In 1st century Israel it was common for people who wanted to be educated in godly ways to attach themselves to a Rabbi (eg, Luke 5:33). Rabbis would teach and disciples would sit at their feet and learn. Jesus was the foremost Rabbi. He tended to teach in a less scholarly and more real-life way than most Rabbis (Mark 12:14). Sometimes he spent time with the crowds, and helped the needy and corrected the religious; other times he took his closest disciples away to quiet places to explain things to them more fully (Mark 4:34). After Jesus’ death his disciples were able to take the gospel all through the known world because he had trained them fully.
SUBMISSION
When a student wanted to be trained by a Rabbi he would need to submit to his teaching. Submission is a concept written all of the way through the bible…
The inference of Romans 8:7 is that we are called to submit to God’s law…. Wives are called to submit to husbands (Ephesians 5). Slaves were called to submit to masters (1 Peter 2:18) good and bad. The young should submit to the old (1 Peter 5:5). Hebrews 5:7 tells us that Jesus submitted – and we know that he submitted to the point of death. We are called to submit to the “governing authorities” (Romans 13:1); and every authority (1 Peter 2:13) – This must surely include church leaders (Hebrews 13:17). 1 Corinthians 16:15-16 urges the congregation to submit to those who “have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people”, and to “everyone who joins the work and labours at it”.
IT IS WORTH REPEATING, ALL ARE CALLED TO SUBMIT TO GOD (Isaiah 45:23-25)
Note, in Hebrews 13:17, that leaders ought to inspire confidence. And we should remember that submission is an act of the one doing the submitting (lit: arranging oneself under) and therefore can – and arguably should – be rescinded at any time if leaders do not conform to the “golden rule” of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12). And of course we should never disobey our conscience (1 Corinthians 8:12). It is best, though, if we go into a relationship with our disciplers/leaders with an attitude of submission, because this is the attitude with which we are likely to learn the most and become most Christ-like (Philippians 2:5). All of us should be willing to take the ‘plank’ out of our own eye before we remove the speck from our friend’s (Matthew 7:2-5). Self reflection is absolutely crucial to spiritual growth.
UNITY
In Jesus’ longest recorded prayer in the NT (John 17), Jesus prays for unity among all those who would, in the future, believe. Discipling as we know it is one way to put into practise the one-another scriptures and therefore (with submission) build the unity Jesus desires. Sanctity through the Word (v17) is also required to produce what God wants, so we must be careful not to neglect this. According to Colossians 3:12-14, unity will come from love and exercising compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience towards each other: all good things to bear in mind for a discipling relationship. Further, Ephesians 4:11-13 states that those with responsibilities in the church are given by Christ so that the church can be built up to a place of unity and maturity in the faith. Those who hold such positions should be concerned about, and working towards, this unity and maturity. Those who operate under them should consider that they have been put there by Christ for the purpose of unity.
SACRIFICE
Submission and unity are not traits that are particularly prized in the modern world, so some sacrifice of personal autonomy may be required to achieve this. But Romans 12:1 calls us to live as sacrifices to God. This is pleasing to God and is true and proper worship. Remember Abraham, the father of the faithful, was willing to sacrifice his son, as was our God. It is worth stating here that Christianity is the only religion where God sacrifices for us first. God is pleased with our sacrifices too (Galatians 6:9).
MISSION
There is no point in mission unless we are calling our fellow man to something very good indeed. A church without a commitment to discipling is likely to be only inviting people to something little better than the world has. Note that in Matthew 28, Jesus being “with you” (v20) is predicated on the “make disciples” clause in verse 18. Mainstream “Christian” churches have something of a problem with what happens between a sinner being redeemed, and that person dying. If faith is “without deeds” (see James 2:24), then there is nothing needed in this gap. We know from Luke 11:24-26 that filling our lives with nothing is a bad idea. But a life of religious obedience is a problem as well (Luke 15:29). Some churches emphasise seeking the Holy Spirit to do works in one’s life, but this can undermine the unchanging nature of scripture. The only remaining solution to this is to take Jesus’ yoke upon us (Matthew 11:29-30). We should find that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
IN CONCLUSION
I hope I have shown that practising discipling is obedience to the gospel. When we say “Jesus is Lord” we really should commit to following him with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength. Discipleship, and the lordship of Jesus, are merely two sides of the same coin. We may question things along the way (see the example of Job, and God’s reaction to Job’s questioning, also Habakkuk, and perhaps compare the reactions of Mary and Zechariah on being told they would be parents). Let us walk with God, and if we question him, let us do it with an attitude of willingness to obey even though we do not understand. Maybe have a critical eye, but never a critical heart. We should take this seriously, as the scripture tells us in 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9 “With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus”.
