"Discipleship"
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, unto the end of the world. Amen.”
—Matthew 28:18-19
When Jesus walked among mankind both in the old world as well as upon this continent, His great desire was that after He ascended into heaven that the gospel be preached and taught among all nations. So, He commissioned men and endowed them with power to bear the good news of His death and resurrection that whoever believed and was baptized would be saved. In the latter-days, the Lord spoke to a young prophet and commanded him and others that, again, “the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple, unto the ends of the world.” (Sec. 1:4e)
Clearly, the conveyance of the message of Jesus in word and in power is the means by which a saving faith grows in the hearts of those that hear. Paul makes this clear when he writes, “how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:14-16)
Abinadi standing in the court of wicked King Noah is confronted with the same scripture from Isaiah that Paul quotes about those that preach the gospel of peace. He is asked to explain it which he does by declaring to them that Jesus stood between us and death. He broke the bands of death, took upon Himself our iniquity and our transgression having redeemed us and satisfied the demands of justice. (Mosiah 8:37) and then He tells Noah and his wicked priests that all the prophets have declared this message, and they are they “who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation.” (Mosiah 8:47)
So, faith comes by hearing and when “hearts are changed through faith on his name” (Mosiah 3:9), there comes a willingness “to enter into a covenant with God, to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command” (Mosiah 3:6) and therefore the great commission includes not just teaching but baptizing because it is in baptism where the covenant between God and man is forged and it is also where discipleship begins.
Most contemporary English translations of Jesus’ great commission in Matthew 28 say “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (NKJV). In the case of the apostles to whom Jesus was speaking they were called not to just evoke decisions but to make disciples. And that is an altogether tougher assignment. Membership and discipleship are not the same because one can be a member but not a disciple. Forsaking sin and cleaving to Jesus is not the matter of a moment or mere intellectual assent to certain religious principles. When it is seen that covenant also involves recognition of Christ’s sovereign rule over one’s life and a commitment to Him that is to persist throughout all our days, discipleship for some seems quite weighty and the calling hard.
But that is the beauty of our covenantal relationship. Through our covenant we acknowledge our complete and total dependence on Him. He then, comes to dwell in us and we discover as Paul exclaimed, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13) Paul also knew that God’s grace was sufficient for him. He even took “pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake” because he knew that when he was weak, the power of Christ rested on him and made him strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Even in Jesus day there were those found His sayings hard and “many of his disciples … walked no more with him.” (John 6:60,66) Jesus questioned the twelve and asked them if they too would go away but Peter answering for them said, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68-69) True discipleship comes from faith that rests on the assurance that Jesus is the Christ.
Discipleship is complete and total allegiance. There are no part time or partial disciples. We cannot be a disciple on Sunday mornings only. Issac Watts captured this sentiment beautifully in his hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” the last stanza of which includes “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” When we truly see Jesus juxtaposed against our sin … when we understand our own nothingness and the sufficiency of his grace, discipleship is all that makes sense.
Jesus himself used even stronger words when he said, “whosoever of you forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:34) This followed His illustration regarding the cost to build a tower. “For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have money to finish his work? Lest, unhappily, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish his work, all who behold, begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. And this he said, signifying there should not any man follow him, unless he was able to continue.” (Luke 14:29-31)
There were great crowds that followed Jesus. Everyone loved His miracles, and the healings, and free food. Jesus was cool, the talk of the town, and the latest fad. But He knew their hearts. He knew they desired the benefits of what He did rather than an understanding of who He was. They loved His gifts, but not the life to which He was calling them. “Counting the cost” means we cannot follow Him and the world’s ways at the same time. Following Him may mean we lose relationships, dreams, material things, or even our lives. “Forsaking” may mean we give up something physically, but more often it means we let go emotionally so that what we possess no longer possesses us. When we become one of His, we cannot continue to belong to this world. When we choose to follow Christ and become a disciple, we are releasing control of our lives.
Jesus is coming and the depth of our commitment to Him is essential. Let us count the cost and shed from our lives that which encumbers and hinders our total and complete devotion to Him who gave everything that we might have everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.