This Way or That Way

Introduction

As I have stated before, I have long been of the opinion evangelists and church leaders have for too long put their focus on the decision of faith and therefore have neglected the process of making disciples.

I do not deny that some people make instantaneous decisions to follow Jesus but the vast majority come to place their faith in Jesus over time. Therefore, we need to put more emphasis on the process of making disciples so that we might help people securely place their faith in Jesus and consistently live a Christian lifestyle.

Thus, the theme this month has been Discovering Discipleship. My sermon series is exploring just what is discipleship (and what it is not). In other words, how do we allow the Spirit of God to transform our character so that we might accomplish his will for us, that we might become all our Creator intended for us to be? This leads to a life far better than we can imagine or achieve for ourselves!

So far, I have been comparing sets of words: Hearing and doing, chosen and called, before and after. These comparisons have helped us to either remember or realise:

a disciple is learning to love, trust and obey Jesus in following the Way of Love;

a disciple takes seriously the commands of Jesus and follows them always;

a disciple knows the joy, comfort and confidence of being loved by God and serves him gladly;

a disciple knows placing our faith in Jesus involves holding lightly onto our family, profession and property because we trust him with all of our life.

What and Why?

Based on the positive feedback I am receiving, this series is striking the right chord with some of our members and friends. I really do appreciate the feedback, but let me reiterate it is okay to contact me with questions and to seek clarification. If you disagree, that is fine too. I would rather we talk about our differences than have you stew on it and our relationship sours. I want to be a good pastor; give me the chance to be one.

Like you, I know the challenge of being a disciple of Jesus in our world. It is no small decision; it is not a decision to be taken lightly —let us remember the plight of Christians living in Afghanistan currently and pray for their safety and faithfulness.

Like them, we have the freedom to choose this way or that, Christ’s way or our own, and to either enjoy or suffer the consequences of our choice.

Choose wisely. Choose life!

Explanation

Life as a Disciple Is Now ‘Death and Resurrection’ With Christ, Inaugurated in Christian Baptism

Last week, I referenced a teaching of Jesus in which he used some very confusing and troubling language:

Luke 9:23–24 (CSB)

Then Jesus said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.

I know we would all prefer Jesus to ‘lay it out plainly’. Honestly, his teaching is not really that hard to understand, but it is challenging.

The principle in these verses is troubling because Jesus stated a disciple must “deny himself” and “lose his life”. This goes against everything that is worldly and natural to us —the world teaches us to be concerned only for our own health and wealth, but so too does our inner nature act protectively.

If God is our Creator, the Giver of Life, and he wants the best for us, then surely something else must be meant by Jesus here than that we deny ourselves and lose our life?

To make matters worse, our reading from the Letter to the Romans uses similarly troubling language to describe the life of a disciple:

Romans 6:3–4 (CSB)

Are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.

Remember from the Great Commission (Mt 28:16-20) that becoming a disciple involves being baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and then being taught everything that Jesus commanded. Baptism, then, is a kind of entry point into following Jesus and the ethical teaching continues thereafter.

The problem is these verses from Romans makes Baptism sound quite ominous.

Baptism, according to the apostle Paul, involves a kind of death and resurrection. I have always found this language troubling, so let me try to explain what I think is going on here and thus make it easier to accept.

We know that in dying on the cross and rising to life again, Jesus broke the curse of sin that leads to death (1 Cor 15:54–57). Therefore our Creator God, in not treating us as our sin deserves (Ps 103:10), extended to us grace by sending Jesus to rescue, redeem and restore us to himself.

This grace is technically effective for everyone everywhere except that until we accept it by faith (Eph 2:8-9), we choose to remain in bondage to and following the ways of sin. So, it is not an act of faith nor or wisdom to hear the good news of what Jesus Christ has done for us and then continuing on our own merry way remaining in sin.

Once reconciled through placing our faith in Jesus, he invites us to follow the Way of Love —which is to love God, love one another and to love our neighbours. His way leads to life, so choose life.

To choose life, eternal life, the life beyond all we can imagine or achieve for ourselves, we need to turn our back on our old way of life, we need to unlearn those sinful patterns and practices that lead to death —in other words, we need to die to ourself.

Say it however you like, the conviction and commitment required to make this change is still the same. We were going that way, now we are going this way!

Following the Way of Love because we believe and accept all that Jesus has done for us is (Mk 1:15), therefore, a kind of resurrection. It is a new life made possible only by the power of God in us and the presence of God with us. In other words, placing our faith in Jesus, we begin living a lifestyle with-God!

This new life or lifestyle is only possible with God’s power and presence because if it were possible any other way, wouldn’t we already have freed ourselves from the sin that leads to death?

For example, if loving our neighbours is so natural and obvious, then why are Western countries experiencing such angst over racism right now? Did loving our neighbour 400 years ago mean something different today? Is slavery ever acceptable? Was privileging one person over another because of their skin colour ever a loving thing to do?

