Month: July 2018

Whose flag are you flying?  When it comes to the authority for our life, there is room for only one flag on the flagpole.  The second trait of a disciple of Christ is sacrificial allegiance:  lowering our flag of “ego” and replacing it with the flag of Christ and His kingdom.  The flagpole over our castle cannot stand being empty.  Something or someone will always be the final authority, the only question is what or who?

The first trait of a certified disciple we identified was comprehensive alignment dealing with our Identity and destiny.  The second on our list of five traits deals with priority and authority.  All four Gospel writers record Jesus teaching on this essential indicator of discipleship.  While all the other traits are given with a single statement, this one takes multiple statements to explain.

Its importance is stressed not only by the amount of material but by its logical clarity.  This is the only discipleship indicator where Jesus states the truth with both a positive and negative statement.  When the Scripture wants to make a truth particularly clear, it will state the truth of both the thesis and antithesis (the positive statement and the negative statement).

For example, the apostle John uses this logic in explaining the source of eternal life (1 John 5:11-12).

• Statement:  He who has the Son has life (true)
• Negative statement:  He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life (also true)

In describing the discipleship trait of sacrificial authority, Jesus said:

• Statement:  A disciple takes up his cross and follows Me (true) (Luke 9:23)
• Negative statement:  If you do not take up your cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple (also true) (Matt. 10:38).

This type of explanation leaves no wiggle room.  It is clear, concise, and exclusive:  a binary explanation.

From the passages where Jesus explains sacrificial allegiance (Matt 10:34-39, Matt 16:24-28, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 9:23-27, Luke 14:25-33, John 12:24), we can make several observations:

1. Discipleship is costly and is not to be entered into lightly (Luke 14).

Jesus warned not to follow if we don’t plan on finishing.   Discipleship is not casual or cheap.

Notice that Jesus was not marketing discipleship to make it popular.  It seems that authenticity was more important than popularity.  If He were after increased market share, He would have just said, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”.  But His challenge to take up your cross daily in order to follow Him, thinned the crowds significantly then as it does now.

2.  Discipleship is demanding and involves an exchange. The required exchange is stated in several different ways:

• Take up your cross daily and follow Me (Luke 9:23)
• Love Me more than your natural family (Luke 14:26; Matt 10:37)
• Gain by giving up (Matt 16:27; Mark 8:35)
• Lose your life to find it (John 12:24-25)

What Jesus referred to in taking up our cross daily, Paul captures in Romans 12:2 when he said we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.  The critical dynamic behind these statements is the great exchange paradox.  Discipleship is built on the principle of exchanging our ordinary lives for something extraordinary, letting go in order to receive.  God cannot fill our hand when it is closed.

John records Jesus expressing the principle in agrarian terms.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal” (John 12:24-25 NASB).

Peter experienced the principle of exchange when he let go of the boat in the fury of the storm.  He learned that you’ve got to get out of the boat if you want to walk on water.  You can’t walk on water and sit in the boat at the same time; there must be an exchange.

Financial bankruptcy provides a picture of the principle of the exchanged life.  When a business is in financial trouble for a long period of time, the owners usually file Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Then when Chapter 13 doesn’t work, they file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  A simplified comparison:

Chapter 13:  Reorganization

• I am in trouble
• I have the means to get out of debt
• I need time to reorganize
• I retain control of my assets and keep going

Chapter 7 Liquidation

• I am in trouble
• I do not have the resources to succeed
• I give up
• I surrender my assets and start over

I think discipleship is like filing Chapter 7.  Overwhelmed by our debt, we surrender our meager assets and receive His assets in exchange.  We let the CEO of the Bank of the Kingdom give us a new start using His resources.

Both Matthew and Mark tell the story of a rich, young businessman who illustrates this exchange.  He came to Jesus having tried everything (religion, politics, wealth, morality), but the result was disappointing:  the thrill didn’t last.  His question was, “How can I experience a life of fulfillment that does not diminish with time?  How can I experience eternal life?”

Jesus quickly goes to the heart of the issue:  the flag of authority.  He tells the rich young man to let go of his stuff, give it away, claim chapter 7, and follow Him.  Sadly he chose his addiction rather than life.

The first discipleship trait of comprehensive alignment deals with our identity and destiny.  The second trait of sacrificial allegiance deals with priority and authority.  There is only room for one flag on our castle flagpole.  In order to put His up, we have to bring ours down.

Sacrificial allegiance (Luke 14:26)  

A disciple consistently submits to the priority and authority of Christ, choosing daily to raise the flag of His leadership over his/her life.

 Questions for reflection:

1. What does Romans 12:1-2 add to the concept of sacrificial allegiance?
2. How does our view of God affect our willingness to yield to His leadership?

