A Disciple Is ...
A person with a new heart
A person with a New Identity
A person with a New Destination
A Warrior for the Kingdom
A Person deeply loved by God
A Person Given the Spirit
A Person Equipped for Mission Possible!
A Disciple Is ... A person with a Privileged Calling
__________________
Ill– A friend of mine, a man who thinks of himself as a mature Believer, was telling me about his experience in a shopping environment. Seems that while he was waiting for service another customer rudely cut in and, when he spoke up, the other man insulted him with obscene language. His own words betrayed that he has far to go in terms of true spiritual immaturity. He was enraged to the point of seriously desiring to pound the other man into dust!
He told me, without any sense of irony or shame, that he left the store physically shaking with anger, restrained only by sheer will and fear of prosecution if he assaulted the other man! His Christianity has certainly modified his behavior, but there is much work yet to do in his character!
As you listen, I can imagine a couple of reactions.
∙ Some of you are feeling some level of irritation with me for saying this man is spiritually immature, because you identify with him and know that you would react the same way in a similar situation, so you feel judged.
∙ Some of you are mystified, by that little story, because you think his reaction is perfectly understandable and quite natural, which is true if a disciple is just a natural person.
Dallas Willard, one of my favorite authors, says that many Christians are sidetracked into a sham spiritual experience that he calls, ‘the gospel of sin management.’ What he means ought to become more clear, so stick with me.
The Bible speaks of coming to Christ as provoking a violent revolution in us- involving the overthrow of the old king called Self and the enthroning of Christ as King. The substitute is about an ‘I got saved’ understanding that lets them remain essentially unchanged in character, but hopeful of going to Heaven when they die. A favorite bumper sticker sentiment reflects this willingness to simply try to contain sin. It says, “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.” Of course we’re not perfect, but we are much more than simply forgiven. We are people who are being changed from the inside out.
A Disciple is ... a person who is Transforming
It is a sad commentary on Christianity that we are too often defined by negatives rather than positives. In place of the vibrant life of Christ, many of us think and express our ‘Christian life’ in terms of a moral code! Many Believers describe being a disciple of Christ in terms of what they are against or what they consider ‘sin’ rather than in terms of who they are because of Christ and what passions He brings to their lives! I seldom hear a Believer exult in the privileges that they enjoy because of Christ and His transforming work!
Listen to these amazing declarations.
Believers are beloved children!
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Believers are liberated people!
Romans 8:2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
Believers gain a solid foundation for life!
Luke 6:47-48 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Believers live in God’s favor!
Psalm 34:4-5, 15 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. ... The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.
Beyond those things... and they are wonderful, are they not? ...we are people who are privileged to participate in God’s amazing plans.
Willard writes, “We are no longer spectators, but are caught up in a vivid and eternal drama in which we play an essential part. We embrace our imposed circumstances, no matter how tragic they seem, and act for the good in a power beyond ourselves. ... Our tiny willpower is not the source of our strength... we are carried along by the power of the divine drama in which we are fully engaged. We are far from just struggling to resist sin. We are devoted to realization of righteousness all around us.” Renovation of the Heart, pg. 152
TEXT Acts 1:4-8
Jesus told his followers that they were about to begin a life with a huge mission! It was so big they couldn’t even think about starting it until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit. They got excited and thought he was talking about the restoration of Israel’s power and glory as an earthly kingdom. They thought they were going to be high officials. But, He told them it was bigger than that; much, much bigger.
“You are going to go to the far ends of the earth and show people what it means to be my disciples. Your lives are going to be the evidence of the reality of the Gospel and your experience will compel them to consider my claims to be the Savior!” - v. 8, paraphrased
Do we really give compelling reason for others to want to become disciples of Christ if our entire spiritual experience is wrapped up in trying to keep ourselves from lusting after our neighbor’s wife, fighting with the government about gay marriage, and building a separate society around ourselves so that we can be isolated from those who do not follow Him? I think not!
I agree with David Kinnaman that we need to re-define “Christian.” He suggests that those who are real disciples, who are in the process of transformation, will be -
- worshiping God intimately and passionately,
- engaged in deep spiritual friendships with other Believers,
- strongly family oriented,
- embracing intentional forms of spiritual growth,
- serving others,
- investing significant time and resources in spiritual pursuits, and
- having conversations about spiritual matters with those who are not disciples.