Lest anyone want to argue those who are pro-slavery are merely ‘products of their time’, Gregory Coates points out both John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards were born in 1703[is his 2020 PhD dissertation, “Accommodating ‘Execrable Villainy’: War and slavery in early Methodism, 1774-1816”]. They both became celebrated theologians and ministers, Wesley of the Methodist variety and Edwards a Congregationalist, although a Calvinist. Edwards both owned slaves and defended enslaving people, while Wesley opposed slavery.

No, despite our best efforts, we cannot free ourselves from the curse that leads to death because we all willingly become entangled in sin. Jesus needed to die and come back to life so that we could die and be raised to a new life, a new life beyond all we can imagine or achieve for ourselves, an eternal life with God that begins the moment we truly believe and begin to follow Jesus.

Interestingly, for most people assenting to a good idea is just not enough. Our Creator knows this and so we have the rite of passage known as Baptism. It is not magic, but then again, maybe it is.

To go under and rise from the water of Baptism is to state with words and with symbols that, just as Christ died for me, I am choosing to die to myself, so that, just as Christ lives for me, I am choosing to live for him.

As one commentator put it,

Baptism is therefore initiation into discipleship giving admittance to the ‘school’ of Jesus and starting a new life in obedience to him and his commands.[Hans Kvalbein, “Go Therefore and Make Disciples ... The Concept of Discipleship in the New Testament”, Themelios 13, no. 2 (1988): 52.]

I do not believe Baptism has any power in and of itself to save us from sin. But we humans need to perform such an act to help us better appreciate just how important repenting and believing are (Rom 10:9). That is a kind of power to save. It is a moment of significance which we will always remember as our spiritual birthday.

To Be a Disciple Is to Be Called to Make New Disciples

Speaking of water, we read in The Gospel of John,

John 4:7–14 (CSB)

A woman of Samaria came to draw water … [Jesus said to her,] “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water … Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

In the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. beside a well we see her transformed in an instant. That short conversation was the culmination of a long process of becoming aware of her sin, yet the Samaritan woman immediately was filled with enough awe and wonder to not just believe Jesus but to go and tell her neighbours the good news about having met him and the spiritual awakening she had through a conversation with him.

In the Great Commission we have the command, “Go and make disciples” (Mt 18:19). The apostle Paul describes it as a ministry of reconciliation for those who have themselves been reconciled (2 Cor 5:18). The fact of the matter is this is not something we need to be commanded to do if we have truly been impacted by placing our faith in Jesus. We will naturally want to share this good news.

As we drink deeply of the Holy Spirit, whose power and presence is with us, this living water should not just well up and quench our thirst but overflow into a natural spring of eternal life. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?!

To be a disciple is to be called and commissioned to make disciples but, frankly, who or what could stop us from making disciples if we truly found the hope and love, the joy and peace that passes all understanding that comes with placing our faith in Jesus and living a Christian lifestyle? Who could stop us? No one! What can stop us? Nothing!

Application

The sacrament of Baptism reminds us we have fellowship with Jesus Christ in his death and in his resurrection. We therefore die to ourselves —which is to give up our own interests and insights about how to live— so that we might obey the call and commands of Jesus —which is to discover the free, full and forever life he promised to his friends.

And who wouldn’t want that?

Becoming a Disciple of Jesus Requires a Conscious and Free Choice

Acts 2:37–38 CSB

When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Like the crowd in Jerusalem on that Day of Pentecost, the thing to do is to make the decision to become a disciple of Jesus.

Recognise the life you were living was leading to disaster and death. Turn around and begin to follow Jesus. Inaugurate that decision by being baptised and, just as was promised in the Great Commission, you will receive the Holy Spirit, which is the power and presence of the Triune God with you.

This is a conscious and free choice only you can make for yourself. No one can force you or trick you into making this choice and no one can make the choice for you.

Making This Choice to Become a Disciple Is to Join a Family

Remember that a disciple is one is learning to love, trust and obey Jesus in following the Way of Love. For this you are going to need help.

Thankfully, from the moment you make the choice to become a disciple of Jesus, you are not alone. Not only is the power and presence of God with you, but you then become a member of the worldwide and eternal family of God we call the Church.

All Christians, everywhere and always, are members of this great fellowship! The living embodiment of that fellowship is each and every local church.

I, of course, would recommend you join this local fellowship of the disciples of Jesus, but there are other worthwhile churches you can join.

Find one near you that suits you well and that follows Jesus wholeheartedly. Look for the humility that comes from recognising we are learning to follow the Way of Love. It a person or church gives the impression they have already arrived, then I would suggest you keep looking because they will likely not be understanding of mistakes and mishaps along the way.

I also recommend jumping in all the way and becoming an actual and legitimate member of a church. Do not be a spectator or one who sits on the sidelines. Your church needs you!

All of your personality, all of your preferences, all of your gifts, all of your resources, and even all of your mistakes and mishaps.

All of you is committed to God, so show that by being committed to helping your church grow in learning how to follow the Way of Love —which is to love God, love one another and to love our neighbours. Let us learn to walk in this Way together!