Discipleship: The Key to God’s Kingdom Expansion
It is ironic that in a country like America, where the majority of people still consider themselves “Christian,” the moral climate and the church’s influence on society is alarmingly low. The main reason can be attributed to the fact that the church is not heeding Christ’s command to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) The church’s work doesn’t stop at evangelism–Jesus accented the process of evangelism “Go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
A Kingdom Without A King?
Especially in recent decades, the preaching of the Gospel has often been dumbed down and diluted so that it would appear more acceptable to a nation headed in a humanistic and materialist direction. Resultantly, the Gospel has become very man-centered instead of Christ-centered. Consider the following:
- Phrases like “Count your blessings,” “Jesus belongs to me,” “I am satisfied with Jesus,” are all over the lyrics of our favorite songs and hymns.
- Our prayers are often nothing more than requests asking for God’s blessing.
- Our church services and buildings are designed to make us most comfortable (plush seats etc.).
- Evangelistic efforts are marked by promises that Jesus will make your life better.
“For the early Christians, then, so much was at stake for simply saying ‘Jesus is Lord.’”
When we refer to Jesus as “Lord” today, the meaning of the term has usually lost its original sense. In the Greek, kurios meant the one with maximum authority, the creator, the one above everyone else. When Kurios was capitalized, it was only used to refer to Caesar; Caesar of Rome was the Lord. It shouldn’t come to us as a surprise then, that when Christians refused to affirm the greeting of fellow Romans who would say ”Caesar is Lord”, they suffered from persecution and were often martyred. For the early Christians then, so much was at stake for simply saying “Jesus is Lord.”
Lordship Salvation
At the turn of the 20th century a theological debate arose concerning the nature of salvation. Some theologians proposed the idea that all one had to do to be saved was to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Their conclusion was that Jesus’ Lordship was an aspect of salvation that could be realized at a later part of Christian walk. In a way, we can see how this teaching, along with those who accepted it, has watered down the Gospel that has been preached in America ever since.
The role of discipleship in the life of the Christian can only be redeemed when we pay close attention to the totality of what the Bible teaches about what it means to be saved. We must emphasize that although Jesus is gentle and humble in heart, he has a yoke for us to carry (Matthew 11:28-29), and that all those who want to follow him must deny themselves and take up their cross (Matthew 16:2-25). Discipleship is not an optional part of being a Christian; God is not honored in a buffet-style approach to faith. The truly saved will understand that although forgiveness is free, discipleship will cost you everything.
To be continued.
Hull, Bill. The Complete Book of Discipleship. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006.
Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
MacArthur, John. Faith Works: the Gospel According to the Apostles. Nashville: W Group Publishing, 1993.
