Countering Culture: Committed Discipleship

What is a Disciple?

What is a Disciple?

Disciple: One who engages in learning through instruction from another. Pupil. Apprentice.

Used 261 times in the NT, ONLY in the Gospels and in Acts.

Discipleship by its very definition denotes commitment. Being a student of something takes time and effort. The reason this idea is so counter-cultural is because church culture today is lazy. It’s not involved. It’s part-time.

Real, true discipleship takes a full commitment and a willingness to engulf yourself in God & The Gospel.

Today we will look at some characteristics of real discipleship and how we can get there together.

Committed Discipleship Involves Self-Denial -

Matthew 16:24 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

is key to understanding where discipleship begins. In this passage, Jesus is explaining to His disciples, His pupils, what it means to really follow Christ.

Jesus Himself says that if we want to follow Him, our ego needs to go out the window.

In the words of : “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This goes beyond a willingness to die. It’s all about doing the will of God the Father. Jesus said that was His “meat” in . That means fully committing our lives to Him because we believe in Him!

We must recognize that our lives can have a greater purpose than what this life has to offer, but we have to hand it over to God first by picking up our cross and following after Jesus.

Until we admit we need to learn, we won’t learn. Self-denial opens the door to learn from Jesus.

Committed Discipleship Involves Learning From Jesus -

Matthew 11:29 KJV 1900

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.

In , we find Jesus pleading for people to come and learn of Him.

I think this detail is often overlooked in this verse. Yes, Jesus is telling us that He has the better way and that we can go to Him for rest, but we can also learn from Him! I think we can all agree Jesus is a great role model, and John wrote in that “he that saith he abideth in [Christ] ought himself also so to walk, even as [Christ] walked.” Jesus lived as an example for us () so that we would know what to do with the lives God has given us. If we are going to be disciples, we must engage in that learning.

How will you know how to love people fully if you don’t know what Jesus did? How will you know to show grace and mercy without looking at what Jesus said and did?

Our understanding is limited, we must lean on what Jesus can teach us through what is recorded in The Bible.

I believe the greatest thing Jesus had to teach us was The Gospel. It is the means to salvation. It is God’s message to man. It’s the “good news” that Jesus died to complete. Immerse yourself in the truth of the Gospel.

Committed Discipleship Involves Immersing Yourself in the Gospel

Committed Discipleship Involves Growing in a Community - Acts 2

The book of Acts is a great teaching tool for churches and how they should operate. In , we see The Jerusalem Church congregation booming after Peter’s message. Around 3,000 people were added to the church that day, and what they did after can help us out immensely when it comes to discipleship in a community.

tells us that the new believers continued in the doctrine and fellowship of the apostles, and further down in it says that they met daily. They were investing their time to build a community of people who were doctrinally sound and spiritually healthy.

Acts 2:42 KJV 1900

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:46 KJV 1900

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Discipleship is more than learning doctrine.

They needed instruction. They needed to be effective witnesses, but couldn’t without clear instruction. So, they spent time daily growing in these things. They would never fulfill the Great Commission if they didn’t learn how to live out the doctrine that they were taught.

Discipleship is not simply individual. Effective churches are made up of disciples learning and growing together.

Committed Discipleship Involves Actual Commitment