What is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? In some ways, a disciple is exactly what we described at the beginning of this series, when we considered the priorities of the Christian life.
Matthew 10:37
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
A disciple loves Jesus Christ supremely. That’s the priority of the Christian life – to love God ultimately and thereby glorify Him. Reaching that priority includes some things, which is why Jesus went on in Luke 14 to describe some of them:
Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
A disciple denies self to follow Christ, whatever the cost. A disciple is willing to leave all to follow Christ. In summary, a disciple is a worshipper of the Lord Jesus Christ, who denies self to single-mindedly follow, please and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, having already considered the priority of the Christian life, and how we are to love God ultimately, our focus here is how that looks within the local church. In other words, we have already covered matters like the posture of humility and repentance and submission and wholehearted seeking, which characterise an individual disciple. What we want to consider now is what discipleship looks like in the local church. To do that, we want to study what it means to be a disciple in the local church, and then what it means to make disciples in the local church. We’ll consider making disciples next week, so let’s turn our attention to what the Bible says about being a disciple in the local church.
We’ll see the rituals of a disciple, the responsibility of a disciple and the recovery of a disciple.
I. The Rituals of a Disciple
Perhaps you hear the word ‘ritual’ and all the wrong connotations appear. By ritual we simply mean a ceremony, an ordinance that contains symbols. In the local church, there are two of these ceremonies that are crucial in the life of a disciple. One of them happens only once, the other is celebrated regularly.
The first one, that occurs only once for each disciple, is the ritual, or ceremony, or ordinance of baptism. The controversy and differences over baptism should not stop us from examining its importance. What do we know about Baptism?
We know from the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 that baptism is commanded. Being a disciple means you believe, are baptised and follow Him. Although commanded, baptism is not necessary for salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
Baptism is a necessary step of obedience. And since disciples are followers, no one who refuses baptism is truly following.
Baptism symbolizes at least three things:
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Romans 6:1-7 speaks of our having been baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. This is what the Holy Spirit does to us the moment we repent and believe. Water baptism is an acted portrayal of the content of your faith. It is an acted portrayal of what the Spirit did for you at the moment of faith: Spirit’s baptism of you into the atonement of Christ, and consequently into the body of Christ. Baptism by immersion displays death, burial and resurrection.
Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
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Baptism identifies us as having been cleansed. Baptism does not cleanse us of our sins, but it represents God’s cleansing of us, as rituals washings always did.
1 Corinthians 10:1-2
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
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Baptism publicly identifies us with Jesus Christ and His body. Since discipleship involves a great deal of forsaking and abandoning old identifications, even at great cost, baptism very clearly marks out where our new identity and loyalty lies.
Who should be baptised? Believers are always the only people we find being baptised in Scripture. The clear order in the Bible is ‘believe and be baptised’.
The meaning of baptism as a full identification with Christ, a death, burial and resurrection are only properly displayed by full immersion. Immersion was unquestionably the method of the early church. The Greek word for baptise means to ‘immerse completely’.
The second of the ordinances of which we are to partake as believers is the Lord’s Supper or communion. Like baptism, it is only for believers. It is an outward symbol, pregnant with meaning and crucial for our devotion.
What are we doing when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper?
1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
The Lord’s Supper is a memorial service to direct our attention to the cross. It is to be done in ‘remembrance of Me’, Christ said, and it is to proclaim the Lord’s death every time it is celebrated.
The unleavened bread represents the body of Christ and reminds us of His death. His body was broken – torn open, bruised, pierced, beaten and He physically bled. The cup represents the blood of Christ.
Why is the teaching of Lev 17:11 important here? It means that Christ, in pouring out His blood, poured out His very life for us – willingly dying on the cross for us. John 6:37-58
We are showing that our salvation is figuratively an imbibing of Jesus Christ. His life becomes our life. This is what He meant by saying we must eat His flesh and drink his blood. He did not mean anything cannibalistic by this or mean the Jews should violate the law not to eat blood. We do not literally eat His flesh or drink His blood. He was meaning that we should spiritually imbibe Jesus for all He is – Prophet, Priest and King.
