Swazi Lecture - The Discipleship Gospel

Introduction

Is there anything more discouraging to a pastor than to believe that you have reached someone with the Gospel only to find them out of the church altogether within just a short time?

There was a time in my ministry in which this seemed to be so ordinary that I wondered if it all mattered at all.

What I learned: The Gospel that I preach will determines the endurance of those I reach.

: “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Jesus was never interested in the message that would draw the biggest crowd; instead, Jesus preached a gospel that would allow his disciples to endure until the end.

begins with two miracles.

Jesus feeds thousands with just a small lunch.

Jesus walks on water in the middle of storm.

The crowd grows and want more of this ‘sensational savior.’

: “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

The crowd didn’t want a savior; they wanted gifts. They weren’t looking for God; they were looking for a free meal.

Jesus preaches to them the true Gospel, because only the full and complete true gospel can make true disciples.

: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

“Those who will experience the joy of my resurrection are those who will share in my death.”

 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

True disciples are not simply those who get temporarily full and temporarily excited. True disciples are not those who want only Jesus’ gifts and only Jesus’ miracles. True disciples are those who want Jesus himself so they follow Jesus wherever He leads for as long as they live, and they will be raised by Jesus to eternal life.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

True disciples

: 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Only the full gospel makes enduring disciples because only the full gospel calls us to discipleship.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Why would Jesus say something that would drive away 20,000 and leave him only 11? Sign-seekers never last. Sign-seekers don’t actually love Jesus. They love to fill their bellies, but once they’re hungry again they forget the miracle they’ve just witnessed.

This wasn’t the losing of a crowd; it was the separation of true, enduring disciples.

These disciples would all follow him until it ultimately cost them their lives.

Jesus used these 11 to reach millions. 11 that follow Jesus are more valuable in the Kingdom that 20,000 that just want more bread.

If we want to build lasting churches that are filled with lasting disciples who will transform our communities, then we must preach to them the full Gospel.

And, if we want to preach the full gospel, then we must call them to follow Jesus as true disciples. To be and to do. To believe and to obey. To go where Jesus goes, to do what Jesus does, to avoid what Jesus avoids, and to receive what Jesus inherits.

Distortions of the Gospel

There are a number of corruptions of the Gospel that either show an incomplete picture of the Gospel or change the Gospel altogether. None of these are able to make lasting disciples.

The Forgiveness only gospel.

“Don’t go to hell because of your sins. Be forgiven!”

Broad appeal.

Jesus gives you forgiveness of sins, and you give Jesus nothing.

No need to worry about your sins or your obedience.

Sing like heaven on Sunday and live like Hell on Monday.

Creates: Following Christ is optional. Following Jesus are for those who really want to get radical.

The Left Gospel

God’s goodness will not allow him to send anyone to hell.

Jesus came to bring social equality and benefit to all men, who are not inherently bad, and who will be with God regardless of belief.

Creates: No authoritative message and no separation from the world’s logic. Believes what everyone else believes, while ignoring the world most important problems for temporal ones.

The Prosperity Gospel

Claim what you want and God is compelled to give it to you.

Jesus’ stripes guarantee physical healing for the man or woman of faith. Lack of healing = lack of faith

God’s spiritual blessing is made apparent through physical blessing in the here and now.

“The first will be first and the last will be last” rather than “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave”

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,

Wealth is the right of the believer in the old earth.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Creates: Entitled, self-absorbed people who believe that God owes them.

The Consumer Gospel

The Gospel can be changed to fit you and what you need it to be.

Come to Jesus and your marriage is fixed. Come to Jesus and your life will be easier. Come to Jesus and you’ll always be happy.

Turns preachers into salesmen.

Cool services with slick preachers that can entertain us with the types of answers for the questions we care about and none of the ones that we don’t.

All candy and no vegetables.

If you don’t like your church, go and find a church that gives you what you want. Find a preacher that you want. Find music that you want. Worship is all about you.

Creates: Self-centered, shallow Christians that believe Jesus is all about them and their desires rather than the Father and his glory.

The Right Gospel

“I’m entirely right on every point and everyone that disagrees with me, disagrees with God.”

Follow all of the rules, and the more you follow (my) rules, the more God will show his favor to you.

Any doctrine different than mine, even where the Bible is less clear, is heretical.

Creates: Hypocrites who have difficulty loving and supporting other pastors along with others’ Kingdom work.

The Prosperity + the Left + the Consumer

So, we want to a

What we’re seeing more and more is that the prosperity gospel and the left gospel is being combined with the consumer gospel so that people find it even more difficult to identify heresy as they pursue their own desires.

Because people are coming to Jesus for themselves they don’t even notice how anti-biblical and anti-Jesus the messages their hearing really are.

The Kingdom Gospel

So, each of these gospels must be rejected.

“The church’s greatest barrier toward thriving today is that she believes in distortions of the gospel.” Ben Soebles

Virtually all of them take partial truth and corrupt it.

Satan always takes partial truth and corrupts it.

