Matthew-012

The New Testament teaching on discipleship

Today, we shall study the Lord Jesus’ teaching about discipleship. We shall begin reading from Matthew 4:18-22:

A Christian is a “disciple”, a “saint”

We will concentrate on verse 19: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Today, I would particularly like to expound on the New Testament teaching of discipleship. First, we want to examine this word “disciple,” which is used 262 times in the New Testament! What I would like to contrast for you is the strange situation today, in which we have departed from the New Testament even in the way we talk about believers as Christians. We don’t speak of Christians as “disciples” or “saints.” Yet, Paul does not use the word “disciple” for the Christian, but an even more powerful and specific word namely, “saint.” He invariably chooses to use the term “saint” to avoid any ambiguity regarding his definition of a disciple. He uses all the concepts of discipleship as we shall see, but he does not use the word. He insists on using one word only – “saints,” the holy ones of God. We shall examine why Paul himself does not use the word “disciple” in the next message.

So in the New Testament, there are two terms that can be understood as referring to the modern sense of the word “Christian”: “disciple” and “saint.” Yet today, we scarcely ever speak of Christians in those terms, but we always say “Christian.” How many times does the word “Christian” appear in the New Testament? Three times, and of these 3 times, 2 come from the lips of non-Christians (Acts 11:26, 26:28). Only once in 1 Peter 4:16 does the apostle Peter use the word “Christian” to describe the saints. Why have we changed the terminology?

Today, we speak about a certain category of people in the church as “missionaries,” but there is no such word as “missionary” in the Bible. Why don’t we use a Biblical word rather than invent a term “missionary”? Why not use a word from the Bible instead of creating the term “missionary”? The correct Biblical term, without apology, is “apostle,” because it means someone who is sent. And “missionary” is simply the Latin form of the Greek word “apostle.” Yet, we dare not use the word “apostle,” but create the word “missionary,” which is not in the Bible. Today, we also use the term “Christian,” a designation that was given to the disciples in the Early Church by non-Christians. We don’t dare to use the word “disciple” because I suspect that we know we are not disciples. We have ceased to be a church of disciples.

We use another term, “believer,” which is a very neutral word. We believe in Jesus so we are all believers. I request you to take a concordance to search for the word “believer” in the New Testament, and you will find to your surprise, that the word “believer” occurs only two times in the New Testament (Ac. 5:14, 1 Tim. 4:12)! The Early Church did not call Christians “believers” as a rule. In fact, one of these two times, 1 Timothy 4:12, is a mistrans­lation, because the Greek word that is translated as “believer” is pistos which means “the faithful”, and not the word pisteuo for “believe.” So the Early Church called the “Christians” the pistos, “the faithful to Christ” in a world that was hostile to Christ.

It is different from the Western world, where being a Christian is widely accepted, and almost everyone identifies themselves as a so-called “Christian.” As F. W. Krummacher, that great servant of God used to say, “We are a generation of baptized heathens.” The Western world is a generation of heathens who just happen to be baptized. We dare not use the term “the faithful” for Christians, because we should be faithful to Christ in the way we live, speak and behave. We are a generation of Christians who dare not use any of these Biblical terms.

Do we dare to use the word “saints”? Paul has only one fundamental term for Christians, and that is “saints,” using it 76 times in his epistles! Every time he talks about Christians, he calls them “saints”, holy people. But today, the church thinks it is very humble to say, “We are all sinners.” God makes us holy, a new creation to be like Christ. Is it because God hasn’t got the power to make us holy? Has he failed to bring forth a new creation that we dare not call Christians “saints” anymore? We dare not! So we have even departed from the Biblical terms, “saint” and “disciple” for Christians. We use the term “believer” that the New Testament hardly uses, and “Christian” that non-Christians used for disciples.

Based on the authority of God’s Word, I must emphasize that unless you are a disciple, you don’t have the privilege to call yourself a Christian or be called as such. This is substantiated by Acts 11:26, where it states, “the disciples were called Christians.” Only disciples are called Christians. Why were the unbelievers referring to them as Christians? Luke informs us in Acts that even those who did not believe held the Christians in high esteem due to their Christ-like behavior. This is because they had become new persons created to resemble him. Xristianoi means people who have the character of Christ, who belong to Jesus. If you are not a disciple, you don’t have the right to be called a Christian.