Who should participate in the Lord’s Supper? The Lord’s Supper is only for baptised believers because it reminds us of a past event – our repentance and faith, where we personally received Christ.
What is the significance of the Lord’s Supper?
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It is an opportunity to savour our Lord’s presence. The Lord’s Supper is a communion service. That is, we recognise our Lord’s presence with us as we gather as believers. We do not believe His body and blood are present, but that He himself is present, especially as we consider His death for us.
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The Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for remorse over sin, and sorrowful joy over our accomplished redemption. Because of this, we are to make sure that we do not harbour unrepentant sin in our lives, or broken fellowship with other believers when partaking. Such attitudes and actions brought God’s discipline for profaning the Lord’s body.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
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It is a time of fellowship with one another.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
We corporately take part in the Lord’s Supper because this is the bond that seals us as believers. We partake of a symbol of His Body, reminding us that His body broken for us is how we are one Body in Him. It is His life which dwells in each of us.
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The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the New Covenant that we are under:
Matthew 26:28
“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
The Lord’s blood was the seal on the New Covenant, like the Old Covenant was sealed with blood, see Hebrews 9:19-20.
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The Lord’s Supper reminds us of His coming. The Lord’s Supper is a ceremony with anticipation – we will one day enjoy communion with Him face to face.
1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two rituals that are important for disciples in the local church. One symbolises one’s entrance into the life of a disciple in the local church, the other celebrates your continuance as a disciple of Jesus Christ in the church.
However, within the local church, a disciple also has some responsibilities. Under the heading of fellowship we have already considered the way we serve one another. There is another area where disciples are to help each other in their commitment to Christ.
II. The Responsibility of a Disciple
We can call this responsibility mutual accountability. Accountability is seen in every-day life in the form of auditors, exam invigilators, speed traps, performance reviews, health inspectors and so on. In the local church, disciples must help and strengthen each other and keep each other held to the standard of Scripture.
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
The heart is deceitful above all things and thus requires accountability. Human beings need to be held to a particular standard through the supervision and scrutiny of others with the possibility of punishment or reward, or else ‘every man will do what is right in his own eyes’ – Judges 21:25.
Do we need accountability in the church? The church is supposed to judge its own:
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
People today are fond of saying we must not judge each other. But Paul explicitly tells us that we are to judge one another. Now, there is a kind of judging that is forbidden to us.
The kind of judging that is forbidden is to judge another’s motives, which we do not know –
Matthew 7:1-4
Judge not, that you be not judged.
“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
“Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’, and behold, a beam is in your own eye.
As you can tell, the judging here is a haughty, hypocritical pointing out of errors, while being blind to one’s own. But as Jesus very clearly says, the goal is to remove your own blind spots, so you are able to see clearly enough to correct your brother.
Accountability in the church is when you voluntarily place yourself under authority where you are lovingly held to the standard of the Bible by other believers, and lovingly hold others to the same standard.
How are we supposed to go about this?
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Remember that God commands us to hold one another accountable:
James 5:19-20
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
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As we’ve just seen in Matthew 7, we must judge the sin in our own lives, so as to have the integrity and spiritual clarity to hold others accountable.
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Use Scripture as the standard, not personal preferences. Remember, helping other disciples we must use the pattern we see in
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Doctrine – refers to the teaching of the Word of God. The standard of the Word is given out. Whether it is preaching, Bible studies, one-on-one discipleship – the standard of God is to be proclaimed and repeated. We need repetition.
Reproof – this is where we are shown by the Holy Spirit through another, where we fall short of the standard.
Correction – this is where we see how we are to remedy this shortfall in our lives. The obedience necessary to substitute and replace the disobedience must be done.
