Basics of Discipleship (Part 1): Being a Disciple

Introduction

Life is full of moments which leave a person asking the question, “now what?” In a game of chess, your friend moved his queen to put your king in check—now what? You got accepted to both of your top 2 favorite colleges—now what? Your boss just informed you that the company you have worked for the last 5 years no longer has a place for you—now what? You just arrived home with your first born child—now what? The answers to these questions can vary in difficulty and importance. When it comes to being a new Christian there are few questions as important to get good answers for than this question.

I have just become a follower of Christ, now what?

In the Bible, the followers of Christ are often referred to with the Greek word mathētēs, which means “disciple” or “student.” This is where we get the word oftentimes used to describe the process of being a disciple of Jesus—discipleship. Understanding some of the basics to Christian discipleship is an essential part of growing and nurturing your relationship to Christ.

What is Discipleship?

In a discussion on the topic of discipleship, it is important to make a distinction between discipleship and discipling. I use the term discipleship to describe one’s own following of Christ. It is the process of learning to love and follow Jesus and become more like him in our attitudes and actions. Discipling or disciple-making is a subset of discipleship where you help others follow Christ. The aim of discipling is to help others grow in their love for and likeness to Christ. Each of these are an essential part of the Christian life, but the focus of this article will be on one’s own personal discipleship.

Being a Disciple

In order for discipleship to happen, one must actually be a disciple of Jesus. This begins with a saving, personal relationship to Christ. To enter into this relationship, a person must hear God’s call in the gospel, and then repent and trust in Christ. When a person places faith in Christ, God considers them united to Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. In this way, he takes your sins and forgives them on the cross, and you are given the righteousness of his perfect life. So it is important to see that being a disciple of Jesus does not begin with something we do, but begins with something that Christ has already done for you.

Faith in Christ’s work is not only the place where discipleship begins, but lays the groundwork for how the Christian life progresses. Christ continues to apply his saving work to his followers by giving them the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to those who trust in him. A common error is to attribute becoming a Christian to faith in Christ, but then to move on from there to something else. No, the Christian life begins by faith and must continue by faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). A disciple never moves on from the basic call of trusting all that Christ says and does (Gal. 3:2-9). So, as we move on to consider how to follow Christ and become more like him (discipleship), we are really considering ways to grow our faith and confidence in him. Then faith expresses itself out in hearing and obeying.

This is not an exhaustive list of ways to grow your faith, but are ways that have proven significant in the discipleship of Christians for centuries. Whether you are a new believer or been a Christian for years, practicing these means of grace are essential for ongoing growth.

Discipleship: Basic Steps

Word

In order to follow Christ and trust what he says, we must actually know what he has said. We know what Christ desires for his followers by the truth he has revealed in Scripture. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” A disciple of Jesus Christ must devote themselves to the regular study of Scripture in order to receive the teaching, reproof, correction, and training that is required for his followers to grow.

Time spent in God’s word enables us to know the promises that are ours in Christ, so that we have definitive claims that we can cling to in faith. It also reveals God’s will for our lives, so we know how to obey and live a life pleasing to him. Faith expressed by trusting God’s promises and obeying his word communicates a confidence in Christ. This confidence in Christ honors God and signifies progress in Christian maturity.

Prayer

One of the greatest privileges available to disciples of Christ is the ability to pray. Through Christ, you can speak with your heavenly father and be assured that he loves you and hears you. We are invited and even commanded to pray in Scripture (Phil. 4:6-7; Heb. 4:16; James 5:14-16; Matt. 7:7; John 14:13-14). These verses call us to seek the Lord in prayer, present our requests to him, and assure us that God hears and responds to our prayer. Prayer not only expresses a faith and confidence in the Lord, but also strengthens our faith as he ministers to us out of time in prayer.

If you are not sure how to pray, the book of Psalms contains 150 chapters that model what faithful prayer looks like in a variety of forms; repentance, praise, thanksgiving, etc. Praying responsively through the Psalms can give you words and categories to help guide you as you learn to pray. One of the great effects of prayer is how it ends up changing the one praying. This is evident in the Psalm as we see the psalmists moved and changed as they pray over the course of their psalm. Time in prayer often has the blessed effect of transforming the one coming to pray in faith.

Church

Another major step for a new disciple is to connect themself to a local church as quickly as possible. The local church is where you hear and respond to God’s word preached, receive sacraments (Baptism and Lord’s Supper), and are guarded by the blessing of church discipline. The Christian life is not an individualistic endeavor. Yes, you must respond personally to Christ’s call on your life, but you are saved into a covenant people. The church is Christ’s blood-bought people who together reflect the glory of his grace to the world. Scripture likens the relationship between believers in the church to a body. Each a different member with unique gifts and abilities that require dependence on one another. We need others around us to regularly speak into our lives; encouraging, rebuking, and pointing us to Christ.

To neglect fellowship with a local body of believers hinders growth and places your soul in danger (Heb. 3:12-13; 10:25). Jesus has provided numerous “one another” commands that require other Christians to put into practice. I don’t see how anyone can obey Christ’s commands without connecting regularly with a local church. At the heart of church life is love for one another. One of the clearest ways we reflect Christ and demonstrate that we are his disciples is by our love for one another (John 13:35).

Disciples make more disciples

Jesus commanded his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” A key part of your discipleship is to reproduce other disciples. This involves sharing your faith with non-believers (evangelism) and discipling those who believe into greater Christ-likeness. There is much that could be said about this. I aim to cover an introduction to disciple-making in part 2.