But today, in the defeated, worldly, corrupt church, we dare not use the words “disciple,” and “saint,” but a neutral term like “believer.” Who aren’t believers? Many people can be referred to as “believers” since they all hold certain beliefs. If a believer means someone who believes in God, then the Devil can also be called a believer (Jas 2:19). As “believers,” we find ourselves in the company of the Devil. Where does that leave us?

“To believe” means become a disciple of Jesus, the Messiah king

The apostle John particularly uses this word “believe” in the verbal form 98 times. However, he does not use it in the diluted manner that we commonly use it today. John’s Gospel is talking to Jews, so when John uses “believe” for believing in Jesus, he means as Jesus said, “believe that I am he” (Jo. 8:24); “believe that I am the Messiah, the king of the Jews; so I am your king because you are a Jew.” John doesn’t mean a wishy-washy believing that God sent Jesus over 2,000 years ago, that he died and rose again.

The devil is certainly a believer in God and Christ much more than you and I do, as James has pointed that out so clearly to us. However, he does not believe with complete trust and obedience to allow God to have authority over his life just as Jesus exemplified through his life and teaching. Satan is in a state of rebellion against Christ and God.

Notice also very carefully: John uses in his Gospel the word, “believe” 98 times, but he uses the word “disciple” 78 times, which is more than any of the other Gospels. John’s intention regarding belief is crystal clear: he intends for you to believe in order to become a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, the only type of belief that leads to salvation is to believe in and through Jesus, allowing God to become the ruler of your life, consequently transforming you into a disciple, who is a new person.

What is a disciple? – A person who is involved “with Jesus” all the way

Let us spend a few moments to examine what is a disciple. And while we study this, I want you to consider: Are you a disciple? I don’t ask, are you a believer? I’m not interested in this, neither is God. There are a lot of believers around, and there is a world of difference between being a believer and a disciple. A believer is someone who stands on the sidelines and claps. “I support the Canucks, the Canadian hockey team! I believe in the Canucks! Hooray for the Canucks and for Montreal! The best in North America! The best in the world! I believe in them!” So I sit on the sidelines and cheer them on as a believer in the Canucks, the best team in the world! I am for them but I’m not with them because I’m not on the ice. I didn’t score any goals for them. They are the ones who are sweating away, getting the hiding, and getting bawled at. Likewise, when I am a great supporter of the boxers in a boxing match, I just stand outside the ring and shout, “Hooray! Come on! Punch him! Give him another one! Flatten his nose!” That’s certainly fine, but I’m not the one who gets the black eye, or my nose bashed up. I’m a great believer so I cheer and support!

What I am pointing out is this: a disciple is involved in the battle, not with a loud mouth and clapping hands. That is why there is a world of difference between being “for Jesus” and being “with Jesus.” You can sit on the sidelines to be “for Jesus.” “Hooray Jesus! Come on! Bash up Satan! Give him a black eye! Give it to him!” But I don’t get involved. It doesn’t cost me anything. It’s like you say to the Full-time Training Team, “Hooray Training Team! Great stuff! Go out there and convert those heathens! Sock it to them! Shove it down their throats! They really need the gospel! Just wake them up with it!” You stand on the sidelines and cheer, but what does it cost you? Did you give up everything to join their ranks? No! You are believers.

However, a disciple does not stand on the sidelines. He takes off his jacket and says, “Okay, here I go into this battle. When the gun starts firing, I’ll take the shots.” Jesus says, “He who is not for me is against me.” But the question is: Are we “with him” or are we “for him”? I have previously preached a detailed sermon on this topic. There is a world of difference between being a believer and a disciple. A disciple is “with Jesus.” Did he choose twelve men to be “for him”? No, he chose twelve men to be “with him,” to follow him where he goes. When he goes to the cross, we go to the cross. When he is whipped, we are whipped. Paul says, “I’ve been beaten, I’ve been shipwrecked. I bear the marks of Jesus in my body” (Gal. 6:17). That’s a disciple! He is with Jesus all the way. To be “for him” costs nothing. To be “with him” costs everything. Being a believer and being a disciple are two completely different things.