Instruction/training in righteousness – these are structures, or training programs we develop for ourselves and others– disciplines of life that reinforce obedience and make disobedience difficult.
Galatians 6:1 NKJ
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
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We are to rebuke sin in others’ lives only when it is clear that a sin, or a pattern of sin has placed us, or them, out of fellowship with God and others. Accountability is an attempt at restoration. Matters of preference or personal annoyance must be forborne in love. When we rebuke sin, or even remind someone of a biblical standard, we must do so by speaking with meekness and seeking restoration.
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We must discern where a person may be in their walk with God and apply the correct form of accountability – warning, rebuke or encouragement.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
What about when you are on the receiving end? How should you respond when being held accountable to the Word of God, or being rebuked about a sin in your life?
James 1:19
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; Refuse sinful anger.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Do a genuine inward search.
Psalm 141:5
Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. Be grateful.
Proverbs 15:31-32
The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. Respond carefully.
In a church where disciples are lovingly holding each other to the standard of Scripture, inevitably, someone is going to wander further and further away. That’s where the practice of discipleship involves
III. The Recovery of a Disciple
Church discipline is the logical outgrowth of a people concerned for purity in one another, and practising accountability.
What do you do if another rejects your reproof or correction?
1 John 5:16
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.
Pray for them. You should pray for God’s work in that person’s heart, for a softening, a humbling, and a yielding to God’s Word.
Proverbs 15:28
The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
Re-examine to ensure that you have all the facts straight. If you conclude that you were right in your initial estimation, then try again, when the time is right:
Proverbs 15:23
And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
Do not involve others who are not relevant to the situation.
Proverbs 25:9
Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another;
Realise that change is by the Holy Spirit, not by you. We are instruments of change, not agents of change. If the person is clearly, knowingly, wilfully rejecting God’s Word, and quite obviously unrepentant, it is time to continue to the next step of Matthew 18:
Matthew 18:16
“But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
Take one or more [the ‘two or three’ referred to Jewish law] silent witnesses with you to observe this person’s response to your reproof, and to observe how you are administering that reproof. The witnesses should be as neutral as possible regarding you, or the person involved. Ideally elders or deacons can serve in this capacity. Tell the person you wish to see them again, this time with Biblically prescribed witnesses. Again, you seek their repentance and restoration.
Only if the silent witnesses corroborate the fact that this person is unrepentant after being biblically reproved, do you take it to the next level of taking it to the church.
When should the matter be taken to the church?
Matthew 18:17
“And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.”
Here you involve the pastors of the church, informing them of the situation, they will ask the witnesses for their observations. If the witnesses agree that this person is unrepentant, the church leadership will seek that person’s restoration using the same lines. Should the person refuse to repent, the whole church may be told at a public meeting, calling on them to pray and to call on that person to repent. This may vary depending on the nature of the sin.
How should the person be treated if they still refuse to repent after the church’s admonitions?
But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. They are to be regarded as one not saved. They are behaving like one without the Spirit. They are to be denied the privileges of membership, the Lord’s Supper and former intimate fellowship. This is not to treat them as an enemy, but to cause healthy shame and repentance.
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
1 Corinthians 5:5
Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
This is a last attempt to restore a person from self-destruction, and it is a firm act of love. This is disciples calling on other disciples to affirm with their lives what they said with their lips at their baptism. It is calling on disciples who have testified at the Lord’s Supper that Christ is their life, to flesh that out with their life. If they refuse, then Christ authorises disciples to loose such people from the church, no longer recognising their profession of faith.
Matthew 18:18-20
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Though this seems negative, in the end it is positive for all. It is a loving call to repentance for the sinning person, which may result in his restoration, which is joyful for him and the church. Even if he sadly walks away, it protects the church from his unrepentant sin, and protects the church’s reputation in the community.
The rituals of a disciple; the responsibility of a disciple and the recovery of a disciple are some key areas of discipleship in the local church.