What is the Meaning of True Discipleship?

This post will likely ruffle a lot of feathers, but nevertheless needs to be said, for your eternal destiny is at stake. For far too long the modern church has failed to teach what it means to be a disciple (true follower) of Christ. It is radical teaching and the opposite of what the world teaches. In a word, the gospel of Jesus is offensive to most people.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:14-15, NIV).

Sitting on a pew, donating to a church, flippantly telling God you are sorry, praying a simple prayer without real conviction, and advancing your will over God's will, are what is called easy believism. Easy believism won't get you to heaven but rather hell.

Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(Matthew 7:21-23, NIV).

We can do all of these works and still not have true salvation!

I encourage you to take the time to examine what easy believism is all about after this post, here: https://www.gotquestions.org/easy-believism.html

Easy believism is the present state of our contemporary churches, where people wrongly believe they are heaven bound simply because they believed or put their trust in Jesus. Yes, that is necessary, (Ephesians 2:8-9), but there is more to it than a simple intellectual acknowledgement! What, precisely have people believed? Have you been taught the cost of becoming a devoted follower of Jesus?

Truth

People who have not been changed by the gospel of Christ and continue in their rebellious ways are certainly bound for hell. Repentance means to turn, to turn from one's sinful ways. Let's not mince words here. You simply cannot claim to be a Christian and live a life of sin, that is, be a carnal (fleshly) Christian. Nowhere in the Bible will you see otherwise. Nowhere. Yes, we will sin, but the goal as the Holy Spirit works in our lives is to sin less, not be sinless.

John writes: "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did" (1 John 2:3-6, NIV).

Do you live as Jesus did?

The verses immediately above are plain and simple and give a person assurance of their salvation. Anything else is a lie from the pit of hell.

Deceit

The hard truth is that, as the prophet writes: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV).

The hearts of many people are deceived by the ruler of this world, Satan. Accordingly, these people believe in a free get out of hell card. That is not how God works in the lives of people, my friends.

Unfortunately, many pastors, priests and evangelists seek to make their congregations feel comfortable, as opposed to teaching and preaching the radical concepts of Jesus. If you are sitting in church and are comfortable week after week, you are likely not being taught the truth about Jesus, for He spoke about what it means to follow Him.

All of the glitz, glamor, decorations, statues, ornaments, crucifixes, sound systems, fancy robes, singing for entertainment purposes, canned, repetitive prayers, and stained glass windows are pure distractions that separate people from the difficult but necessary truth taught by Jesus.

The gospel of Mark and true discipleship

Mark penned the first gospel around the 50's AD. Beginning in Mark 8:24, we read:

"Then he (Jesus) called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38, NIV).

Heavy teaching, correct? Heavy but true.

Deny self

This is a difficult teaching in verse 34. What does it mean to deny oneself? We better understand it, for Jesus said we must. To deny ourselves, we must put away our selfish ambitions, desires and do His will, not ours. It is a total, life long commitment to follow Jesus, as opposed to the things of this world. This is what the Apostle Paul calls perseverance.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV).

Take up the cross

Jesus never meant we should wear a cross around our necks. That saves nobody. Rather, He said that we must be committed followers of His teachings and commands, even to the point of death.

Wow, huh? This, too, is a difficult, radical teaching. The world teaches us to love the self, indulge it, and nourish it. But Jesus teaches the complete opposite! It is typically true that we followers of Jesus should do the exact opposite of whatever the world teaches.

Taking up one's cross is a daily activity and is not for part-timer's. Total commitment is required. There are no shortcuts or easy ways to live a life for Christ. True disciples will experience all the things Jesus did, some even death for following Him.

Save/lose life

Another difficult teaching in verse 35. Jesus didn't spare your feelings. If we claim to be Christian and followers of Jesus, we must give up all control to Him. In this way we save our life through Him, but if we do not deny the self, we lose it. Why? Because we are ashamed (v. 38) of Jesus. If we are ashamed of Christ Jesus, He will likewise be ashamed of us.

Are you afraid that your friends, family and loved ones will distance themselves from your total commitment to Jesus? To be ashamed means to distance oneself from others.

All of the disciples of Jesus gave up everything to follow Jesus, and there were 100's of disciples, beyond the primary 12 Jesus called. This is not advice to desert your family, by no means. But perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul said it was better to remain single, because he was well aware of the high cost of true discipleship.

Gain the world

Jesus does not make it any simpler to understand. Pursuing a life apart from Jesus (doing our will) is to be devoted to worldly matters, not godly matters.

This includes following the ways of this world: pursuing wealth, self-gratification, storing up material possessions rather than heavenly ones, fitting in with worldly ways and teachings, and a commitment to one's self. By pursuing these things (and others) we may gain wealth and success, but what does it profit a person in the end? The answer is simple: nothing but eternal separation from God. Talk about a high price to pay!

Ransom

Jesus gave his life for a ransom for many when He died on the cross and bore our sins. How can we repay Him? We cannot. There is absolutely no way we can even conceive of any repayment.

But we can and must deny self, pick up our cross daily, put away worldly ways and thoughts, and follow Him completely. This is discipleship. Easy believism is not.

We are to become servants rather than be served. We serve Jesus, Who alone is master, the Author and finisher of faith, and serve others rather than self.

We, too, must become a ransom for many, even to the point of death. It's difficult theology, but Christology (the study of Christ) reveals that there is no other way to be a disciple of Christ Jesus.

I encourage you to meditate on Christ's words. He is a loving God, but demands His people, the Church, to be true disciples.

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