The Need For Discipleship

There is no doubt that discipleship is a biblical concept. We see discipleship practiced by Christ Himself throughout the gospels. But what exactly is discipleship? Well, let us look into this a little deeper.

Let us first find out what discipleship is defined as. The Lexham Theological Workbook describes discipleship as the following, "Discipleship is the process of devoting oneself to a teacher to learn from and become more like them. For the Christian, this refers to the process of learning the teachings of Jesus and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple but of making other disciples through teaching and evangelism."

When it comes to Christian discipleship we must be aspiring to become more like Christ, not just more like the one discipling us. As you saw in the definition above, it says, "Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple but of making other disciples.." We are all disciples of Christ. Though we may look up to those who disciple us, and we may aspire to be like them in certain areas of our lives, the main goal is always to mirror Christ.

With this in mind we move forward, what is the need that discipling meets? First is knowledge, discipling is gathering to learn and apply Biblical wisdom. We gather under the purview of one wiser than ourselves to learn about scripture, how they have learned to apply it, and how we can do the same.

Another massive reason for gathering together is accountability. This is a portion of being discipled and discipling that I have been immensely thankful for, and one of the aspects of discipling through which I have seen the most growth and change. Please note however that this does not happen without the aforementioned application of God’s wisdom as well. There is no change, there is no growth, there is no accountability separate from the sanctifying and absolute Word of God. There is, what I believe, to be a worldly myth that has unfortunately made its way into the church today. That when we have an issue it is something that must be dealt with alone. I would posit that God gave us the church for exactly the opposite reason. We confess to God, and then we confess to those who are invested in us, and we move on together, seeking to sin no more, and be pleasing to God.

I have always loved the picture of God as the Shepherd, satan as the wolf, and us as the sheep. This example is accurate in more ways than one. Wolves tend to hunt the easiest prey, the ones who are slow, the ones who are wounded, the ones who are separate from the flock. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.” We do not take this statement to mean that he is a literal lion trying to eat you, what is being said is that satan is out looking to destroy us. The chances of that are significantly greater if we are alone.

For a moment consider in your own life, have you noticed that most commonly the first sign of somebody giving in to sin is that they stop coming to church? Why is that? Why does satan seem to attack our commitment to the church first? Could it be because he understands how crucial it is to the life of a Christian? Hebrews 10:24–25 tells us, “24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” As believers we are to encourage one another daily as we draw nearer to Christ. I believe we are either fighting or we are dying in the Christian walk, and in this fight we are not alone. God has commissioned us with gathering with the body of Christ, and as Proverbs 27:17 says we must sharpen one another.

Church, we must gather as God’s people. We must encourage, we must rebuke, we must build up and many times even lift back up those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Find a Godly mentor, be discipled, and when God makes it clear you are ready, be that mentor to somebody else. We must not be so foolish as to do this alone.

Matthew 28:19–20 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

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Are you not being discipled? I would encourage you to seek out someone who loves and fears the Lord and ask them to disciple you. This person is not always a pastor, a preacher, or even a teacher. Sometimes the greatest mentors are those who have simply been following the Lord faithfully for many years, and desire to share Him with others. Please for your own spiritual, mental, and physical well being, find someone.