D17 P16: I really don't care what you do...

Throughout this series on the "D17" (17 truths about discipleship), we have explored several things we ought to do. Discipling is something we do, and through discipling, we teach others things they ought to do (especially to do all that Jesus commands, as He taught in the key text of the missional conversation, the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20). In fact, one of the main thrusts of discipling is to get people off the bench and into the game, to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

The 16th truth of discipleship may sound like a total contradiction to all of that.

Discipleship is not about works performed, but about becoming like the Redeemer.

Discipling is indeed about doing - taking up our crosses and following Him. But discipleship is not about the works we perform. It sounds like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth at once.

Think of it this way: a game of football is not about hiking and passing and blocking and running. It's not the goal of the game to hike the ball. Hiking the ball is what you do in order to achieve the goal (scoring more points than your opponent). Hiking is necessary and essential. It requires training and practice. It must be done well. But football is not about that.

Works are what we do as disciples, but that's not the goal of discipleship. What we do is necessary and essential, and may required training and practice. But if Person A does more works than Person B, that doesn't necessarily mean he's accomplished the goal. The goal is not to "hike the ball," but to become like the one who redeems us.

In Matt 7:22-23, Jesus warns His listeners that just because people did things "in His name," they weren't guaranteed entrance into the Kingdom. "Depart from me," He tells them, "I never knew you." The accumulation of your works is not what matters.

Paul says in Rom 8:29 and John says in 1 Jn 3:1-3 that the destiny of those in Christ is that they will continually be made more and more like Him, the Redeemer, and eventually will be exactly like Him. That's the goal. That's the work that Jesus is doing in His followers, and therefore the work that followers should be doing with each other. In other words, discipleship.

Everything, and I mean everything, we do as followers should be for the purpose of us becoming more like Christ. It is not about accumulating good works, although it's certainly the case that good works can make us more like Christ. Again, hiking the ball compared to winning the game.

This also means that everything God does in our lives will be to the same end - to make us more like Christ. Everything He allows in our lives, everything He puts before us, every way that He answers our prayer - everything, and I mean everything, He does in our lives is carrying out His promise to make us more like His Son.

D17 P14: What must non-legalists do?

Grace is the most scandalous aspect of the Gospel, the hardest pill to swallow, and ironically, one of the biggest barriers to embracing the Gospel. Grace says you can't earn or deserve any favor from God, no matter what you do. But we love to earn and deserve. Just when we begin to come to terms with grace, we begin to lose perspective on the do part of the Gospel. We are not legalists, who teach you must do in order to garner His favor. But ... what must non-legalists do?

The discipleship mindset is anchored in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), where Jesus tells His disciples to make disciples of all nations. Included in this commission is the command to "teach them to obey everything I commanded you." Discipling someone includes teaching him what to do.

Prior to giving the Great Commission, Jesus consistently did exactly this - teach people to obey His commands. For example, in John 8:31-32, He says, "If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples." Discipleship is marked by doing. Again in John 15:10, he says, "If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love." Not only is our discipleship marked by doing, Jesus' own relationship with His Father is marked by doing.

But we're not legalists!!!

The 14th entry in our series on the 17 Truths of Discipleship ("D17") is:

Discipleship is obedience-driven.

Jesus was not merely a philosopher, teaching us only to have a particular worldview. The Gospel affects not only our theology, our philosophy, and our worldview; the Gospel transforms what we do. The Gospel is not about just getting your entry ticket to heaven, but living now in God's Kingdom according to the nature of God's Kingdom. We get to live this way!!!

Disciples are followers, which means far more than merely "following Jesus' teachings" by agreeing with the good stuff He says. It means following Him - following a Person by doing as He does, speaking as He speaks, thinking as He thinks, and following the path that He blazes.

We're not legalists - we don't teach that you gain merit or favor by what you do. We're practitioners of Grace, those who practice (do) what Grace is. We are followers of the One who merited all of the Father's favor on our behalf. Following cannot exclude doing and still be considered "following."

As we disciple one another, we teach and encourage ourselves to do all that Jesus tells us to do as a matter of following, not as a matter of earning. As one author put it, "Stop trying to be a 'good Christian' and just do what Jesus says."

D17 Part 8: Stop telling me what to do ... and just show me

Then Jesus began talking about pouring water into the basin as He showed a PowerPoint picture of a basin on the screen, and then He began to colorfully describe washing the disciples’ feet, gesturing with His hands in the air. He then surprised them by pulling out a towel as an illustration, which He then put on the pulpit so people could see it as He spoke. 

So He walked over to Simon Peter, who was seated in the 3rd row. Peter interrupted the monologue and said to Him, “Lord, do You talk about washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I have been talking about, you do not realize now, but you will understand when you stream the video of this later.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You talk about washing my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not talk about washing you, you totally ruin the wordpicture.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then not only talk about washing my feet, but also talk about washing my hands and my head.”

Jesus said to him, “He who has studied all about bathing needs only to talk about his feet, but has pretty much talked about being clean in general. And you talk a lot about being clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was thinking really hard about betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you talk about being clean.”

So when He had finished talking about washing their feet, and put away His lesson props and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have illustrated for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, talked about washing your feet, you also ought to talk about washing one another’s feet.”

On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, knowing He had so very little time left to teach His disciples, He takes all the time necessary to wash 12 pairs of filthy feet. Why? It takes less than a 10 seconds to say, “You should serve one another with the same kind of humility as it takes to wash a bunch of dirty feet.” Boom. Done. Lesson over, discipleship accomplished (right?). Instead, He just washes their feet, and then talks about it.

His entire ministry is filled with doing all the things He would later expect the disciples to do. He even had them do some of those things while He observed and then gave them feedback on it. That was how Jesus discipled them. Like the washing of the feet, Jesus showed them how to disciple one another by discipling them as He expected us to imitate.

Our 8th truth of discipleship of the Seventeen Truths of Discipleship (the "D17") is:

Discipleship has to be modeled and experienced.

We are called to disciple one another, and to do so as Jesus discipled the Twelve. We can assume that Jesus demonstrated for us not only the what but the how. Disciples are learners, but they learn primarily by doing. That's how Jesus discipled them. We are too much in the habit of trying to disciple one another by talking only.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (James 1:22)

Let's drop any expectation that any disciple will learn anything significant about the life of a disciple unless they see it modeled and experience it firsthand. Don't expect disciples to learn how to pray without prayer being modeled (by the way, the Lord's Prayer is nothing except Jesus modeling prayer rather than lecturing about prayer). Don't expect disciples to learn how to read the Bible devotionally until it's modeled for them. Or talking about their faith, or being generous, or serving those in need, or using his or her talents to bring human flourishing in others, or anything else about the genuine Christian life. And especially, don't expect disciples to learn how to disciple others without experiencing being discipled.

Model for others what you want them to learn about following Christ. Seek out those who can model for you what you want to learn about following Christ. Talk about discipleship ... but wait until after actually doing something disciples do.