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

English Standard Version Chapter 3

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

These false gospels are all based upon mental agreement and require obedience in the life of the Christian.

and

But, Jesus says:

“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

English Standard Version Chapter 19

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

English Standard Version Chapter 10

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

English Standard Version Chapter 25

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Jesus teaches that the true Gospel requires a belief that separates you from the demons through obedience. This is the Kingdom Gospel.

This is the essence of the New Covenant: Salvation will lead to obedience.

English Standard Version Chapter 31

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

English Standard Version Chapter 36

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

The weakness of the Old Covenant was that no one was able to obey the law faithfully. In the New Covenant, that is, in the inauguration of the Kingdom, God’s people would all contain God’s Spirit who would delight them with God’s law and make them faithful through the transformation of their person.

So, the Gospel of the Christ, the Gospel of the New Covenant, the Gospel of the Kingdom is a discipleship Gospel.

We are given Christ’s Spirit and placed in Christ’s church so that we can follow Jesus and represent Jesus as his disciples.

There are not normal Christians and committed Christians. There are not spectators and participators. There are only disciples. “Jesus never taught that you could be a Christian and not be his disciple.” Soebles

We don’t just slide through the Narrow Gate. We walk down the narrow road.

Bonhoeffer: “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”

Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus was bringing all of earth into submission to the reign of his Father. It is to restore the creation as God intended it.

Our repentance and our obedience are evidence of our submission to God’s reign.

They are the proof that we are a part of God’s Kingdom.

Everywhere the gospel spreads sinners repent and begin following Jesus. This is why spreading the true Kingdom Gospel is spoken of as the advancement of the Kingdom.

Wherever there is resistance to God or indifference to God, regardless of what the person believes or has said, it is apparent that they are not in God’s Kingdom because they are not submitted to God’s reign.

When Jesus returns, He will base your acceptance into his Kingdom upon what you believe AND did.

English Standard Version Chapter 25

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

So, it’s not just what you believe. It’s also what you did. And, it’s because the type of belief that brings you into God’s Kingdom will compel you to submit your entire life beneath the rule of King Jesus so that you will do what Jesus says to do, avoid what Jesus says to avoid, and spread Jesus’ glory wherever you go.

The Shepherd and his Flock

"separate one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats" Jesus draws us a picture of a Shepherd standing before his flock for a separation. In the Middle East, sheep and goats are often kept together in the same pasture during the day. But, at night, because the goats do not have the wool coat, they will get too cold, and so the Shepherd will separate them, allowing the sheep to remain, and he will take the goats to a warmer place. And, the types of goats and sheep that they have there are almost indistinguishable to the untrained eye. They look like the same types of animals, unless you're the shepherd with a trained eye who knows his flock. And, this is the picture of what it will be on the Last Day. All the peoples of the earth will be gathered together before our returning King. To the naked eye, all men and women, boys and girls look the same, but our Shepherd knows his flock. And so, there will be a separation. There will be a division drawn among the people. Those unknown will be cast into utter darkness where they will remember their rejection of the shepherd forever, and those known will be brought to the King's table to enjoy his presence and his inheritance forever.

Sheep or Goats?

“And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left” And so, Jesus gives us a description of those who are sheep and those who are goats, those who are his children and those who are his enemies, those who are saved and those who are condemned. And, in both cases Jesus starts off by talking about who they are. He starts by talking about their identity.“Come, you who are blessed by my Father” He describes the sheep first, and who does He say that they are? He says that they are those who have been blessed by the Father. These are words of grace! The people of God did not refer to God as Father in the OT. In fact, they didn’t even speak the covenant name of YHWH out loud due to awesome reverence for him. But, Jesus did, and now the church does! Why? In Christ, you have been adopted into the household of God. In Christ, you receive the inheritance of the King! How incredible is the word inherit here? An inheritance is what you receive because of who your Father is. An inheritance is what you receive because of who your family is. You don't earn an inheritance. You don't work for an inheritance. You don't choose an inheritance. You receive what is yours only because of who your Father is and who your family is. If you're hope is to come into the Kingdom of heaven because of what you've done or haven't done, if you're hope is to come into the Kingdom of heaven because what you're going to do, you don't yet understand the Kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of heaven is inherited. The King earned it. The King received it. And now, to those who are the children of his Father, He gives it freely.

“Depart from me, you cursed” But, the goats are described differently, aren’t they? Where the sheep are called blessed, the goats are called cursed. For the sheep the Kingdom has been prepared for them, but for the goats, for the condemned, they will find themselves in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Now, remember that the goats and the sheep look very similar. They are hard to tell a part. But, one has an inheritance and one doesn’t. One is received and the other is rejected. One is blessed and the other is cursed. One inherits life and the other inherits death.

How Can They Be Separated?

