Being a disciple – 2 (Mat 9:9) And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. Being a disciple of Jesus is some one who follows Him and also adheres to His teachings. As we look at the church today we see there is a serious flaw in it – there is little following going on. There is a lot of activity but little following of Jesus and His teachings. We are making decisions and not disciples today. There are some churches and preachers that refuse to call those not saved as “sinners” thinking that there is a negative overtone to sinner. So, we call them “pre-Christian” or “Pre-believers” or some sort of other nonsensical term. Discipleship means forsaking all to follow Jesus. There will be many on the day of judgment who declare that they did many marvelous things for and in Jesus’ name but they will be rejected because they were not really, truly followers of Jesus Christ -- (Mat 7:21-23) “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. . . Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? {23} And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” This happens because there is defective theology preached in the church today; it separates faith from discipleship and grace from obedience. It teaches that Jesus can be received as Savior and ignored as Lord; it often happens in times of prosperity, but also in times when the preachers have no understanding of God’s ways during times of trouble and affliction. There is an easy believism taught today – no cross, commitment and no repentance. Restitution is very rarely heard anymore just a simple believe, say a little prayer or shake the preacher’s hand and you’re okay – forever. Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession; cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, and grace without Christ living and incarnate.” People are not told to examine their lives any more or their relationship with God or others. If you once asked to be forgiven then you are eternally okay. When Jesus invited people to follow Him is was a call to salvation. It is a turning from sin to God and His ways – a spiritual healing by God. It means obedience to God and His word; it means repentance – turning from your thinking and way to God’s – a new pathway. Discipleship is submission to God and the commands of God; it is putting on the yoke that Jesus invites us to put on in Matthew 11. Conquered people in Bible days were forced to pass under a rod or sword to show they were submissive to the conquerors. Jesus says “take My yoke upon you and learn of Me. . .” This is not a forced action by a conqueror, but by the One Who died for our sins. One day all will be forced to bow to Him, but right now it is optional (the other option is eternal death). Being a disciple (follower of Christ) is commitment to the One Who we follow – not just one time but continuously. It is not a door to be entered but a path to be followed (Psa 119:112) I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:06:08 +0000
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