The Danger of Discipleship
Discipleship can be dangerous. Let me explain what I mean . . .
Over the past few weeks, from the pulpit and in our small group studies, we have been challenging every person who is part of the Rosebank Union family to a life of deeper discipleship. We have focused on Jesus’ mandate to make disciples (the Great Commission) and have sought, in broad terms, to describe what a disciple of Jesus looks like. We have taught that a disciple of Jesus will be characterised by—
- Personal DEVOTION
- Corporate WORSHIP
- Significant COMMUNITY
- Sacrificial SERVICE
- Redemptive INFLUENCE
You will undoubtedly have noticed that certain activities are involved in each of these areas. For example, we read the Bible and pray, we attend worship services, we belong to a small group, we are involved in a ministry in the church, we give to missions, we seek to share our faith in the workplace. All these things, and many more that we have mentioned and will suggest, involve doing. Discipleship demands doing. It is active. It can be measured in terms of time and energy and money.
That’s fine. That’s biblical.
But the truth is that unless those activities are the overflow of a vital and growing relationship with the Lord Jesus we can end up being nothing more than religious professionals–even religious fanatics– driven by the need to impress God, look good in the eyes of other people, or compensate for our own feelings of guilt or inadequacy. This is the danger of discipleship.
While it is true that discipleship activities have the potential to feed our relationship with Jesus, it is also true to say that they must be fed and fuelled by that relationship. To use Jesus’ analogy of the vine and the branches, the fruit on the branch must be the expression of the life of the vine. As born again believers we are “in Christ” – branches in vital union with the Vine—and our discipleship activities need to be the fruit of that union, an expression of the grace of God and the life of Jesus in us. That’s why we talk about “Gospel-Centred Discipleship” and have the cross at the very centre of our illustration depicting the different characteristics of a disciple’s life.
I will say (and perhaps write) more about this later, but for now think about this and chew on Jesus’ words in John15:5-8
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains (abides) in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing . . . This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
