[Note: This sermon studies the Lord's concept of discipleship from Matthew 4:18–22. Delivered 24 February 1980.]
We study today the Lord's concept of discipleship from Matthew 4:18–22. As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee he called Simon Peter and Andrew, then James and John; each pair responded immediately — the word "immediately" appears twice — leaving nets, boats, and father without question or hesitation. The central words are verse 19: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
The word "disciple" appears 262 times in the New Testament, yet today's church has abandoned it. The word "Christian" appears only three times in the entire New Testament, and twice of those three times it is on the lips of unbelievers; in Acts 11:26, the disciples were called Christians because they so resembled Christ in character and conduct that even the world noticed. The word "believer" appears only twice — and one of those occurrences mistranslates the Greek word pistos, which means "the faithful" rather than "the believer." Paul's one consistent term for a Christian is the word "saint" — hagios, the holy one — which he uses 76 times. We have abandoned the biblical names because we know we are not disciples, and we dare not call ourselves saints.
There is a world of difference between being "for" Jesus and being "with" Jesus. A hockey supporter sits in the stands, cheers, says "I believe in the Canadians," costs himself nothing — he is a "believer" but not a player. A disciple is not on the sidelines; he is in the battle, taking the shots. John's gospel uses the word "believe" 98 times, but when John says "believe," he means someone who so commits himself to Christ that Jesus becomes king of his life; John also uses the word "disciple" 78 times, making plain that true belief and discipleship are inseparable. Even the devil believes in God and that Jesus is the Son of God — James tells us so — which is why mere belief in the facts proves nothing.
The dictionary of New Testament theology states the matter plainly: "Following Jesus as a disciple means the unconditional sacrifice of the disciple's whole life for the whole of his life, to be bound to Jesus and to do God's will." That is not original — every responsible New Testament scholar who knows the New Testament knows this to be true, even if it is not known to the majority of Chinese or Western pastors today.
The seven characteristics of a disciple are these. First: come. "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" — salvation is not obtained by remote belief at a distance; you must come. Second: follow — take his yoke. A yoke means coming under his authority and control; it means living a life of obedience. Jesus says "my yoke is easy, my burden is light" — light compared to the burden of sin, but a burden nonetheless; there are no cheap offers here. Third: learn of him — not by stuffing systematic theology into the brain, but by imitating his lifestyle. You do not learn motor mechanics from a certificate course; I know a dear brother with a certificate in motor mechanics who knows less about a car than I do, because I learnt by rolling up my sleeves and watching. An electrical engineer I lived with once could not find the fuse box when a fuse blew — I, without any engineering qualification, fixed it. In the same way, a PhD in the philosophy of religion does not help anyone's salvation; learning of Jesus means becoming like him in meekness and lowliness of heart.
Fourth: follow wherever he goes — immediately, without hesitation. Twice in this passage the word "immediately" marks the disciples' response. Any person who wants to join the training programme and hesitates — "shall I go, shall I not go" — should not be in it; when the Spirit of God moves, the decision is made or it is not made. Fifth: serve — become fishers of men. Notice the words "I will make you" — it is Jesus who transforms us, not we who transform ourselves. I must confess honestly that when Brother Timothy came asking to join the training team, I spent two hours in a Chinese restaurant in Toronto trying to persuade him not to — he had been accepted at a theological college in Regina, and in all honesty I did not think he was the right material. He could not always express himself clearly, had a stuttering problem, and his written work was sometimes below standard. But he would not be shaken, and to my shame I could not dissuade him. My latest report from him gave me such joy: he went to preach at a hospital and did so with such power that the whole hospital staff wanted him back, and today that entire hospital has been opened to the preaching of the gospel through this man whom everyone had considered an unlikely candidate. "I will make you fishers of men" — he will do it.