With the authority of a Rabbi, Jesus clearly explained how He both interpreted and described discipleship.  He did not create a whole new concept but took one from the culture and redefined it.  The Gospel writers give five distinct statements in which Jesus clearly stated what His disciple looked like.  There are other discipleship implications from His teaching, but these five are the most definitive.

Let’s take a quick review of where we are in unpacking discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross.  I have suggested that a Hebrew (vs. Greek) definition of a disciple is one who is an intentional apprentice of Jesus and His kingdom (TADB 23).

I am describing discipleship as:

the personal, persistent pursuit of knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ by means of critical spiritual disciplines in the context of supporting relationships resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.  (TADB 24)

We have been looking at each element of this description (TADB 25-33) and are now ready for the last one:    the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.  I have referred to these marks as traits or indicators of a “certified” disciple (TADB 34).  Over the next 5 blogs, I will look at each of these clearly stated traits so we can better align our own discipleship journey as well as be more effective mentors.   Since Jesus gave us the mission to be and make His disciples, these traits are not optional or electives.  Neither are these five marks of a certified disciple given as a check list to be completed, but rather they are lifetime pursuits.    Discipleship is verified (authenticated) when these traits are present and increasingly evident.

I call the first discipleship indicator “comprehensive alignment”.  Both Luke and Matthew record Jesus description of this trait but with a slightly different emphasis.  Luke emphasizes the identity of a disciple.

Students (disciples) are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher (Luke 6:40 NLT).

Jesus’ disciples are to “become like the Teacher”, emulating him in every way possible.  This implies more than outward obedience to some commands.  It implies a heart response and a whole life involvement.

History, however, does not reflect this kind of life emulation.  In fact, life is usually divided into two categories.  Much like living in a two-story townhouse, we put some areas of life in the upper, second story and the rest into a lower, first floor.  For example, the church father, Augustine, put spiritual matters in the upper story and relegated physical matters to the lower floor.  Today, Americans typically have a sacred/secular or private/public dichotomy.  The result of this two-story thinking is to apply one set of principles to the upper story and another set to the lower story.

When we unconsciously accept this dichotomy, we tend to put discipleship into the sacred (upper) story and the rest of life in the secular (lower) story.  We have our “spiritual life” (church, Bible study, etc.) and then we have our normal everyday life.  The former we align with Christ and Scripture, but the daily life is governed by a different set of principles.

Jesus, however, made no such two-story distinction.  He viewed all of life as sacred and an integral part of kingdom living. The goal for His disciples was to be fully trained to be like Jesus, meaning their entire lives would be in alignment with Jesus and His kingdom.  Paul expressed it this way, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

This alignment doesn’t happen by accident, but is the result of understanding His Word and by the power of the Spirit, responsibly applying it (Phil. 2:11-12).  In other words “fully trained to be like Jesus” implies intentional, comprehensive alignment rather than simply changing a few beliefs.  It is an all-inclusive alignment, impacting our convictions, character, and competencies.  Therefore, Jesus’ form of discipleship is unapologetically invasive, potentially threatening, and consistently uncomfortable.   In many cases, it involves replacing old convictions with radial biblical ones and transforming old behavior patterns into Christ-like character.  Competencies are also impacted as we become skillful soldiers, effective athletes, and patient farmers, who intentionally build up His kingdom (2 Tim. 2:2-7).

Luke emphasizes the identity of a disciple whereas Matthew emphasizes the destiny of a disciple

Students (disciples) are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of My household will be called by even worse names! (Matt. 10:24-25 NLT).

Over the past few centuries, we Americans have enjoyed the cultural support of a faith based life.  Publicly identifying with Christ and His kingdom may have at times been uncomfortable but rarely threatening.  This cultural favor is now eroding.   We are experiencing greater rejection, even hostility, towards faith based living.  Our tendency may be to retreat and hide in the upper story of our mental townhouse.  But discipleship calls us to boldly identify with Jesus and His destiny both publicly and privately.

Down through history, Christ’s disciples have always shared His suffering, but they also shared the hope of His triumph.  The great hope of following Christ is that one day we will share in the indescribable inheritance that is ours in Christ (Eph. 1:11).

 Certified discipleship #1:  Comprehensive alignment (Luke 6:40)

A disciple is one who comprehensively aligns his/her life with Christ and His destiny; whose whole life is being transformed to reflect His nature, beliefs, attitudes, character, values, and purposes. 

Questions for reflection:

1. Can you think of a time along your journey with Christ when He challenged your two-story thinking?
2. Is there an area of your life that is harder to bring under the influence of Christ and His kingdom? Why?