The Christian as Disciple

The idea of being a disciple serves as bookends to Christ's earthly ministry. When Jesus formally started his work he gathered 12 men around him who would be his disciples.  Then, at the end of his ministry, he underscored how important this concept was when he commissioned those disciples to "Go into all the world and make disciples." 

In this unique framing of his ministry we see something of the importance Christ places on this particular aspect of our identity, and it behooves us to take seriously what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Moreover, of all the descriptions Jesus could have used to denominate his people in his Great Commission, he chose the word disciples.  This should catch our attention!

To be a disciple of Christ is to be a student of Christ. It is someone who studies and is dedicated to research. So Jesus intended his followers to be people who fastidiously sought to learn more about him and his ways.

The original 12 disciples were men who were, of course, enrolled in the school of Christ. Their only job was to hang around with Christ for three years in order to learn everything they could from Jesus' life and teaching. Then, upon graduating from this prestigious institution, they were required to gather to themselves students of their own to teach and train.

From this we learn two things regarding the concept of "disciple." First, it explains that one of the chief aspects of our identity is that we are to be learners. We are to learn everything we can from Jesus about Jesus.

Of course, this means that we are to be engaged in the diligent study of the Bible, for that is the record of Christ's teaching. Prior to their demise the original disciples committed to writing all that we would need for our course of study. They knew we would not be able to sit at Jesus' feet like they themselves did. So, under the guidance of the Spirit, they wrote down the words and acts of Jesus that would best compliment what Christ had already inscribed in the Old Testament.

This book has been passed down as the main text for Christians. As disciples we scrupulously study it. On a weekly basis we listen to it at church. We gather in groups in homes to talk about it and to read it. On a daily basis we dig through it individually and as a family. The core of our lives is dedicated to the doctrines contained in it.

Christians have always been known as "a people of the book."  That is to say that the Bible has been the main focus of our daily attention throughout history.  So, whether it be reading it for pleasure, in-depth study of it, or discussing the morning's sermon with friends over coffee, the term disciple reminds us that Bible is to be a regular part of the warp and woof of the Christian's life.

Secondly, the term disciple reminds us of the God ordained pattern for propagating the faith. As disciples of Christ, we are to make it our aim to make disciples. That is to say, we are to make it our aim to glean all that we can from the Scriptures. Then, once we've become somewhat familiar with the doctrines of the Bible and adept at applying the Truth of Christ to our own lives, we are to seek to disciple others. Particularly we are to seek out souls that are not learned in the ways of Christ, and teach them.

In recent history a great deal of emphasis has been put on one-time, staged events where a call is made for people to "make a decision for Jesus." These decisions are then calculated as souls won for Christ, and little is done to continue the nurture in the faith. This focus is quite wrong headed. Certainly it is a wonderful thing that the gospel is being presented and that people are called to make a real, conscious act of faith and repentance. However, the emphasis has been on the decision making, rather than the lifelong process of discipleship as Christ instructed.

What's more is that this mentality has affected the generational flow of the faith. One of the main ways God intended the faith grows throughout the world was through families. The greatest growth is supposed to be through what has often been called biological evangelism. Parents are to literally "make disciples" as they have children. These offspring are then to be trained in the faith all their days. Unfortunately, parents have not seen their children as disciples of Christ, and have waited for them to make some sort of spontaneous decision for Christ before offering any serious Christian nurture.

This of course gets at the two aspects of being a disciple of Christ. We often think that a disciple of Christ is one who possesses true faith in Christ. But this is not always the case. Remember, a disciple is merely someone who may be considered a student of Jesus. Though he may be dedicated to learning about Christ and affiliate with a particular church, it does not necessarily mean that he possesses true faith.

For instance, in John 6 we read the story where a huge crowd decided not to follow Jesus any longer due to his hard teaching. The word "disciples" is used three times in this passage in reference to this mass of people. Verse 66 is perhaps the most specific when it says, "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."

