Am I a Disciple?

The Proof of Obedience

When it comes to discipleship Jesus made it clear that words are not enough. Many find the message of Jesus attractive, and are prepared to look further into it. Like the rich young man, they are curious, ask questions, but come with the baggage of assumptions we all can carry. It’s a lazy kind of curiosity that assumes the answer is going to be just the one I already decided is right. In Jesus’s day it was assumed riches were a sign of God’s blessing, a sure sign someone was heading for eternal life.

Jesus put his finger on what was always going to hold back this young man and issued the challenge. ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.’ Read the whole account in Mark’s gospel to see how prevalent this thinking about riches was (Mark 10:17-27)

Discipleship costs, more than riches, more than reputation, more than comfort, which is why the first test of discipleship is not performance but obedience. Jesus said it best:

‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

Note carefully that those who ranked high in performance, nevertheless, were considered ‘lawless,’ and ranked low in obedience. Significantly, this sobre teaching follows immediately after Jesus’ warning of, ‘false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognise them by their fruits.’ (Matthew 7:15/16)

False prophets are a massive problem in the church today, and Christians face a dilemma because of it. On one hand they don’t want to be found outside the will of God in questioning what might be a true servant of God. On the other hand they are well aware of this warning and other warnings like it from Scripture. They are alert to the confusing and conflicting messages besetting the church today. How do we discern the genuine from the counterfeit?

Jesus calls us, not to the colourful and spectacular, not to the fantastic and phenomenal, but to obedience:

‘If you love me you will keep my commandments…’ (John 14:15)

‘Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me…’ (v.21)

‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’ (v.23)

Obedience is an every day business, rooted in faithfulness, tested over time, grown in the soil of humility. A person can get a handle on obedience. It is possible to discover what God requires by the simple expediency of turning to the Bible, the single most popular, and at the same time most neglected book in the world today. The overwhelming evidence is that he requires our faithful obedience.

Like the rich young ruler, we can hang on to our assumptions of what marks out a true disciple, whether it’s riches, performance, or spectacle. Or, like good king Josiah in the Old Testament (2 Kings 22&23; Chronicles 34 &35), we can turn to God’s word and enter into a life of simple obedience. This, surely, is the route to true reformation, genuine revival of God’s people and, who knows, but that we may yet see signs following…if we are obedient.