2 Timothy 2:2

Discipleship in terms of holiness, obedience, and usefulness

POST OVERVIEW. A post considering how holiness, obedience, and usefulness develop in the disciple’s life. Usefulness requires maturity. Why Christ was supremely “useful.”

In the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about discipleship and how we, as disciples of the Lord Jesus, can be more effective in our growth toward Christlikeness. My plan is to gather these thoughts together in the next several months and publish a book on personal discipleship targeted at those individuals who desire to invest themselves in others so that others may grow in practical righteousness. The pattern is expressed by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

HOLINESS, OBEDIENCE, AND USEFULNESS

One of the ideas that I have developed is the concept that our growth in increasing Christlikeness can be classified as growth in Holiness, Obedience, and Usefulness.

In thinking about these terms, we would say that Holiness and Obedience are aspects of our discipleship that we are “working out with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). That is, the disciple can work on these independently of others and the progress the disciple makes largely depends on how much effort the disciple expends. It is the disciple’s goal and his responsibility to grow in his personal Holiness and his personal Obedience. It should also be noticed that this growth in Holiness and Obedience is done by the disciple and for the disciple. No one else benefits directly from this growth.

Usefulness, by contrast, can only be done for others. It is impossible for the disciple to be useful without some reference to other people. The best way for the disciple of Jesus to be useful is to do God-honoring, Christ-exalting works for others. By definition, Usefulness involves the disciple intentionally serving one or more people.

WHEN COMES USEFULNESS?

In this context, we also observe that, for every disciple of Jesus, growth in Holiness and Obedience continues from the moment of salvation until the disciple’s last breath and requires considerable focus and effort. In practice, this means that, especially in the early years of the disciple’s walk with Christ, his efforts are concentrated in the areas of Holiness and Obedience, and his Usefulness to others is necessarily limited. In other words, the usual pattern of growth for the disciple is for him to reach a level of maturity in Holiness and Obedience before he becomes useful to the Master (2 Tim. 2:21). Our Usefulness is (typically) delayed because we must first put to death our flesh and the deeds of the old man. One way this has been expressed is that God does not greatly use dirty vessels. Those who are greatly used by the Lord are usually those who have labored to present themselves to Him as a “living and holy sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

CONSIDER JESUS

What we have described so far is the situation with every disciple of Jesus. Disciples must wrestle with and strive to overcome their inherent fallenness and sinfulness before they enter into their Usefulness.

But consider the contrast between any disciple of Jesus and the Lord Jesus Himself. While every disciple must expend great time and energy to continue their fight against sin and their striving toward Holiness and Obedience, Jesus does not need to spend even one moment or expend one calorie of effort growing in His personal Holiness and Obedience, for He has been perfect in these from eternity past. As God, Jesus is perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3) and as the Son of God, Jesus perfectly obeys the Father at all times (John 8:29).

Thus, what we see in Jesus’ earthly ministry is that all His words and actions are entirely devoted to the works the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4). Because He is already perfect in Holiness and Obedience, all His time and effort are poured out in Usefulness to others in works which glorify the Father who sent Him.

A STRATEGY TO INCREASE OUR USEFULNESS

Since it seems that the disciple must first make some measure of progress in Holiness and Obedience before he is prepared for Usefulness, it occurs to me that we as disciples of Jesus should strive to pour all the energy and effort we can muster into personal Holiness and Obedience so that, as early as possible in our walk with the Lord, we can operate in the realm of Usefulness. Let us then, as quickly as possible, cast off the rags of the old man, and lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us serve with Usefulness and produce thirty, sixty, a hundredfold.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 11/10/2023                 #678

AN OVERVIEW OF DISCIPLESHIP

POST OVERVIEW. These are notes from my thinking of 7/19/2023 on a general approach to discipleship. These cover six broad topics that should be part of every disciple’s growth plan. This working document will be incorporated into my discipleship ministry and into my upcoming book on making disciples.

