of believing God, that the absence of faith is considered sin. (See Romans 14:23)
At this point, you might be saying "I see some weaknesses in my faith." I want to believe, but I struggle." "What do I do when I struggle with doubt or need stronger faith?"The answer is to pray. Talk to God about your doubt. Be sincere and ask him to write or inscribe faith in your heart.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJV)
Notice if you will that the passage calls Jesus "the author of our faith." Think about it. When an author decides to write on a page does he right on a page that's already full, or does he start writing on an empty page? Of course, he starts writing on an empty page. So it doesn't matter today if you feel like you have no faith at all. Just ask Jesus the author of our faith to write some on your heart. Since God loves righteousness, and he uses faith as the measure of righteousness, he will not deny you when you ask for faith to believe and obey him.


Growing in our faith is by far one of the most important works of the Christian life. It can also be one of the most neglected because it is unseen and intangible. Therefore, deliberate effort must be made to grow in faith. People once came to Jesus asking him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." (See John 6:28-29 NRSV)
There have been endless books pamphlets and teachings on how to build stronger faith, but when one boils at all down, there is only one way to build faith.
 First: You must ask for it. Admit to God where your faith is weak and ask the author of faith to write faith on your heart. Matthew 7:7-8"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?
 Second: You must expose yourself to God's word often. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.(Romans 10:17 NASB) There is an old saying that says, "garbage in, garbage out." That old saying reflects an understanding that whatever I put in my mind through my five senses will affect how I think and believe. So, whatever I spend my time looking at, whatever I spend my time listening to, whatever I spend my time doing with my hands will affect what I think about, how I believe and then how I behave. A true Christian disciple has the desire to and practices putting things in his heart that will strengthen and enhance his faith. That's why we need to be selective about what we put into our eyes and ears. Faith comes by hearing. If I want strong faith, what I spend my time listening to must be reflective of God's love and character.
 Tip: If you want to get more out of your Bible reading time, here is a neat trick. When you read the Bible in your own private time, make a point to do a couple of things. Read it out loud and follow along with your finger. It may seem babyish, but it's not. Think about it you are putting three of your five senses to work in your Bible reading time. You're hearing the word which produces faith. You are forced to slow down when you read out loud and follow it with your finger, so your sense of sight has to focus more on the word of God. When you read the word out loud your tongue is being used. When you follow along with your finger you are also bringing your sense of touch. So at least three of your five senses are being used to focus on God's word as you read. I can't think of a better use of one's senses.

One Who Follows...  Believing God is only part of the story. If we truly believe God we will adjust our lives to come closer and closer with what God desires. God wants us to have faith that motivates us to obedience. He loves obedience more than he wants your church attendance, your money, or anything else. God loves obedience more than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22-23; Proverbs 21:3). Many people approach God backwards. They think to themselves "If God would just reveal Himself more to me, and then I would obey him." God's kingdom doesn't work like that. In fact it's just the opposite. God says, "if you would just obey Me, I would reveal myself to you more."

 John 14:21 (Jesus Said) "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." (NASB)
So, if we want to understand God and his principles better, we have to make a decision to become obedient first.
Initially the idea that we have to determine in our hearts to obey before God reveals Himself, might seem unfair. However, God really set it up that way for our own protection. You see, once God reveals part of His character or principles to us, we enter into more severe judgment if we disregard it. God is eager to reveal Himself, His principles, His desires and ways to us. However, the more we know, the more responsible we are to apply the truth we learned into our lives. So if we have not predetermined to obey what God reveals, we risk entering into greater judgment. A living example of this is just like good parents do with beloved children, the more aware and capable they are, the more is expected of them.
 Please, allow me to demonstrate the concept from my own experiences with God. After I first accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I started becoming more and more opened to God's love. I wanted to obey and please God my Heavenly Father. I started getting hungry to learn every biblical and godly concept I could. After a short time, I started noticing that I wasn't learning new and exciting things as quickly as I had been before. That disturbed me. So, I started talking to God about it in prayer. He spoke to my heart and thoughts saying, "Start doing and practicing what you already know to do and I will give you more." I remember feeling strong emotions of love and concern from God, no harshness as He spoke in this case. It literally felt like a parent saying to the little one who is always asking for more, "Eat what you have first." Amazingly, a short time later I read the following passages in some of my daily Bible times:
 Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. (NKJV)
Luke 16:10 "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much (NASB).
When I read those passages, God brought my mind back to our earlier prayer conversation. Those Scriptures served as a confirmation to me that what I had heard in prayer was really from God and not just my own imagination because it completely matched and agreed with biblical principles and concepts.
If you genuinely wish to evaluate whether or not you are truly following Jesus Christ, I invite you to consider this. Whenever you make a decision in the course of your life, no matter whether you are deciding what college to attend, which job or career to pursue, or even where to go out to eat or go shopping, or what you choose to watch on TV or movies, do you invite Jesus Christ to take part in those discussions with you and your family? Do you allow His Words and Precepts to direct you in making those types of choices?
Now, there are times when I have asked God about something and He might impress on my heart that I could make the choice, or sometimes He would give me a choice between two or three things, and other times He would direct me specifically into what He wanted me to choose. All this may sound a little bit radical, but the simple truth of the matter is that if I don't let Jesus influence and direct those decisions, then in reality I'm still trying to be my own Lord and Master

One Who Spreads the Teachings of Christ to others...

There is a spiritual law that is as true in the spiritual realms as the law of gravity is in our physical realm. The best way to increase your spiritual wealth is to give it away. Anything we try to keep for ourselves, ends up being lost. Simply put, in the heavenly economy you become richer by what you give away, than by that which you struggle to retain for yourself. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8b
If we have truly received the Love of Jesus, we will have the desire to share it with others. Jesus also said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
Jesus further said,  "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 (NASB)

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 1 Peter 3:14-15 (NASB)

The Bottom Line


If you want to know whether or not you are truly growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you must remember to periodically review some key questions:


Am I Believing God and Jesus Christ? Am I making my decisions and choices based on trusting and believing Him and His Word?
Am I Obeying/Following God and Jesus Christ? When I need to make a decision, do I seek His leading and direction? Do I base my decisions in a manner that agrees with God's Word and Principles? In those cases are God and Jesus Christ truly being allowed to be Lord over me.
Or, do I look only for Scripture verses that seem to agree with what I have already wanted or decided to do? Or do I predominantly ignore Scripture altogether and make my decisions based on what seems good to me? In such cases, I'm still trying to be Lord and Master over my own life.
Am I Spreading the Teachings of Christ to Others? This particular component is not primarily for new disciples. As a rule, you cannot really give away what you yourself do not fully possess. So it takes a little bit of time in obeying and practicing the Scriptures before you can pass on what you have learned and experienced to other people. Nonetheless, there does come a time when we are called to pass on what God has taught us as we have obeyed Him with other people. Remember, we are richer by what we give away than what we keep for ourselves. Once we have practiced obeying a biblical principle for a while, the time will come when we will have to share the Word and experience we gained through our walk, with other younger believers. We pass on what we have learned by words and by examples.


Almighty God, Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Lord Holy Spirit; have mercy upon us. Graciously transform us into Your true disciples. Grant that we will daily grow in loving You, in believing You, in obeying You, and in faithfully sharing Your Word, precepts, and principles with others by through our words and lifestyle, so that you will be glorified and the body of Christ will be thoroughly equipped to overcome the world by Your Grace. Amen.