“I was hungry and you gave me (no) food” So, the question arises as to how the two can be separated. How can they be distinguished one from the other? This is where Jesus moves from describing who they are to describing what they do. Jesus tells us that when He returns it will be clear who his flock is because of what they will be found doing. And, what’s interesting here is how He chooses to explain it. He says that those who are his sheep will be found ministering to those who are in his church. Did you catch that? He says that those who are sheep are found meeting the needs of the least of the ‘brothers.’ The least of those who are in his church. That is, the difference between the saved and the lost, the blessed and the cursed, the adopted and condemned will be made clear by how they care for Christ’s church. And, this is a radical message for 21st century Christianity that says you can have Jesus and avoid the church; you can have salvation and avoid service; you can have redemption from your mess without having to show redemption to others in their mess. We are more prone to excuse ourselves from God’s church than we are to love them sacrificially, and Jesus explains this as being the key marker as to whether a man or woman, a teenager, or a professing child is saved or not.

How is this NOT works salvation? How is it not works for Jesus to say that those found in the judgement caring for the downtrodden and the outcast and the unfortunate will be welcomed into the Kingdom and those who are found ignoring them and neglecting them will be condemned forever? How is it not works salvation for Jesus to say that those who are found doing the good works of the Kingdom? It's because what you do reveals who you are. You do what you do because you are who you are. This has been the teaching of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry. If you'll remember back all the way to and the sermon on the mount, you find almost the exact same formula that Jesus gives here, only expanded. In , Jesus begins with the Beatitudes and a word of blessing. He has all of these blessing statements of "Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the pure in heart..." And, what does He say about them? He says that they will inherit the Kingdom. That is, those who are blessed by God will be blessed by him because of who they are. They will be blessed by him because of the condition of their spirit and their heart, the immaterial parts of them. And, what will be their end? They will inherit God's Kingdom. Is that not exactly what He's saying here? He starts by saying that those who are sheep have been blessed by his Father and adopted into his family. They've had an identity change. And, what's the result? They inherit the Kingdom. Then, in , Jesus talks about the way a disciple of his must view sin and their enemies and their money and their anxiety and their prayers to the Father. That is, He talks with them about what they are to do. Disciples must do! They must hate their sin and love their enemies and give generously and live graciously. They must! He says that if you allow one member of your body to cause you to sin it will send you to hell! Again, that's what we see here, isn't it? If you're found doing all of these things when Jesus returns, you will be separated as one of his sheep to inherit his Kingdom forever. If you're found neglecting all of these things, then you will be separated as a goat and condemned. Jesus says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that those who hear his words and do them will stand forever, but those who hear them and ignore them will be destroyed. How is this not works salvation? How is this not being saved by the things that you do? Your works reveal who you are; they don't change who you are. Cheetahs don't run 55 MPH so that they can be called a cheetah. They run 55 MPH because they are cheetahs. Jesus isn't saying you will be saved by your works on the Last Day. He is saying that only his true disciples, the Father's true children will be blessed, and the Father's true sons and true daughters will look like his Son, Jesus. Their identity is verified because they already look like him.

The Two Commandments Harmonized

"as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me." There's a connection that Jesus makes here that is as important as life and death for us to understand. There's a connection that Jesus makes that is the difference between counterfeit cultural Christianity and the real thing. Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, the saved from the lost based upon how He finds them caring for the least in the church. But, it's the connection that Jesus makes that everyone finds so shocking on the Last Day and that should shock us this morning. Jesus starts by saying, "I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was in need, and you had compassion." And then, hearing their confusion (it’s apparent they weren’t trying to earn salvation!) because they'd never laid eyes on him, He says, "When you cared for those in the orphanages, when you cared for those needing to be adopted, when you fostered the children, when you fed the homeless man, when you comforted the broken-hearted mother, you were loving me, too."Do you see the connection?

Jesus connects the two greatest commandments so directly that you cannot have the one without the other. Jesus connects loving God and loving your neighbor so closely that it is impossible to say that you love God if you are not tangibly and compassionately loving your neighbor as yourself. The love that Jesus' disciples have for Jesus can only be considered authentic when it is loving others the same way that Jesus did. Jesus didn't pass by the children; He called them over to him. Jesus didn't ignore the woman at the well or allow the woman with the issue of blood to fade anonymously into the crowd; He sought them out and met their needs, physically and spiritually. Jesus didn't find himself too preoccupied to care for the lepers or the lame. They were not inconveniences or interruptions to him. They were opportunities for him to demonstrate his love for the Father by pouring out his Father's love on others. Jesus came because God so loved the world, and brothers and sisters, for the same reason that Jesus was sent, the church is left. "God so loved the world that He gave his only Church that they might lead the world to eternal life." Jesus has left his church in the midst of this brokenness awaiting his return because God loves the world, and He desires more of the world to be saved and more of the world to know his love and more of the world to know his redemption. And, how will the world know who we are and whose we are and what we're about? By how we love one another. So, you cannot separate your love of God from your compassion and care for others. They are locked together.

APPLICATION: Here's the gut-check question that Jesus is presenting to us this morning: Do you want to know whether or not you love God? How well do you love your brothers and sisters in the church? Older or younger, different countries and colors, richer or poorer, wife/husband/kids, pastors, broken-heartedBrothers and sisters, this is the difference between life and death. This is the difference between authentic, Spirit-filled Christianity and a powerless, self-deceiving counterfeit. Do you want to know whether or not you love God? How well do you love those who are easiest to forget?