Let us look at the seven characteristics of a disciple.

Seven characteristics of a disciple

1. Come to Jesus, and follow him to God

The first thing the Lord Jesus said to these four men that he called by the Lake of Galilee was “Come.” In 1962, when I studied in Israel, I walked by this very place where Jesus walked, along the shore of the Lake of Galilee by Capernaum. The place was deserted, and as I walked by the lakeside all by myself, I could almost hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Follow me. And I will make you fishers of men” (Mt. 4:19). I remember these words as he spoke to Peter, Andrew, James and John, these four disciples. It was so beautiful. I walked up and down that lakeshore meditating and pondering on those days, as in this passage, when Jesus saw these brothers in the boat as fishermen. He said, “Come!” The first thing about discipleship is to come. You cannot stand on the sidelines.

Supposing you see two people boxing in the ring, or two people are fighting it out on the street, and one of them sees you standing there and says, “Come!” You would say, “Me? Hey! You go on with the fight. I’ll cheer for you.” Jesus says, “Come! I have entered into a battle for the salvation of the world – a fight to the death. I’m going to be crucified. I’m going to lay down my life. Come!” And you say, “Jesus, you go ahead! You die for the sins of the world. Just leave me on the sidelines. I’ll cheer for you.” The one word we dread is, “Come.” The Lord Jesus says, “Come, follow me. Take up your cross.” Do you say, “What about I take my hiking boots? I don’t mind taking them. What about my umbrella as well, in case it rains?” No, the Lord Jesus said, “Take up your cross. Come.”

If you don’t like to come, you can be a believer till the end of this age, but that’s not going to save you. “Come to me.” This is the word. He uses exactly the same Greek imperative in Matthew 11:28 – “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” “Come!” Do you want rest? Do you want to be freed from the burden of sin? Don’t stand there in the distance and say, “I believe in God.” You are not going to get rest, to be freed from your sins that way. “Come, and I will give you rest.” Jesus doesn’t throw his rest to you like a baseball saying, “Catch it!” No. Do you want deliverance from sin? Do you want rest? Come! Coming means going to where Jesus is to follow God.

“Learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest to your soul.” How can you learn if you don’t come? How can you get the rest? We like to be Christians at a distance. But this word “come” is the first word that Jesus speaks to any disciple. Matthew 11:28 is not addressed to the twelve, but to everyone. He addresses everyone with the same word that he addressed these four disciples, “Come.” That is the first thing we must understand about being a disciple. You must be involved. You must follow.

Salvation is not to be obtained at a distance by remote faith: Stand in the distance and believe. Let me emphasize this point very, very clearly to you on the basis of God’s Word. If anyone tells you anything differently, that is not Jesus’ teaching. Otherwise your hope for salvation is based on the sand that will be washed away. And let no man or woman, no brother or sister who sit here today, stand before the Lord Jesus on that Day of Judgment and say, “I didn’t know I had to come, but I believed in you.” And he will say, “Depart from me! I don’t know who you are!” The only way Jesus can know who you are is if you come to him. He doesn’t know people who look at him through a telescope. You either come or you are not going to be saved.

2. Be yoked with Jesus to obey God unconditionally

“Come” involves the second thing: Take Jesus’ yoke on yourself in order to follow him, as in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you.” A yoke on Jesus’ neck is put on your neck, and in that way, you come under God’s kingship through Jesus. He also said in verse 30, “My yoke is easy, my burden is light.” Although a yoke is a burden, it is much lighter than the burden of sin.

Jesus isn’t like an evangelist who dishes out sweets and says, “Come to God and everything will be fine. You will pass all your exams! Your business will succeed! You’re going to have a wonderful time when you come to God!” Jesus says, “Come and take my yoke upon you, then you will know peace. But without this yoke, I promise you no peace whatsoever.” You must learn to live under Jesus’ kingship just as Jesus lives under God’s kingship. In other words, “yoke” means obedience. Who is in charge of the yoke? The yoke is placed on the necks of the two oxen in front of the plough. When the ploughman pulls the yoke in one direction, the oxen turn around. When he pulls the yoke in the opposite direction, the oxen turn that way. In other words, you are going to live a life under the sovereignty and control of God together with Christ.