AREAS OF DISCIPLESHIP (“MODULES”)

  • THE WORD – Relate the “Hand Illustration” (from the Navigators) to show how the Word must be grasped tightly. GOAL: Ever-deepening and expanding knowledge of the Word throughout life. MATURE DISCIPLE’S GOAL: To have theological convictions, a Personal Biblical Theology (PBT), grounded in a firm grasp of the Scriptures. This PBT is “personal” in the sense that you OWN this theology. This collection of beliefs, convictions, understandings, and interpretations, and the connections and relationships between them, is constructed over years of pouring over the Scriptures until this theology is yours.
    • READING – “Where are you reading in the Bible?” Spur the disciple to have daily reading in the Bible. Goal1 – Read through the Bible from cover to cover every year. Goal2 – Develop a method of recording your thoughts from your daily reading, like a journal for daily reading notes.
    • STUDY – Teach and employ the ideas of the “Discipleship Bible Study” (DBS) for the systematic study of Scripture. “What are you discovering in your study of Scripture?”
    • MEMORIZE – “What Scripture are you memorizing right now?” Strive to continually expand your memory of Scripture. Review what you have memorized. This puts Scripture firmly into your mind.
    • MEDITATE – During drive-time or what would otherwise be dead time, meditate on the Scriptures that you have memorized to drive them deep into your soul and into your practice of life so they are accessible for help in time of need. Hide the Word deep in your heart (Psalm 119:11).
  • WITNESSING / EVANGELISM – The PURPOSE of this module is to make the disciple aware that the normal life of a disciple includes being vocal about your identification with Jesus. The normal disciple shines his light wherever he goes and he voices his love for Jesus. This is normal for the disciple. The OUTCOME of this module would be for the disciple to have regular, scheduled blocks of time devoted to the specific purpose of witnessing for Jesus to the end that 1) those who do not know Jesus would hear news about the Savior, and 2) that the lost would be brought into the sphere of Oakhurst Baptist Church and be saved. (Assumes an approach to evangelism that sees individual disciples casting the seed and proclaiming the gospel, and then the gathered church worshiping the Lord and welcoming the sinner to come to faith.)
    • “You shall be My witnesses.” (Acts 1:8; John 15:27; in Isaiah, also)
    • “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
    • “The sower went out to sow.” (Matthew 13:3)
    • “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:20)
    • “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
  • OBEDIENCE / HOLINESS – The disciple of Jesus is to evidence his salvation by a life of increasing obedience to the commands of Scripture and increasing holiness. (The specifics of this component will become clearer as the Word is read and captured. That is, the more familiar the disciple is with the Word, the more apparent will be his sins and disobediences, and the more convicted he will be about the need to actively repent.)
    • AWARENESS OF PERSONAL SIN / FIGHTING PERSONAL SIN. The disciple is growing in his awareness of his personal sins and is actively fighting sin when it appears. Strongly recommended reading: “Mortification of Sin” by John Owen. Owen is a bit too harsh in some places but this book makes the dangers of sin clear. (Read the Puritans, men!)
    • REPENTANCE. Learn how repentance can become a proactive weapon against sin.  Repent before sin brings about your ruin. Required reading: “Doctrine of Repentance” by Thomas Watson. (Go through this book with your discipler.)
    • MOST COMMON SINS FOR MEN. In my experience, the most common sins for men are Anger, Lust/Sexual sins (obviously including pornography, which is a degrading, shameful sin), Greed, and Pride. Other prevalent sins among men include fear of man, laziness, refusing to grow up, and drunkenness / gluttony. The disciple should be alert for these tendencies in his life and repent of them.
