The Path of Discipleship -- Part One

The Path of Discipleship
Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; John 21:17-22
Theme: Following Christ.
This week’s lessons teach us the cost of being a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Lesson
There is a defect, even a fatal defect, in the life of the church of Christ in our age: a lack of true discipleship. For the genuine Christian, discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ. But for many of today’s supposed Christians - perhaps the majority - it is the case that while there is much talk about Christ and even much furious activity that is supposed to be done in his name, there is actually very little following of Christ himself. And that means that in some circles, at least, there is very little genuine Christianity. Many who fervently call him "Lord, Lord" are not Christians (Matt. 7:21).

We should not be surprised by this, because Jesus himself said it would be the case. We should only be distressed by it.

In Jesus’ great sermon on the Mount of Olives uttered shortly before his arrest and crucifixion, the Lord compared professing (but unconverted) Christians to women waiting for a bridegroom to appear for a wedding banquet. They were waiting faithfully and cried out fervently to him, but they were unprepared for his coming and therefore were shut out of the wedding. They were not saved. Again Jesus compared mere professors to a man who was given a talent to invest but who failed to use it and was condemned by his master on the day of reckoning. Jesus said that he was thrown "into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30). In a third comparison he described these people as failing to feed the hungry, give drinks to those thirsting, receive strangers, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those who were imprisoned. These apparent Christians called Jesus "Lord." They considered themselves to be genuinely converted persons. But they were not Christians and so perished utterly.

We need to see whether this is true in our churches. We need to ask what it means to be a Christian and whether these shortcomings are fit descriptions of ourselves.

There are several reasons why the situation I have described is common in today’s church, and the first of these is a defective theology that has crept over us like a deadening fog. This theology separates faith from discipleship and grace from obedience. It teaches that Jesus can be received as one’s Savior without his being received as one’s Lord.

This defect is a common malady in times of apparent prosperity. In days of hardship, particularly persecution, those who are in the process of becoming Christians count the cost of discipleship carefully before taking up the cross of the Nazarene. Preachers do not beguile them with false promises of an easy life or indulgence of sins. But in good times, prosperous times, the cost does not seem to be so high, and people take the name of "Christ" without undergoing the radical transformation of life that a true conversion implies. In these times preachers often delude them with an "easy" faith - Christianity without the cross (dare we say it?) - in order to increase the numbers on their church rolls, whether or not the people thus added are regenerate.

Study Questions

• What is the true definition of discipleship?
• From the Gospel examples Dr. Boice cited today, what so-called Christian activities do not necessarily indicate salvation?
• What is the defective theology in today’s church?
• How do times of hardship aid in making true disciples? Contrarily, how does prosperity hinder that process?

Reflection
Meditate on Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:5-23.