Authentic Discipleship

Martin Luther said:

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. He who goes on his way thinking that he has faith and has completely mastered its meaning is in a more dangerous condition than he who knows nothing whatever about it. Why? Because he who knows nothing whatever about it may come to his senses and say: ‘You have never heard this doctrine nor known anything about it. my friend, listen to it and see what it really is’ . . . Then it may happen that he understands it well. The former, however, is hindered by his conceit. He imagines he has already grasped the matter and thoroughly knows it. And so he goes on his way, considers himself well informed, and pays little attention to the subject.”7

There are many Christians who have a “little knowledge.” They have received the inoculation or the vaccine if you will of real faith. Many times this keeps some one from truly getting “Jesus.”

A. W. Tozer says, “What we think about God is the most important thing in our lives.”

To be “in-formed” is not the same as being “re-formed.” Information about God is not enough. Only as we come into association with others who are walking with Him can there be a true “transformation.”

Jesus called His disciples to “follow me.” It was in that association with and that imitation of that they were changed; re-formed into His image and likeness; which is our original state of being.

1Cor. 4:16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
1Cor. 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Heb. 6:12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Paul was continually calling others to “imitate” him as he did Christ. The pattern of discipleship is not difficult …. but it is time consuming. A disciple is not an “instant” event or decision. No it is a way of living. Living a life after Jesus.

The “church” that Jesus founded followed this pattern. Seeker, Hearer, Kneeler and Faithful…. People were “transformed” or “re-formed” by coming into “fellowship” with others we knew Christ and could assist them in “becoming” like Christ.

The church of the last several hundred years has so “individualized” Christianity that it has forgotten that God called us into a “family.” He sent the “spirit of adoption” into our hearts. And it is through the “family” that we come to understand and know who “He” truly is and who “we”truly are.

Evangelism – conversion is so much more than gaining a “little information” about Jesus; it is coming into the living reality of being changed so that “as He is so are we in this world,” (1 John 4:17).
“Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ” (Detrick Bonhoeffer).

Authentic Christianity demands that we “make disciples.” For far too long we have thought that “decisions” to believe were enough. That line of thinking has left us with an anemic church. A church that has spiritual amnesia and who has settled to be far less than she truly was designed to be.

Dallas Willard says, “So far as the visible Christian institutions of our day are concerned, discipleship clearly is optional… Churches are therefore filled with “undiscipled disciples. Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have not yet decided to follow Christ.”

I am dedicated to raising up people who are fully dedicated to “following” Jesus! This requires our ability to critically analyze the processes and the perceptions that we have followed in our own journeys to Jesus and to recover “truths” that have been lost.
I began this posting by quoting Martin Luther; “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. He who goes on his way thinking that he has faith and has completely mastered its meaning is in a more dangerous condition than he who knows nothing whatever about it.”

I will finish this posting by quoting Paul, “Phil. 3:12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (NLB)

We should never make the mistake of thinking that “we have arrived” or that “we have achieved” something. We are all still on a “journey to Jesus.” Dr. Webbers book is a very good tool to help us understand the pattern that Jesus and His first disciples used to make the “journey.”

Discipleship is a journey! A journey of becoming like Jesus!
Enjoy the journey!

Bishop Quintin

THAT THEY MAY BE ONE

At the last supper, Jesus told his apostles about the one characteristic that would distinguish his believers in the world: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Above everything else, Jesus wanted his people to be known for their agape love--a love that conquers hatred and bigotry, a love that overcomes division and judgments. This is a love that unites, a love that brings people together in a union of trust, respect, and affection (see Acts 2:44-45: Galatians 3:26-28).

A Legacy of Separation!

Yet, as we look at the sweep of history, it seems that Christians have given a far different witness than the one Jesus asked for -- particularly in this past millennium. In 1054, the Eastern Church of Constantinople and the Western Church of Rome had become so estranged that these two fountains of faith and blessing separated themselves from each other. As time progressed, this spirit of division spread, ultimately manifesting itself in numerous sub-divisions that resulted from the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. While doctrinal and moral issues played a significant role in these separations, they seem to have been fueled just as much by political agendas, ethnic prejudices, and personal hatred. It was not uncommon, in fact, to see these sparks of bitterness explode into violence and bloodshed.

We may not recognize it too often, but we have all inherited the legacy of centuries of separation and rancor. This is especially true for those of us who grew up in the last half of the twentieth century. Many Roman catholics were taught that protestants could not be saved, and protestants grew up believing that catholics were guilty of idolatry and apostasy. However, the greatest enemy of Christian unity today may be apathy in a time of extraordinary grace and favor from the Lord. All through out this last number of years, God has been pouring out powerful gifts of healing and reconciliation. In the past fifty years in particular, Christians from every background have come together in unprecedented numbers to pray, worship the Lord, seek each others' forgiveness, and work together for the spread of the gospel.

As we encounter God's presence through prayer and worship, we can take comfort in the knowledge that we all have the same heavenly Father. We can rejoice that we are forgiven by the same blood of Christ, shed for all people. As we join our separated brothers and sisters in worship of our Lord Jesus, we will recognize the great deposit of faith that binds us together. Prayer....enables us always to discover anew the evangelical truth of the words: "You have one Father" (Matthew 23:9), the Father, Abba, invoked by Christ himself the Only-begotten...Son. And again: "You have one teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters" (Matthew 23:8).

Let us all take advantage of the marvelous grace that God is pouring out on his church in our day. He is working powerfully to heal all the divisions and animosity that the past one thousand years have brought. Let us all seek deeper conversion to his gospel--a closer relationship with Jesus, through prayer and worship, and a greater love for all our brothers and sisters. Let us answer the call to pray, to repent and to forgive.