Being a "believer" without being a disciple is not merely insufficient — it is dangerous. I spent half an hour on the telephone with a woman who had watched the 700 Club television programme and phoned their telephone counsellor to say she wanted to believe in Jesus. The counsellor prayed for her in tongues — so she could not even say amen, not knowing what was prayed — and told her nothing except to read her Bible and get baptised. A few days later she began to speak in tongues; not long after that, she became demon-possessed. She went into trances, spoke with a different voice, and her facial appearance changed entirely; her husband was desperate. I state this categorically: no disciple is ever possessed by a demon so long as he walks with God. But if you are a so-called "believer" — even a sincere one, as this woman genuinely was — without taking the yoke of Christ, without surrendering every part of your life to his lordship, Satan will tear you apart. Of all those who make decisions at evangelistic campaigns, 90 percent fall away within the first year, because Satan tears them apart and Jesus cannot guarantee protection to those who have not obeyed his word. Please — either be a disciple, or do not attempt to be merely a "believer."
# The Lord's Concept of Discipleship — Matthew 4:18–22 (Part B) — Learning by Imitation, Following Immediately, and Being Christ's Representative
[Note: This is Part B of the sermon on discipleship in Matthew 4:18–22, continuing directly from Part A. Delivered 24 February 1980.]
The possessed woman had tried to fight the spirit off herself, but she could not — if we could fight off evil spirits on our own, we would have no need of Jesus. One day, as she was about to go into a trance again, she called to her husband; the spirit entered and began to speak strange things through her. Her husband, a young Christian who decided to trust the Lord Jesus, asked the spirit, "Are you Jesus?" — and the spirit answered from the woman, "Just call me Lord." He immediately knew something was wrong; that was not how Jesus would speak. He summoned up his courage and commanded the spirit in the name of Jesus to leave, and it left with a wild animal-like roar. Since then the spirit has constantly harassed and pursued her, always looking for another chance to re-enter.
When she phoned for counsel, I said to her: the only way you will ever be free from the power of this demon is to commit yourself 100% to Jesus, making him lord in every single part of your life. If you give him 98% and leave even 2% of your life outside his lordship, that demon will come back — as certain as anything. We are not talking about psychology; we are talking about spiritual principalities and powers, as Paul says: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in high places." Either be a disciple — fully, with every part of your life under Christ's authority — or do not attempt to be a believer, because Satan will take you apart, and Jesus cannot protect those who have not obeyed his word.
Now — the third characteristic of a disciple: learn of him. Learning does not mean accumulating academic knowledge; it means imitating a lifestyle. I illustrated this before: you do not learn motor mechanics from a certificate course, you learn by rolling up your sleeves and watching someone else work on an engine. I have seen certified motor mechanics who know less about a car than I do, and electrical engineers who could not find the fuse box. And a PhD in the philosophy of religion — I was taught by one of England's most distinguished philosophers of religion — will not help one person's salvation one bit. What is needed is not information stored in the brain but the kind of person you become. "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart" — learn by walking with him, by watching how he does things and doing likewise.
The fourth characteristic is to follow immediately, without hesitation, and without looking back. I said to those who had already joined the training team: if any of you want to leave now, leave before the programme begins — you owe me no explanation, because you follow Christ, not me. But by Tuesday it would be too late to look back. When Jesus called his disciples, if they had so much as hesitated, the answer would have been "forget it." The one who puts his hand to the plough and keeps looking back is not fit; the soldier who already has one eye on the exit will abandon his post when the battle gets hard.
The sixth characteristic: a disciple is one who is sent. The Lord trains you, makes you a fisher of men, and then sends you out. "As the Father has sent me, so send I you" (John 20:21). You cannot catch fish without going to the sea. The seventh and final characteristic: the disciple becomes Christ's representative in the world. Jesus says, "He who rejects you rejects me, and he who receives you receives me" — that cannot be said of the average Christian, but it can be said of a true disciple, because the disciple genuinely represents Jesus in the world. Jesus says in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world," and then says to his disciples, "You are the light of the world" — he is the light, and the disciple as his representative is also the light. Paul says the same in Ephesians 5:8, "You are light."
Examine yourself honestly in the light of these seven points. Is Jesus king of your life? Do you follow him? Are you learning of him by imitating his way of life, day by day? Have you taken his yoke? Is he transforming you and making you a fisher of men? Do you live for yourself or do you serve him by bringing others into his kingdom? Remember Acts 11:26: the disciples were called Christians. Only the disciples. If you are not a disciple, you are not entitled — by the Bible's own definition — to be called a Christian. Let us be quiet before God in prayer.