    • OTHER HELPFUL IDEAS. “Purify me with hyssop” (Psalm 51:7). “Abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Seek to manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6). Put sin to death (Col. 3:5).
  • IDENTITY, PURPOSE, VISION/GREAT WORK, ETC. This module is based on the principle that Purpose and Vision and legacy flow from IDENTITY. Identity is primary and the Discipler should take pains to ensure that the disciple is clear on their identity. IDENTITY = Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Make every effort to instill and establish this IDENTITY in the mind of the disciple. With this Identity, the disciple can derive almost all their Purpose from the pages of the New Testament. The disciple’s Purpose is to become what they have professed themselves to be, an obedient and useful disciple who is pleasing to the Master. This module would also include disciplines and practices to further refine the disciple as he assumes various roles in his life (student, employee, unmarried, husband, father, steward of money, personal vision, mentor, legacy, preparing for death).
  • REPRODUCE, SERVE OTHERS, BEAR FRUIT. The disciple’s ultimate target is not simply to overcome overt, besetting sin in their own life, but is to produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, a hundredfold (Matt. 13:8). The disciple is called to love others, encourage others, serve others. While the first mark of maturity for a disciple would be living a holy life before God and man, the real aim is to pour his life out for others, in imitation of the Lord Jesus.
    • “And I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). The disciple’s life is to be spent and poured out for others.
    • “The things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). The disciple is reproducing his life and his zeal for the Lord by pouring into other like-minded men.
    • “But if I am to live on in the flesh, it will mean fruitful labor for me” (Phil. 1:22). Paul was willing to defer his promotion to heaven because he knew that the Lord had more “fruitful labor” for him to do here on earth. For the disciple of Jesus, there are two future states of being. Now is the time of “fruitful labor” when we can work hard to bear much fruit for the Kingdom (consider John 15), but eventually we will “depart and be with Christ, which will be very much better” (Phil. 1:23).
    • “Now we who are strong are to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). The disciple is to press on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1) so that his usefulness increases. He desires to be one of the strong.
    • “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself” (Phil. 2:3-4). Our Lord Jesus was perfectly unselfish, and the goal of the disciple is to continually grow in his unselfishness so that he imitates the Lord.
  • THE NECESSITY OF A GOOD CHURCH. Books have been written about healthy churches, and these are useful books. To maximize his fruitfulness and his speed to maturity, it is important for the disciple to be in a healthy church. But the idea of a “healthy church” is usually written from the pastor’s perspective. That is, the pastor is being challenged to evaluate his church and see if it is healthy according to these metrics or biblical principles. I am suggesting that the disciple of Jesus ask himself further questions when evaluating a church. Specifically, having located a healthy church, the disciple needs to evaluate if this is a church where the disciple will be able to find many and varied opportunities to grow in the areas we have listed in this document. To help the disciple in this regard, I plan to author a book or booklet, “A Disciple’s Guide to a Good Church,” giving the characteristics of a church that will be conducive to a person’s growth as a disciple. It is hard to overstate the importance of a good church for helping a disciple move toward maturity and to being fruitful. The church is where you learn to love others, serve others, submit to others, forgive others and be forgiven by others, encourage others, use your gifts, worship with others, suffer with others, rejoice with others, anticipate heaven with others.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 7/23/2023                   #663

