Acts 10:34-36 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Simon Peter might be a fisherman, but he had always prided himself on separating himself from gentiles whenever possible. The last thing Peter wanted was for God to send him to minister to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. There’s a saying, “Tell God your plans and watch Him laugh!” And God was laughing heartily, for first He gave Peter a vision and then virtually pushed Peter out the door, sending him to Cornelius’ house. When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, he boldly stated his previous objections and then explained that God had caused him to change his mind. Before the whole thing was through, God even sovereignly baptized all those in Cornelius’ house in the Holy Spirit, without Peter even laying hands on them! Why? Because God knew that Peter hadn’t abandoned all his prejudices. If these people were to receive the Holy Spirit, God was going to have to do it without using Peter. And it was the very fact of this Holy Spirit baptism that helped convince Peter that the Gospel WAS for the gentiles as well as for the Jews.
Once we agree to become Jesus’ disciples, we must give up our rights to ourselves, to our prejudices, and to our assumptions about others. We might look at someone and judge them by their hairstyle, their tattoos, their piercings; meanwhile, that person might become a fiery evangelist to rival Saint Paul. David Wilkerson was a skinny young preacher from a small coal town in eastern Pennsylvania when God moved him to go to New York City to witness to gang members. One of Pastor Wilkerson’s converts was Nicky Cruz, a vicious gang leader whose Puerto Rican parents practiced witchcraft and beat Nicky regularly. Nicky became a leader in a murderous street gang in Brooklyn. But when David Wilkerson witnessed to Nicky and Nicky accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, Nicky changed completely. For decades, Nicky Cruz has traveled the world, preaching and teaching about Jesus. Millions have heard about the saving power of Jesus Christ because David Wilkerson willingly witnessed to young gang members who could have killed him.
Many people have no idea what it means to be a disciple. Being a disciple is an enormous blessing; however, there are also pitfalls. Here are several practices disciples must carry out, along with the temptations that accompany them:
1. The Heart of Discipleship: Proclaiming Jesus.
“Him we proclaim.” First and foremost, discipleship is about proclaiming Jesus and making much of His name. A couple major themes of Colossians are that Christ is Lord over all creation, and that Christ is our redeemer. It is within this context that Paul writes these powerful words. Just before these words, in verse 27, Paul reminds the Colossians that God has revealed the mystery of Christ to them and that Christ is personally present with them. This is wonderful news. We proclaim this wonderful news—both to the lost and to the saved.
Discipleship should be outward focused. We don’t invest in someone only for the sake of that individual, but we do so with the others they will impact in mind. We proclaim Jesus to men and women who will go on to proclaim Jesus to the world.
Temptation to fight: Proclaiming ourselves. Even if outwardly, we are “proclaiming Jesus” in how we do discipleship, we must make sure that inwardly, our motive is to make much of Him, rather than to make much of ourselves. Yet another temptation is to keep score as to how many converts we have made, how many people we have discipled. The Kingdom of God is not about score-keeping but love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.
The concepts in the remainder of this article should fall under the umbrella of this first principle. The reason we devote ourselves to all the following principles is to bring fame and praise to the name of Jesus.
2. The Means of Discipleship: Teaching and Warning With Wisdom.
Scripture has a lot more to say regarding how to make disciples, but Paul gives us some basics in this passage: “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom.” Teaching, or instruction, might seem like an obvious component of discipleship. We must train those we lead in the Word of God and show them how to live lives that glorify Him. But this passage reveals that our responsibility is not only to teach those we disciple the right way, but also to warn them when they are going the wrong way. Out of love for those we disciple, we must not be silent when they are living in opposition to the Scriptures.
Paul says that we teach and train everyone “with all wisdom”. James 1:5 says to ask God for wisdom, and this is so important. As we disciple others, we must continually seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance. We must be spending regular time in the Word and in prayer. Any time we teach or warn, we must make sure we are doing so in submission to Him.
Temptations to fight: People-pleasing and harshness. Depending on your personality, you might be someone who tends to dodge conflict. For you, the temptation will be to avoid having hard conversations with those you lead out of a desire to please them. However, if you tend to like power and control, you might be more prone to be too harsh in your correction. Don’t forget that Scripture also says that this must be done in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1) and out of love. And as believers, we must bear with other people’s shortcomings. Galatians 6:1-3 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Finally, let’s remember the advice Paul gave the Roman Christians. Romans 15:5-9 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them.
May God, who has called all of us to become disciples, strengthen and encourage you, so that you may be willing to witness to anyone, at anytime, anywhere.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, give each of us a passion to become true disciples and to disciple others as well. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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