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CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST May 22,
2005 FAMILY MATTERS TO PRAY ABOUT: Our
congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers David,
Leon, and James in the military Our nation, military and leaders George will
have a colonoscopy tomorrow SUMMER YOUTH SERIES: June 6 - North Wayside June 20 - Bammel June 13 -
Memorial June 27 - Westbury with Jerome Williams BEING A
DISCIPLE "The
disciples were called Christians first at Antioch" (Acts 11:26). Three times
in the New Testament are the followers of Jesus called Christians.
It appears that it could have been a derogatory term first used in
Antioch, though that is not clear. The second time the term
"Christian" is used is by Herod Agrippa to Paul at Paul's defense
before the Roman leaders in Caesarea. Peter uses it in the terms of
suffering (1 Peter 4:16). We find other terms used in scripture for
the followers of Jesus such as saints, followers, or believers. The
most common term is "disciple" and is used over two hundred and
sixty times in the Gospels and Acts. Looking in a concordance, one
would find the last reference in Acts 21 and assumed the term was
dropping out of use around 60 A.D. We realize that while the first
three Gospels were probably written by then and the Gospel of John
wasn't written until sometime after the late 70s. In writing about
the church, the word disciple was the most popular. What is a
disciple? It means to be a follower or a student. The Pharisees and
Sadducees had disciples. In the Greek world, philosophers had
students. So that was not an uncommon idea. The purpose was to sit
at the feet of a teacher or Rabbi and learn. They are being trained
by the Teacher to teach and live as the teacher taught and practice.
The Pharisees were good at teaching their students to become more
rigid and legalistic in their views than the teacher. The lives of
philosophers then and now were often corrupt both in teaching and
the way they practice, or not, their teachings. Jesus was,
and continues to be, the Teacher. We as His students are to live our
lives in His presence following His example, both in what we believe
and how we practice ethical principles He presented. We are not
merely religious, that is, going through motions showing that we
have some type of belief, at least on the surface. The religious
leaders of Jesus day were religious but willing to violate their own
religious beliefs to crucify Jesus. So it is more than being
religious. Our task
then is to become like Jesus. We do this by realizing several
things. First, we understand that God can change us personally. When
we become Christians, followers of Jesus, we begin a new life. We
learn a new way of living. We are being transformed into new beings.
The idea of being transform is that of one changing from a
caterpillar to a butterfly. Does this happen overnight? No. It is a
lifetime commitment. Among the things we are challenged with are to
love God and love our neighbors, to seek what is best for them and
for our enemies. It is one thing to love one's neighbor who we might
not get along with very well and to love an enemy who is determined
to kill or imprison us. But that is the radical life we are to live.
We are to serve, not be served. We are to be last rather than first
and not seek power, position and control over others to their
destruction or our revenge. We are to be peacemakers and humble. We
are to be seekers of truth wherever it is found. All of this changes
us as we practice what is honorable and noble (see Philippians 4:8). Two, to
accomplish this we must use disciplines that will help us learn.
Worship, prayer, fasting, service, and study are some of the ways we
begin to accomplish the task of being a disciple. Now I know that it
is hard to spend time studying scripture when we put in a full day
at work or school and then have to deal with various family
situations. But we should not make this an excuse to avoid or not
study at all. While we might only have a short time, we can use it
wisely. This leads us to a life of integrity, holiness, and honesty.
We can begin transforming our families and those we come in contact
with as we more and more reflect Jesus living in us. Three, we
must become proficient in helping others become disciples, equipping
them in Christ. That idea is expressed by Paul (see Ephesians
4:11-16). Why do we come together when we have the Bible? With
numerous translations, we can have a really good idea of what God
wants. There is more to discipleship than just study. There is
fellowship and corporate worship. There are the opportunities to
pray for each other and share struggles, to confess and to be
admonish, to encourage and to serve. Jesus as a Teacher allowed
questions. Coming together gives us the opportunity to ask questions
of others, to learn and come to understand scripture better. It
gives us the opportunity to see things from different perspectives
and to get a better idea, or new idea, of a text or theme from
scripture. Jesus told
the Apostles to "go and make disciples" and to disciple
(teach) them to obey everything He commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
That is the Teacher challenging His followers to make other
followers who will make others. We do this by word and example. Yes,
we are Christians, a perfectly good word. We are also students of
Jesus, learning everyday through study, experience, and the wisdom
of scripture and others. How have
your classes been going lately? |