If you find that unacceptable, then don’t think about salvation. I am straightforward as Jesus is. There are no cheap, easy bargains. Salvation comes at a great cost. It cost Jesus his life, and it cost God his Son. If you think that your self-centeredness is worth more than your salvation, keep it. You will have the chance to keep it all the way into hell. It won’t do you any good there. I sound harsh, but believe me, I speak in love. The truth is hard to take but that’s the truth. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and follow me as I follow God. Live a life in obedience to God, just as I do.”

Let me say that my exposition of the words of Jesus is not something original. Even if it is not known to the majority of Chinese or western pastors, it is known to every New Testament scholar who knows the New Testament. I very seldom quote other authorities because I don’t need the support of any authorities. The Word of God is enough. But let me quote to you something from a New Testament authority, the three-volume Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Let me read a passage to you under the article of “Discipleship”, in case you think that I said anything original. I don’t want to claim any originality. It is my duty to speak the truth.

Being a disciple means being bound to Jesus, similar to the yoke, and doing God’s will. It is, as the Dictionary of New Testament Theology says, “unconditional sacrifice of a disciple’s whole life.” Notice the word “unconditional.” I have said nothing original. Every New Testament scholar knows very well the truth of what I have said. Little wonder we dare not use the term “disciple” in the churches today. How many dare to say that their life is unconditionally under God’s control?

Satan can possess a “believer”

Let me also say to you, brothers and sisters whom I dearly love in the Lord: If you only want to be a believer and not a disciple, you are going to run into such spiritual trouble that you will dearly wish you were never a believer at all, because God’s protection and care is not guaranteed for you; Satan will tear you to pieces.

Last night, I received a long-distance call from Ontario. For half an hour, I had to counsel this woman who had become a believer, but whom Satan was just tearing to pieces. I would to God that people will stop making “believers” because all you have done is you have brought misery into their lives.

A brother was helping this woman and her husband, but he referred her to phone me directly because she ran into so much spiritual trouble. Last month, this woman watched a Christian television ministry program called the “700 Club”, which many of you may know about. Having heard the preacher or evangelist on the television say, “Come to Jesus, and give your life to him,” she picked up the telephone and told the telephone counselor, “I want to believe in Jesus.”

I asked her, “What did this counselor tell you to do?”

She replied, “He said, ‘Wonderful! I’m going to pray for you.’ And he prayed.”

And do you know what this counselor did? He prayed in tongues. So she didn’t even know what he prayed for. This man obviously hasn’t read his Bible. Paul said, “If you pray in tongues, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say ‘amen’ to your prayer? They don’t even know what you are talking about!” (cf. 1 Cor. 14:16). Praying in tongues is good for your private devotions to God, but you don’t pray in tongues for people over the phone. This woman didn’t even know what she was saying “amen” to at the end of the prayer.

So I said, “What else did he ask you to do?”

She said, “He said I had to do two things. Read my Bible and get baptized.”

I said, “All right, and what else did he say? Is that all he told you?”

She said, “Yes, read my Bible and get baptized.”

I said to her, “No wonder you are in trouble!”

Do you know what happened to her after this so-called “decision” to believe in Jesus? A few days later, she started to speak in tongues and she thought, “How wonderful! I can speak in tongues!”

Never get excited about speaking in tongues, because even spirit mediums, the servants of the devil can speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues proves absolutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Charismatic brothers and sisters so I have no opposition to anyone who speaks in tongues. I have dear friends who really love the Lord and speak in tongues. But understand very clearly that is not an evidence of the filling of the Spirit of God. The problem is spirit mediums can also speak in tongues. Do you know what happened to this woman who believed in Jesus and spoke in tongues? She became possessed by an evil spirit soon after! I was angry both because I love this person, and because the name of my God is dishonored.

