Discipleship in Action
Sabbath School Class—A Life of Discovery
March 1, 2008
Larry R Evans
1. The disciples learned what kind of illness to take to Jesus for healing. [Lk 4:38,39] True or False?
2. The faith of others can determine the outcome of a crisis for someone else. [Lk 5:17-26] True or False?
3. If we truly have love for our friends and family nothing will be able to separate us. [Mt 10:24-25] True or False?
4. Discipleship reaches its goal once we develop an abiding/close relationship with Christ. [Jn 15:1-5; Mt 28:18-20] True or False?
5. As disciples of Christ, we can be assured of salvation if we have followed Him wherever He has led despite the hardships which we may have encountered. [Eph 2:8-10; 1 Cor 13:3] True or False?
Discipleship begins as a response of faith. When Jesus extended the call, “Follow Me”, it was faith that responded. Discipleship continues as an experience dominated by faith. The actions of discipleship not only reflect faith; the actions come, in part, because discipleship anticipates responses of faith by others. The Christ who gave the Commission to go into all the world is the same One who turned water into wine, who fed thousands with a boy’s lunch and who gave demon-possessed individuals a joyous new freedom. Weaknesses were turned into strengths. (Heb 11:34) Where conventional wisdom saw limitations, faith saw opportunities. (Lk 5:17-26) The Great Commission expects faith to rise and to respond to the invitation to follow and to make more disciples and so do those who accept His commissioning. Discipleship, then, is not a passive relationship. It is an active gift born of faith and nurtured by faith in the face of circumstances that would suggest otherwise. Discipleship, however, bears a heavy responsibility. To each disciple is given the commission to “Go” and “make disciples.” (Mt 28: 19,20) Such “going”, “teaching” and “baptizing” are all actions of faith by those called by Jesus. They are to go in faith and to expect responses of faith. As with the ones called before them so with those who respond: there is an anticipation that this kingdom of faith will expand and fill the earth in the same way that the growth of a tiny mustard seed far exceeds what one would expect from such a small beginning. Embedded in the very heart of discipleship is not only the call of faith but the realization that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Faith is never an end in itself. It is foremost a response to grace which ultimately expresses itself in praise of Him who makes all things possible—especially changed lives!
Reflective Quiz
1. The disciples learned what kind of illness to take to Jesus for healing. [Lk 4:38,39] False
Luke 4:38-39
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. (NIV)
Nowhere in Scripture do we find that there are certain illnesses we should or should not take to Jesus. On the other hand James tells us in James 5:13-16,
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (NIV)
2. The faith of others can determine the outcome of a crisis for someone else. [Lk 5:17-26] True
One of the amazing stories in Scripture is the story of the paralytic brought to Jesus by his friends. It is an amazing story on many counts. For a little background note these words from The Desire of Ages, p. 267
“Like the leper, this paralytic had lost all hope of recovery. His disease was the result of a life of sin, and his sufferings were embittered by remorse. He had long before appealed to the Pharisees and doctors, hoping for relief from mental suffering and physical pain. But they coldly pronounced him incurable, and abandoned him to the wrath of God.”
Like a magnet Jesus is drawn to the hopeless and they to Him. In this case the man’s greatest need was camouflaged with the need for healing. Jesus knew that and to this hopeless “sinner” Jesus brought hope and spiritual restoration—his sins were forgiven.
Those who brought the man to Jesus may not have fully understood his spiritual needs but the needs they could see they brought to Jesus. The crowd had pressed so tightly around Jesus that there was no way to carry him to Him so the paralytic struck upon another idea and a bold one at that! His friends removed some tile from the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus knowing that it would disrupt the meeting. Nevertheless, their friend was important. The boldness and the determination of his friends to bring him to Jesus was vital. Their actions played an important part in his healing and ultimately his eternal salvation. I am reminded of Ecc 4:10
Eccl 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up! (NIV)
And then again in Prov 17:17
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.(NIV)
His friends played a vital role in his restoration! But I have a question for you. . . True or False?: Theological discussions can inhibit healing.
In the midst of restoring this paralytic who had over years lost all hope we find that theological conjecturing on th part of the Pharisees actually was an obstacle to this man’s healing. Note,
“The Pharisees regarded affliction as an evidence of divine displeasure, and they held themselves aloof from the sick and the needy. Yet often these very ones who exalted themselves as holy were more guilty than the sufferers they condemned.” DA 267
What lessons do we learn from the healing of this paralytic about:
- Sin
- Faith
- Intercession of others
- Friends
- “Theology”
- Hope and hopelessness
3. If we truly have love for our friends and family nothing will be able to separate us. [Mt 10:24-25] False
Matt 10:24-25
24 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! (NIV)
The unfortunate truth is that following Christ can divide the best families and become a wedge between good friends. The Bible makes it clear that if our “teacher” can be accused as being of the devil by the very ones he came to save then those who seek to serve and follow Him can expect the same response.
While nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:39) the same cannot be said for those who do not love God. They can choose to be separated.
Having said that we must also remember that it is also very possible to share “truth” in ways that antagonize unnecessarily.
Do not arouse the malignity of the enemy by making denunciatory speeches. Thus you will close doors against the entrance of truth. Clear-cut messages are to be borne. But guard against arousing antagonism. There are many souls to be saved. Restrain all harsh expressions. In word and deed be wise unto salvation, representing Christ to all with whom you come in contact. Evangelism 563
4. Discipleship reaches its goal once we develop an abiding/close relationship with Christ. [Jn 15:1-5; Mt 28:18-20] False
John 15:5-8
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(NIV)
Note also:
Matt 28:17-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV)
Such a commission, however, does have a serious repercussion: there will be greater scrutiny of those who dare to proclaim, who dare to introduce a different worldview! To make disciples meant that there would be an examination of those who already claimed to be disciples. Note what historian Michael Green says of the early Christians.
“Moreover, it was seen to be the task of every member of this fellowship to do all in his power to spread the gospel to others. Naturally, therefore, the lives of the Christians came under close scrutiny. The truth of their claims must have been assessed to a very large degree by the consistency of their lives with what they professed. That is why the emphasis on the link between mission and holiness of life is given such prominence both in the New Testament and the second century literature. . . . Similarly Paul makes the link between a holy life and effective evangelism inescapably plain. It was the quality of his life, his self-sacrifice, his caring that convinced the Thessalonians that what he proclaimed was not the word of men but the word of God.” (Evangelism in the Early Church, p.178)
Note also,
“It is of the greatest importance that ministers and workers set a right example. If they hold and practice lax, loose principles, their example is quoted by those who love to talk rather than to practice, as a full vindication of their course of action. Every mistake that is made grieves the heart of Jesus and does injury to the influence of the truth, which is the power of God for the salvation of souls. The whole synagogue of Satan watches for mistakes in the lives of those who are seeking to represent Christ, and the most is made of every defection.” (EG White, Counsels on Health, 559)
Why is example so powerful? Is it more powerful than “truth?”
5. As disciples of Christ, we can be assured of salvation if we have followed Him wherever He has led despite the hardships which we may have encountered. [Eph 2:8-10; 1 Cor 13:3] False
Eph 2:8-10
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(NIV)
1 Cor 13:3
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.(NIV)
Being a disciple is demanding. It can divide homes, bring about much sacrifice, lead to paths of danger and even to martyrdom. Discipleship, however, is a call rooted in grace and accepted in faith. It is not a merit or reward system although there are many rewards for being a true disciple of Christ. Making sacrifices is not a substitute for accepting Christ as one’s personal Saviour and how we carry out our discipleship is more important than just putting in the hours as a disciple. After all, if we do it all without love we “gain nothing.” (1 Cor 13:3) Being an effective disciple is foremost following Jesus and becoming like Him and then sharing Him with others in such a way that they will want to be like Him.
Reflections in Review
Everything changes, it seems, when we follow Jesus but nothing more significantly than our own worldview. We begin to see ourselves and others differently (2 Cor 5:16) because of our understanding of how Jesus sees us. He often works to change us before He changes circumstances, events or others. When He changes our worldview, we not only see ourselves differently, we see God differently. We begin to grasp that even when we were not following Him, He was with us . . . and for us. This realization prompts a similar response from us for others. As a renewed hope takes root, a new respect and concern for others grows. A compassionate respect is developed for those who struggle, whether it is with illness, with temptation, with a lost faith or for those who have never known Christ. Hope exudes from us. Like a magnet we are attracted to the hopeless. We can’t help but believe in the possibility of changed lives even when present observable evidence seems illogical. (2 Cor 5:7). We take them to Christ as disciples of old did. Prayer is the “weapon” of choice preceding our own words of hope and encouragement. Unfortunately, this worldview, enmeshed in hope, is not always appreciated by others. Faith, hope and love can create divisive resistance and ferocious opposition as they did with Jesus. They can divide but the three dominating qualities of a new worldview remain and will remain for all eternity. They are, after all, part and parcel of following Jesus.
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