This is why our children can be considered "disciples of Christ" from their early stages despite never having made a public profession of faith. While under a parent's tutelage, he is a disciple. There may come a day where he or she shows his true heart by choosing to turn back and no longer walk with him. But until that time, he is a disciple in a real, though external, sense.

As well, when it comes to our evangelism, we ought to press our heathen friends and family to become disciples, rather than simply to make a decision. In doing so we will allow them the opportunity to get a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he has done. And above all, we will afford the Spirit of God many more opportunities to change that person inwardly.

Christian Identitiy: A Believer

As Christians we are defined by our faith, so much so that we are frequently called "believers." This perhaps is the main way the Bible refers to those who have faith in Christ.

When Christ walked the earth his message was, "believe in me." And from that point on the world has been divided into those that believe and those that don't.

But the understanding of who or what a believer is has become quite skewed in today's society. One can be tagged a believer if he comes forward at a camp meeting after having an emotional experience of some sort. One can even refer to himself as a believer, simply because he grew up in a Christian home.

But the chief aspect of this nomenclature, "believer," refers to the content of the faith. That is to say, a believer is someone who believes certain things to be true. Someone might ask, "What do you believe?" When they pose this question they are looking for a set of propositions or doctrinal statements in return.

At the very outset, a person becomes a "believer" by accepting the truth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who gave his life to reconcile sinners unto God. After they are converted, they continue to grow in the knowledge of the truths God has revealed in Scripture--thus increasing their belief.

Early in the history of the church Christians began formulating their faith in a very didactic way. Before converts would be baptized they would undergo extensive discipleship. Since they would be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Spirit, they would be they would be taught about the Trinity and each of its persons. (This most likely grew into what we now know as the chief expression of Christian belief, the Apostle's Creed.)

Admittedly, knowledge is not the only facet of belief/believers. Faith also involves trust, or, as the Heidelberg Catechism states, "a firm confidence which the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel." Yet, the basis of faith are the propositional truths of God's Holy Word. Trust is not possible without knowledge, just as the second story of a house cannot exist without the first.

Ironically, churches today have a tendency to downplay doctrinal distinctives. In its place emotional experiences and sentimentality are emphasized. The extent of this is revealed in a recent poll among college students. Almost all of those students, who claimed to be evangelical believers, could not articulate the cardinal doctrines of the faith. Another survey found that many (not all Christians, but some) thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

Yet it is in today's age, where sects, cults and Christian parodies abound, that belief needs to be defined all the more. Believers need to have the basis of their belief instilled in them that they might live up to their name.

Followers of the Way

In the New Testament we find that the Christians were first known as "Followers of the Way" The New Bible Dictionary supports this when it says that "The Way" is the oldest designation for the Christians.

Such a name pinpoints the essence of Christianity. Christ said that he was "the way, life and truth." Throughout the Bible you find references to the way of the righteous and God leading his people in the way. It is natural then that Christianity should be known simply as "the Way."

From these we find that this term has two meanings. First, it has to do with the way of living. The early Christians believed that God reveals the way life is to be lived in the Scriptures. For instance, the Bible tells us that there is a way (to live) that seems right unto a man, but its end is death. On the other hand, those that trust in the Lord with all their heart, relying upon his word as their guide for life and faith, walk in the "right way" or find the "way of life." In the morally lax culture of Rome, the Christians' irreproachable ethics was certainly an unmistakable trait.

Yet the second meaning may overshadow the first. Christians confess that the sole way of salvation lies in Christ. The only way to the Father is through Christ (Jn. 14:6). This exclusivity would have stood in stark contrast to the pagan culture of the day. Where multiple gods are held up as viable ways to eternal life or happiness, Christianity's exclusivity would was a notable feature. Sometimes Christians would even be called atheists because they rejected the Roman gods.

In our day, where paganism is lurching out again, Christians must remember their roots. We are still people of "the Way." Therefore we must understand the necessity of being dogmatic in belief and definitive on ethics. We must resist giving in to pressures of pluralism and stand out as a singular people.