I state unequivocally, that a disciple will never be possessed by any evil spirit as long as he walks with God. There is absolutely no possibility of a disciple being possessed. However, if you are a so-called “believer,” or even a “believer” who sincerely believes in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, I cannot guarantee your safety, because Satan will tear you apart one way or another. We have seen 90% or more of the people who come to God at Billy Graham’s meetings fall away within the first year. This is a well-known statistic. Satan takes them apart. I dare not be a “believer.” I would only dare be a disciple by God’s grace, because to be a believer means that Satan will turn his power upon me. It is foolishness!

This woman was terrified when she became possessed. She tried to fight off the demon, but she couldn’t. If we could fight off Satan and the evil spirits, we can save ourselves. Who needs God? They are too powerful for us. She went into a trance many times and became possessed, behaving like a strange person. Even her husband could not recognize her when she became possessed. She spoke with a different voice. Her facial expression changed. It was terrifying to behold. Her husband, also a young Christian, was quite desperate, and he called a brother to ask for help.

Just a few days ago, as she felt the power possessing her again, she said to her husband, “Please pray for me!” Then, she was possessed and began to speak strange things. So her husband, a young Christian, decided to trust in God said to the spirit that possessed his wife, “Are you Jesus?” And the spirit replied through the woman, “Just call me Lord.” Her husband knew immediately that something was wrong. Even a young Christian could recognize that the way she talked was not the way Jesus would. So he summoned his courage and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus to leave her!” And do you know what? The spirit emerged as she roared like an animal.

Ever since, the spirit has been harassing, pursuing, and frightening her. She always feels the presence of the spirit lurking around her, seeking another opportunity to possess her. So yesterday, she phoned me asking for advice. That is why I asked her to tell me the details of how she became a Christian. After hearing her whole story, I said, “The only way you are going to be free from the power of this demon is that you commit yourself 100% to God in Christ, so that he is king in your life. If you give him 98%, leaving out even 2%, that demon will return to your life and cause you endless trouble.”

Now you understand why the Lord Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you.” Powerful spiritual forces are at play, surpassing the strength of both you and me, as we engage in this battle. If you leave even a small gap in your life, Satan will come in like a flood. I’m not suggesting he will possess you as he did that woman; he may work in various ways with different people. He can sow doubts in your life and push you to the brink of despair. This woman was so depressed that she thought she was going insane. Some of you have already tasted how Satan could drive you utterly into depression, discouragement, joy­lessness until you say, “What’s the point of being a Christian? I give up!”

That is why out of all these people who make so-called “decisions” at winter and summer conferences, and at evangelistic campaigns, 90% will fall away within the first year. Only that small number who have taken the yoke of Jesus, and who like Jesus have said, “O God, you are my king in every part of my life” will not fall.

And that is why I said to this woman, “Examine your life before God to make sure that every part of your life is under the lordship of Christ. Unless you do that, that demon will surely possess you again.”

We are not discussing psychology as a matter of thoughts circulating in your mind, instead, we are referring to spiritual forces at work. As Paul said in Ephesians 6:12,

I say to you very honestly, “Please, either fully commit as a disciple or refrain from claiming to be a “believer,” otherwise Satan will dismantle you.” And God won’t be able to do anything for you because you have not obeyed the Lord Jesus’ teaching.

3. Become like Jesus by imitating him

So first, come to Jesus to follow him. Secondly, take his yoke upon you, that is, unconditionally obey God as Jesus does. Thirdly Jesus says, “Learn of me” (Mt. 11:29). A disciple is a learner of Jesus. When Jesus talks about learning, he isn’t referring to cramming a lot of information into your brain. The New Testament does not associate learning with pursuing a theological education to gain knowledge in areas such as church history and systematic theology. We train people in seminaries today, who are incapable of spiritual warfare because all they have is book knowledge in the head. You cannot prepare a generation of spiritual soldiers by studying church history, systematic theology, and hermeneutics. What we need is spiritual power! You don’t come to know God through a theological seminary. Rather, you come to know God by walking with him day by day, just as the Lord Jesus did. Therefore, by imitating Jesus’ behavior and lifestyle (1Cor. 11:1), you will develop a deeper rela­tionship with God and be gradually transformed into his likeness. The apostle Paul uses the word “imitate” as learning involves a process of imitation.