- unChristian, pg. 80
TEXT - Romans 12:1-2
In the letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul lays a foundation in the first 11 chapters about their relationship with
God, what God did to bring a new promise of life to those who believe. In chapter 12, he applies the truth to our
lives. Here’s what he says. READ
The Message, a contemporary translation, helps me to grasp the richness of the charge contained in those verses. It says, Romans 12:1-2
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he
wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to
its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
How does this transformation happen to you and me?
A. The beginning point is an encounter with the Living Christ that makes us spiritually alive!
There are many ways that happens. For some, it is a moment in a church service where there is an invitation given to which they respond and accept Christ. For others, the means is a family member, friend, neighbor, or colleague whose life and words lead to Jesus. For some, it is in the middle of a great personal crisis, when a conversation is recalled or a book is read, and the Spirit comes with life.
Ill - 1. Chuck Colson’s conversion
2. Saul, who became Paul, who saw the reality of the spiritual experience of those he was persecuting,
and who met Christ in a vision on the way to Damascus.
Don’t mistake this beginning experience for the whole thing! Many do. They ‘get saved’ and think that’s it. “I’m going to Heaven now because I have prayed to accept Jesus.”
B. The next step is spiritual formation!
The Bible says that those who come to Christ are ‘babies.’ This is not an insult but an illustration of the necessity of care and nurture with the goal of producing maturity. I was delighted at the birth of my children and found the whole baby thing very special, but I also knew that my job as a parent was not to keep them perpetually dependent on me, though that might have felt good for a while. Bev and I worked to make them mature, self-sufficient productive adults.
As Believers, we begin with being born of the Spirit, made alive to Christ. We continue by engaging in learning the Scripture, involving ourselves with other Believers, starting to serve, dealing with old habits, worshiping, giving - with the goal of growing up in Christ.
Many churched people live in a way described in this passage:
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14
C. Spiritual formation is a process.
We must not be discouraged that we are not all we hope to be instantly, or even in a year’s time. The fact of the matter is that Christians are ‘becomers’ for the rest of their earthly lives. Paul speaks of being changed ‘from glory to glory,’ and says this process never stops. The Christian life is journey.
Kinnaman writes that Believers "desperately need to be taught to process the rich complexities of life, to probe and test and stretch their faith from the perspective of a Christ follower."
In my own journey with Christ, the things I am learning about Him today are much different than the things I learned about Him, 10, 20, and 30 years ago! The process of ‘becoming’ all that He desires of me and finding out Who He is goes on.
For many Christianity is a static, tradition-bound life that is attached to some idealized past. But, God intends for our experience in Jesus to be genuine, alive, dynamic - fully engaged with the world in which we live right now! A person who is so attached to Christ and so obedient to His Word and the Spirit, is a compelling witness for the Gospel.
As I close, let’s return to that little story about angry Christian who left an encounter with a rude person, shaking with rage, barely able to restrain his desire to physically assault the other person. What would the response of a mature Believer who is going through spiritual transformation look like?
Jesus describes just such a situation and calls for a response that is nonsensical to any who is not filled with God’s Spirit.
“I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:39-44
This is not natural, but neither are you or I, if Christ lives in us. We are people who are being transformed! If your experience of Christianity is not producing soul-deep change, a radical revolutionary overthrow of the old ways of self-preservation, replacing the rule of the Self with the rule of the Spirit, you will not live in the promised abundance of which Jesus spoke when He said, {John 10:10 NLT} My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.
∙ The Bible describes a Christian as having a life that is stable because the foundation for life is an unshakeable Rock.
∙ The Bible describes a Christian as having a life that is full of love, peace, and joy; and with consistent victory over sins such as anger, lust, and envy.
∙ The Bible describes a Christian as enjoying such a sense of self-esteem that he has no need for the praise of others and is not paralyzed by criticism or condemnation by others.
∙ The Bible describes a Christian as being inspired with God’s Spirit to incredible levels of creativity.
Does that describe your experience?
If not, I urge you to move from a gospel of sin management into a life that engages in Spiritual formation of the Character of Jesus Christ in you.
Amen.
Jerry D. Scott
copyright 2008
all rights reserved