The local church as the disciple’s most accessible marketplace

INTRODUCTION: For the disciple of Jesus Christ, their local church is their most accessible marketplace for growing in spiritual maturity. This article will explore factors in the local church that affect discipleship and that largely determine how quickly and how much the disciple can grow in Christlikeness.

NEW IN CHRIST

Through the miracle of the new birth, a sinner comes to faith in Christ, passes from death to life (John 5:24), becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), and begins his walk with the Lord. Now this sinner has become a saint. He is pointed toward Christ, and he hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). And so, his journey in discipleship has begun. Even before he recognizes it, the Lord is purifying him with hyssop (Psalm 51:7) and is beginning to flush out the old man with his evil practices (Colossians 3:9) and is beginning to conform him to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). And the result of a healthy new birth is that the disciple has a zeal to grow in practical holiness. Having been declared righteous through his faith in Jesus, the disciple now seeks to make his practical righteousness look more and more like his declared righteousness. But where is the best place for the disciple to grow?

THE LOCAL CHURCH

The answer to that question is, “In a good local church.” For the disciple of Jesus Christ, the best place to grow in practical righteousness and in Christlikeness is in a good local church. No matter where the person is in their spiritual journey, whether still a spiritual toddler or a spiritual grandfather and role model to others, the local church is God’s appointed vehicle for growing the disciple to greater maturity as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Having established the fact that the local church is the place where disciples grow, it must also be acknowledged that, among local churches, there is a wide range of effectiveness in making mature disciples. Why is that? Why are some churches known for the maturity and fruitfulness of their disciples while most churches seem to have no fruit at all? I believe there are several factors that determine how effective a church is in making disciples.

THE FACTORS FOR EFFECTIVENESS

ARE THERE MATURE DISCIPLES THERE? The first factor I will mention is the actual maturity of the local church. Are there mature disciples in the church from whom younger disciples can learn? In a given church, there may be those who are physically mature, and there may be some who have been professing Christians for a long time, but that is not the question. It is very possible to be a member of a local church for a long time and to have not grown much. Does the church have a robust theology that they live by? Are there members of the church who are steeped in the Bible? Does the church pray a lot? Are there members of the church who have been with Christ in their times of testing? Have they seen God’s faithfulness in suffering or in loss or in waiting? Are there any people in the church who could be role models, about whom you would say, “I want to be like him”?

What is the “maturity density” in the church? This is a question about the average maturity that would determine growth by means of “random discipleship,” what we might call “drive-by discipleship.” In churches that have a high “maturity density,” there are ongoing opportunities for discipleship in ordinary encounters on Sunday mornings or in community groups or in breakfasts or lunches. In these sorts of churches, “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17) on a regular basis in ordinary conversations, but in churches that lack spiritually mature disciples, ordinary conversations remain ordinary. So, the first factor is the actual spiritual maturity of the local church.

CHURCH’S ATTITUDE TOWARD DISCIPLING: The next factor that influences the progress of the disciple is the overall attitude of the church toward discipling. Is the church motivated by 2 Timothy 2:2ff, that there are to be generations of disciples “teaching others also”? Does the church practice and even prioritize discipleship, as opposed to people who merely profess to be Christians but never really grow or show any meaningful fruit? Would the church be described as a country club or as a gymnasium? Is the church a place where many different spiritual growth opportunities are constantly being presented, or are real spiritual growth opportunities hard to come by? Is discipleship and spiritual growth championed by the lead pastor from the front? Is the lead pastor constantly talking about the expectation that church members will grow spiritually? Does the church expect members to be helping others grow in maturity or to be actively seeking their own spiritual growth, or is there no real expectation that anyone would be actively seeking spiritual growth?

A church that is serious about discipleship will manifest that attitude in many growth opportunities, such as theologically rich sermons, one-on-one discipleship, training classes like Oakhurst’s Equipping classes, Bible studies, small groups like OBC Community Groups which focus on Word and prayer in a fellowship context, and Spirit-filled worship. In a discipling church, there will be opportunities for sacrifice, suffering, theology, missions, evangelism, encouragement, prayer, and so on.

If you want to grow as a disciple of the Lord Jesus, look for a church the gives evidence of these kind of qualities. Look for a church that is serious about discipling its people.

ZEAL OF THE DISCIPLE. The third factor that will determine the rate of spiritual growth and the upper limit of spiritual growth is the zeal of the disciple himself. In the final analysis, your discipleship is 100% your responsibility. Although a mentor or a pastor may be personally invested in your spiritual growth, at the end of the day, growth is the disciple’s project. The disciple is the one who must be motivated to grow and to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Are you hungry to grow in your faith? In the richest discipleship environment on earth, a disciple can languish and backslide and stagnate in their spiritual life is they will not put out the needed effort. Do you actively seek growth opportunities? Do you prioritize your spiritual growth? There are many things, even many good things, that can distract a disciple from the path of spiritual growth and of increasing usefulness to the Master. If you are not willing to act on discipleship opportunities, and if you are reluctant to take risks and to try new things and to exercise your faith, then you should not expect to ever make much progress in practical holiness or Kingdom usefulness.

SDG                 rmb                 12/07/2021                 #466