How do you learn motor mechanics? Do you learn it by simply reading a book? If you can, please repair my car for me sometime. I know a dear brother who holds a certificate in motor mechanics, yet he knows less about repairing a car than I do, even though I don’t have a certificate in motor mechanics. Do you know how I learned? I rolled up my sleeves, observed someone else work on the engine, and I imitated what he did. The one person who doesn’t know how to repair a car is a mechanical engineer. If you don’t believe it, look for a mechanical engineer when you have car trouble. He probably doesn’t know what is a carburetor or a distributor, and where they are in a car. If you have an electrical problem at home, and if you call an electrical engineer, he probably won’t even know where the fuse box is. This is the problem with academic knowledge. Once, a fuse blew in my house, while an electrical engineer who had received first-class honors in electrical engineering was staying with me. I asked if he could kindly fix it, but he didn’t even know where the fuse box was. I fixed the fuse and I’m not an electrical engineer.

In this generation, our approach has been to send people into semi­naries, where they acquire a vast amount of academic knowledge, but they lack practical skills and experience. I am not ridiculing them because that’s the way I was trained. I studied theology and I came out having no idea what to do with the church. I didn’t even know how to conduct a baptism or a marriage, or how to counsel people in their spiritual problems. However, I have a wealth of knowledge in the field of philosophy of religion, and I am adept at engaging in intellectual debates about it. My professor was among the most emi­nent philosophers in England, but I regret to say that this knowledge will not help your salvation in any way. That is the unfortunate nature of our training.

That is not the way you learn to be a disciple. A disciple learns to walk with Jesus, to imitate him. The Lord Jesus says, “Learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart” (Mt. 11:29). It is learning a lifestyle, becoming a kind of person, not cramming knowledge into your brain to write an exam and get a Bachelor of Theology. “Learn of me” means to become like Jesus.

4. Follow Jesus immediately

This takes us to the fourth point. In order to become like Jesus, we must follow him. That’s very costly. Jesus said, “Follow me,” and what do these disciples do? What do you read in Matthew 4:20, 22?

Immediately they left their boats, nets and father. Certainly, they loved their father! They loved their boats and nets – their profession. But when Jesus said, “Come,” they left their father whom they love; they left their boats and home immediately. The Greek word for “immediately” is euthos, which signifies acting promptly and without hesitation or doubt, and it appears twice in this passage. The first four disciples of the Lord Jesus immediately left their nets.

When the Spirit of God moves in a person, he either responds, “Yes, Lord!” or “No.” Any person, who feels the powerful moving of God’s Holy Spirit in his heart, goes through a struggle. But if anyone hesitates between two opinions: “I will follow, I will not follow,” should not follow. When Jesus called his disciples, and if they had hesitated, he would have said, “Forget it.” Do you remember the per­son who said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (cf. Lk. 9:61)? And Jesus said, “Never mind. Leave it.”

The first four disciples who immediately left their nets are the kind of people that Jesus calls out. They didn’t go back to their house and said, “Wait a minute Lord, I’m coming.” Or, “I have to get my favorite baseball glove at home.” Or, “I’ve got to arrange for somebody to look after my canary.” You either follow or you don’t. That’s how it is with the Lord Jesus. He is so demanding of high standards because the battle ahead is so tough. Therefore, those who follow must not hesitate. He says, “No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:62). Jesus tells us that God doesn’t want such soldiers who, when faced with a challenging battle, question their position and express reluctance, saying, “Am I really meant to be here? This battle is becoming too intense! I should retreat!” Those who follow must resolve clearly and without hesita­tion even though they are weak.

5. Serve to bring people into the kingdom of God

Let us press on to the fifth point. A disciple is not only one who learns and follows, but also one who serves. “I will make you to be fishers of men.” Notice, “I will make you.” It is not we make ourselves fishers of men, but Jesus, speaking what God, his Father shows him (Jo. 12:50), declares that God will make us fishers of men. That’s won­derful! I have hope! I am willing to learn, and God will make me to be a fisher of men. God can transform every person who is willing to learn and follow.

