Biblical Discipleship

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Biblical Discipleship

• He that saith he
• abideth in Him ought
• himself also so to walk,
• even as He walked.
• (I John 26)

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Biblical Discipleship

• Conversion is the first step towards.?
• Becoming like Christ, to walk as he walked!

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• So are we accomplishing this?

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Survey says...

• 2.5

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Signs of an Immature Believer

• Marginal desire for Gods Word
• Few Works of Faith (i.e. serve others, giving,
  etc.)
• Easily swayed or deceived by false doctrines
• Stuck in the basics - No growth
• Limited desire for fellowship with the Brethren
• Strong desire for worldly possessions / selfish
  ambitions
• Difficulty in repenting and forgiving others
• Lacking compassion for the lost
• Not actively assisting other believers in their
  growth
• Limited sense of God, His character and will
• Life filled with fear, anxiety - lack of peace
• Often covetous, boastful, prideful, manipulative,
  etc.
• Ongoing financial difficulties (i.e. living under
  mounds of debt)
• Seekers of pleasure
• Lives marked by a lack of discipline
• Partial victory over sin
• Nonexistent or lackluster prayer life
• Little or no time for personal worship

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The Central Issue

• Too many Christians are not attaining the New
  life in Christ

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism
into death that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom
64
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• What is causing this?

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Trends limiting a Christians ability to be
conformed to the image of Christ

• Tendency to gravitate to the mean or Norm.
  This creates an arbitrarily low standard to which
  new believers aspire, comparing themselves to
  their own selves. II Cor 1210
• False belief that Faith has limited practical
  relevance
• Selfish Christianity - Lives so busy that we
  dont have time to fulfill our duty to Seek
  first the kingdom of God on a daily basis
• The Biblical concept of Teaching having
  evolved into more of a Telling or
  Pointing to available resources
• Get caught up in focusing on a few external
  behavior patterns and not searching the heart.
  Counseling to get to the heart is much more
  difficult and time consuming
• Baptism being viewed as the ultimate goal for
  believers on earth

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• To what can all of these trends be attributed?
• Lack of Discipleship

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Apostolic Christian Church

• Have we done what is necessary to bring the
  earnest convert into possession of the new life
  in Christ?

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Discipleship?

• After we were baptized, what did our
  discipleship consist of?
• Sunday and midweek sermons
• Sunday Bible Class
• Youth Groups, camps, retreats, etc.
• Observation and imitation of others actions
• Some personal devotions and prayer time

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As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him Rooted and built up in
him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have
been taught, abounding therein with
thanksgiving. Col 26-7

• I propose that we need to adopt the Biblical
  principle of Discipleship.
• After we have learned to Walk as He walked to
  teach others the same.

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So what is Discipleship?

• Discipleship is the level of Empathy and concern
  for the convert where the mature brother or
  sister goes beyond telling to TEACHING, beyond
  explaining to SHOWING, ASSISTING AND HOLDING
  ACCOUNTABLE TO BIBLICAL TEACHING.

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Biblical Basis for Discipleship

• 1) Become a Disciple of Christ (Mathew 1128)
• 2) Learn of Him. (Mathew 1129)
• 3) Complement with additional learning times
  with mature brethren (II Tim 22)
• 4A) Teach others to know and observe Christs
  principles (Mathew 2820)
• 4B) Go into the world and preach the Gospel (Luke
  960)

And the things that thou hast heard of me among
many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
men, who shall be able to teach others
also. II Tim 22
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Biblical examples of Discipleship

• The Twelve Disciples of Jesus (Matthew 101-4)
• Seventy disciples sent forth by Christ to witness
  and teach (Luke 101)
• Disciples of John the Baptist (Matthew 111-3)
• All disciples were first called Christians at
  Antioch (Acts 1126)
• Paul and Timothy, his disciple - THE MODEL (1
  Timothy 11-4 2 Timothy 21-2)

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Bible verses commanding us to TEACH Gods
principles

• For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus,
  who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord,
  who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways
  which be in Christ, as I teach every where in
  every church. (I Cor 417)
• A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
  one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior,
  given to hospitality, apt to teach (I Tim 32)
• These things command and teach. (I Tim 411)
• And the things that thou hast heard of me among
  many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
  men, who shall be able to teach others also. (II
  Tim 22)
• And the servant of the Lord must not strive but
  be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
  (II Tim 224)
• The aged women likewise, that they be in
  behaviour as becometh holiness, not false
  accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of
  good things That they may teach the young women
  to be sober, to love their husbands, to love
  their children, (Titus 23,4)

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The Role of the Church

• To teach and preach Jesus Christ

And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus
Christ. Acts 542
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The role of teachers and leaders

• Study and rightly divide the word (II Tim 315)
• Able to teach and instructing those that are
  struggling to recover themselves (II Tim 324,25)

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The role of mature Brothers and Sisters

• And he gave some, apostles and some, prophets
  and some, evangelists and some, pastors and
  teachers For the perfecting of the saints, for
  the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
  body of Christ Till we all come in the unity of
  the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
  God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
  stature of the fullness of ChristThat we
  henceforth be no more children, tossed to and
  fro, and carried about with every wind of
  doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
  craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
  deceiveBut speaking the truth in love, may grow
  up into him in all things, which is the head,
  even Christ (Eph 411-15)

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• If we fulfill our roles we will see a much
  greater tendency for immature believers to grow
  in their faith becoming mature believers

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the knowledge of God Col
110
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Mature Believer

• Desire for Gods Word
• Ability to apply Gods Word
• Works of Faith (serve others, giving, etc.)
• Steadfast, firmly grounded (not carried about
  with every wind of doctrine)
• Desire for fellowship with the Brethren
• Life evidencing the Fruit of the Spirit
• Compassion for the lost
• Actively assisting other believers in their
  growth
• Knowledge of God, His character and will
• Lives marked by discipline
• Victory over sin
• Strong prayer life
• Love for worship

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Benefits

• The lives of new believers will grow to be
  thoroughly furnished unto every good work
• Our families will be stronger
• Our communities will be influenced
• The Church will be strong and vibrant -
  experience revival
• God will be glorified

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• He that saith he
• abideth in Him ought
• himself also so to walk,
• even as He walked.
• (I John 26)