Devotional 08-20-2023

The Three Ss of Discipleship

In Mark 10:17-22, Jesus is greeting by a wealthy ruler who sought His teachings on receiving eternal life. After proving his fervent zeal for religiously keeping the Ten Commandments, he was then challenged by Jesus' last words to him, which called him to give up his worldly possessions and follow Him. Although he was promised great rewards in heaven if he obediently did so, the ruler instead left with great sorrow because he owned vast quantities of wealth. Because he prioritized it over his relationship with Christ, he lost sight of the eternal implications of Christ's calling and unfortunately rejected it.

Today, many believers similarly refuse to heed Jesus' call to discipleship. Like the rich young ruler, many have become so tied to worldly riches, pleasures, and pursuits that these temporal things have taken precedence over serving God. While Christ has given us His salvation as a free gift (Rom 5:15-17; Eph 2:8-9), He desires to give us so much more than what this this worldly, self-serving lifestyle can. Specifically, He desires to help us earn eternal rewards, grow spiritually, further our relationship with Him, and become usable by the Father for His great purposes for us, others, and the world. However, unlike salvation, these rewards are not given freely, for they require us to humbly submit to a life of discipleship, which, as Christ notes in Luke 9:23, is a costly and challenging lifestyle of self-denial.

Adopting this life of discipleship requires us to follow three principles represented by the following words:

Salvation. This is the first and most important principle, for one cannot be a disciple of Christ unless he receives His salvation. Romans 8:7-8 note that the unsaved--people who exclusively live in the flesh--cannot serve God because their natures are completely against Him. Furthermore, John 4:24 notes that God can only be worshipped in spirit and truth, which is impossible for the unregenerated person because his spirit is dead. It is only through humbling ourselves to accept Christ as Savior and Lord that we can become spiritually alive and able to serve God.
Sacrifice.Discipleship requires more than simply becoming saved, for we carry over from our old lives the flesh, which only seeks to serve self. It is this nature that desires to prioritize the things of this world over obeying Christ. While God does bless us with material blessings and it is right to enjoy them, it is imperative to remember that they are His and He has every right to take them away if they hinder our service to Him. Thus, it is imperative that we live according to Hebrews 13:5 and Matthew 6:33, being content with what we have and being willing to sacrifice it to pursue God and His kingdom first.
Sanctification.Though we are called to live in obedience and self-sacrifice, we do not have the capacity within ourselves to do so. Like Paul in Romans 7:18-20, we desire in our spirits to serve Christ and live as His disciples, but our flesh resists this work by pressuring us to sin. Such is why Christ calls us in Luke 9:23 to deny and disassociate ourselves from this self life, which we gain the capacity to do so through the Holy Spirit renewing our minds (Rom 12:2) and giving us the strength to obey God (Rom 8:26). It is by relying not on our own strength, but the Holy Spirit's that enables us to live the life of discipleship Christ calls us to.

Although this world has much to offer our souls and bodies for our pleasure, prosperity, and popularity, we as believers are called to a far higher and more rewarding life than one consumed by these temporal and worldly pursuits. This life of discipleship, however, comes at the cost of everything, requiring us to give up our pride to accept Christ's salvation, sacrifice what we have when God calls us to, and surrender our spirit, soul, and body to the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification. Though the great sacrifice this life requires brings many to sorrow, it is those who willingly surrender to it that will experience great spiritual growth, be used mightily by God, and be richly blessed with eternal rewards in heaven.

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