Discipleship is following Jesus as Lord, teacher, and savior — taking up the cross daily (Luke 9:23) and learning to live as Christ lived. The Great Commission commands the church: 'go ye therefore, and teach all nations... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you' (Matthew 28:19-20).
Discipleship is the central call of the Christian life — the lifelong process of following Christ and growing into his likeness. The Greek word mathētēs (disciple) means a learner, a follower, an apprentice. Several biblical truths. (1) Discipleship is following Christ. Matthew 4:19 — Jesus called: 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Mark 8:34 — 'Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Discipleship is not merely belief — it is following. (2) Discipleship costs everything. Luke 14:26-33 — Jesus' radical statements about discipleship: hating father and mother in comparison, counting the cost, forsaking all. Christianity is not a hobby; it is the surrender of life to Christ. (3) Discipleship is the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 — '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.' Make disciples; baptize them; teach them. (4) Discipleship is daily. Luke 9:23 — 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me.' Not a one-time decision but a daily practice. (5) Discipleship involves community. The Twelve learned together. The early church learned together (Acts 2:42 — 'they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship'). Discipleship is not solo. (6) Discipleship is Christ-shaped. Romans 8:29 — God's purpose is that believers be 'conformed to the image of his Son.' The goal is not just imitation but transformation. (7) Discipleship costs and rewards. Mark 10:29-30 — those who leave for Christ's sake receive a hundredfold now and eternal life. The cost is real; the reward is greater. The marks of a disciple. (a) Love for Christ — John 14:21. (b) Love for the brethren — John 13:35. (c) Abiding in Christ's word — John 8:31. (d) Bearing fruit — John 15:8. (e) Taking up the cross — Mark 8:34. (f) Making more disciples — Matthew 28:19. Practical: how to grow as a disciple. (1) Commit to Christ as Lord, not just Savior. (2) Saturate in Scripture — feeding on the word. (3) Pray daily. (4) Join a local church and stay. (5) Find a mentor — Paul-Timothy. (6) Disciple others — Timothy-others. (7) Live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). (8) Take up the cross daily (Luke 9:23). Discipleship is a lifelong arc, not a fixed destination.
“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.”
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Commit to Christ as Lord, not just Savior. Saturate in Scripture. Pray daily. Join a local church. Find a mentor and be a mentor. Make disciples — pour into one or two people. Take up the cross daily. Discipleship is the lifelong process of becoming like Christ. Start where you are.
Biblical discipleship is following Jesus as Lord, teacher, and savior — learning to live as he lived. Mathētēs means apprentice, learner. Discipleship involves: (1) following Christ (Mark 8:34), (2) abiding in his word (John 8:31), (3) loving the brethren (John 13:35), (4) bearing fruit (John 15:8), (5) taking up the cross daily (Luke 9:23), and (6) making more disciples (Matthew 28:19).
Matthew 28:19-20 — Jesus' final command to the apostles before his ascension: '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.' The mission is to make disciples — through evangelism (going, teaching), baptism, and ongoing instruction.
(1) Commit to Christ as Lord. (2) Saturate in Scripture. (3) Pray daily. (4) Join a local church and stay. (5) Find a mentor — someone walking with Christ ahead of you. (6) Disciple others. (7) Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). (8) Take up the cross daily. Discipleship is incremental and lifelong. Start with one practice; build the rest over time.
Everything. Luke 14:33 — 'whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.' Mark 8:34 — 'let him deny himself, and take up his cross.' Discipleship costs comfort, pride, control, sometimes relationships, sometimes life itself. But the reward is greater (Mark 10:30) — a hundredfold now and eternal life. The cost is real; the gain is incalculable.