The Lord Jesus calls us as he called the first of the four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John to himself. He said to them in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They were fishers of fish so far, and now Jesus told them that God was going to make them fishers of men. The Lord Jesus is saying to us now, “God will change you and make you fishers of men when you follow me.”

It is amazing how God has changed so many people. Numerous individuals who were medical doctors, specializing in physical health, were transformed by God to become healers of the soul, spiritual physicians. One of those was the well-known Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. I sat under his ministry for several years during my student days in London. He was a doctor specializing in the physical heart, and God transformed him to become a doctor of the spiritual heart. God has transformed some individuals who were once civil engineers, in charge of constructing roads and bridges, into those who help others in constructing humble and repentant hearts. Similarly, some who were electrical engineers, communicating through electronic systems, have now learned to convey spiritually through the gospel. Jesus declares, “Follow me, and I will make you into fishers of men.” God’s power in Jesus changes the person, whoever they may be, whatever they may do, to become spiritual engineers, doctors and lawyers, leading people to come to know God through his Word. This is what discipleship is about.

A certain brother had a stuttering problem, but God has transformed him. His preaching at a hospital was so powerful that it left a deep impact on the entire hospital staff. They expressed, “We would like you to return.” This brother, who could barely preach with clarity until recently, was so anointed by God to preach with power. As a result, this hospital is now open to the preaching of the gospel!

Jesus said, “I will make you become fishers of men” (Mk. 1:17). It is so wonderful that God changes the weak ones of this world, equips them with power, and turns the world upside down when they respond to his call through Jesus. So we, as disciples, are called to serve, to become fishers of men, and just as fishermen bring the fish out of the sea, so we are to bring people out of the world into God’s kingdom.

6. Be sent forth

Sixthly, to be a disciple is to be one who is sent forth. How can you catch fish if you don’t launch out? Once you have followed Jesus, and God has made you to be fishers of men, he sends you forth. As the Lord Jesus says in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Jesus is saying, “Go into the world.”

7. Be God’s and Christ’s representative

Finally, and seventhly, God’s power in Jesus makes us to be Jesus’ and God’s representatives in the world. How amazing it is to be a disciple!

Jesus says, “He who receives you, receives me.” (Mt. 10:40). By the same token, he is saying, “He who rejects you, rejects me.” Can you say that of the average Christian? No, but you can say that of a disciple, because he fully represents Jesus and God. Jesus empowers his disciples, who represent both him and God with God’s authority. Anyone who dares to reject a disciple has rejected Jesus as well as God. But any man who accepts a disciple of Christ has accepted Christ and God.

This is why Jesus declared in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world,” and instructed his disciples in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” Just as he is the light, we also shine as his representatives in the world. The apostle Paul similarly affirms in Ephesians 5:8, “You are light.” What a marvelous truth!

I think I have said enough for you to realize what a disciple is through these seven points. Examine yourself in the light of these seven points, and ask, “Am I a disciple?” Let me say again, if you are not a disciple, you are not entitled to be called a Christian in the Biblical sense of the word. Remember well that “the disciples were called Christians” in Acts 11:26.

Is Jesus king of your life? Do you follow Jesus as he follows God? Are you learning to become like Jesus? Have you taken his yoke to obey God unconditionally as he does? Is God’s power in Christ transform­ing your life to become a fisher of men? Do you live for yourself, or do you serve God and Christ by bringing others into God’s kingdom? Ponder these things carefully.

Discipleship does not end with the earthly ministry of Christ

Finally, to complete our study of this passage, Matthew 4:18-22, I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that discipleship does not end with the earthly ministry of Christ. It is very interesting that at the end of the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus, who is now risen from the dead and is about to go to the Father, renews his call particularly to the apostle Peter, whom he called in Matthew 4:19. He says to Peter in John 21:22, “What is that to you? Follow me.” Peter formerly followed the earthly Christ. Now he is to follow the risen Christ who is about to ascend to his God and Father. So discipleship does not end with the end of Christ’s earthly ministry. The point is that although his physical presence is no longer with us, he has brought the Holy Spirit of God to come through his death, to live in all who become his disciples at baptism. We follow Jesus now as God’s Holy Spirit is constantly with us to change and lead us to become like him. So discipleship continues. Ponder these things carefully.