Christ in Discipleship
Christ In Discipleship
DSMN 500: Discipleship Ministries
March 27, 2014
The definition of a disciple is “One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, as one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ 's followers according to the Gospel accounts.” Discipleship means nothing without Christ being the central focus. It is crucial that Christ be the central focal point for all Christian discipleship. There are many ways to disciple someone, but there is only one means of discipleship. Hull states in his book, The Disciple Making Pastor, “Disciple making takes more faith than any other task of the church.” Not only does it take more faith, but it is a priority. “Since it is top priority for God, it is top priority for Satan. No work of God’s servant draws more resistance than disciple making.” So as it is a priority to God and Satan, Christians need to see it as a priority and obey God.
Obedience; you cannot be a disciple of Christ without obeying Christ. Bonhoeffer brings a point to light that obedience is crucial to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He shares an example of obeying Christ. Mark 2:14 (KJV) “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, ‘Follow me’. And he arose and followed him.” Matt. 9:9 and Luke 5:27-28 are also examples of obedience to Christ: Jesus called Levi, and Levi just got up and followed. Bonhoeffer points out, “The call goes out, and without any further ado the obedient deed of the one called follows. The disciple’s answer is not a spoken confession of faith in Jesus. Instead, it is the obedient deed.” There can be so much speculation about Levi not verbally confessing a faith in Christ, that as readers, we can lose sight of the bigger picture. Jesus Christ called Levi, and without a question, Levi left money and all to follow, the moment Christ
DSMN 500: Discipleship Ministries
March 27, 2014
The definition of a disciple is “One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, as one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ 's followers according to the Gospel accounts.” Discipleship means nothing without Christ being the central focus. It is crucial that Christ be the central focal point for all Christian discipleship. There are many ways to disciple someone, but there is only one means of discipleship. Hull states in his book, The Disciple Making Pastor, “Disciple making takes more faith than any other task of the church.” Not only does it take more faith, but it is a priority. “Since it is top priority for God, it is top priority for Satan. No work of God’s servant draws more resistance than disciple making.” So as it is a priority to God and Satan, Christians need to see it as a priority and obey God.
Obedience; you cannot be a disciple of Christ without obeying Christ. Bonhoeffer brings a point to light that obedience is crucial to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He shares an example of obeying Christ. Mark 2:14 (KJV) “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, ‘Follow me’. And he arose and followed him.” Matt. 9:9 and Luke 5:27-28 are also examples of obedience to Christ: Jesus called Levi, and Levi just got up and followed. Bonhoeffer points out, “The call goes out, and without any further ado the obedient deed of the one called follows. The disciple’s answer is not a spoken confession of faith in Jesus. Instead, it is the obedient deed.” There can be so much speculation about Levi not verbally confessing a faith in Christ, that as readers, we can lose sight of the bigger picture. Jesus Christ called Levi, and without a question, Levi left money and all to follow, the moment Christ