Quotes about Discipleship

The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as 'Christians' will become disciples — students, apprentices, practitioners — of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.

The idea of having faith in Jesus has come to be totally isolated from being his apprentice and learning how to do what he said.

I have many deep thoughts in God, but I take my own measure, lest I perish by boasting... For I myself, though I am in chains and can comprehend heavenly things, the ranks of the angels and the hierarchy of principalities, things visible and invisible, for all this I am not yet a disciple.

If you have a group of people come together around a vision for real discipleship, people who are committed to grow, committed to change, committed to learn, then a spiritual assessment tool can work.

If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me]." (Mark 8:34 AMP)

Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him, we must first count the cost. There is a price to following Jesus, and He makes the amount certain. The price is nothing short of our lives!

I believe that no one dared to join themselves to Jesus until they had counted the cost. There was no more joining for self-seeking reasons. They came to the Lord because of who He was, not because of what He could do.

Discipleship is crucial to our ultimate destiny, but its cost is total commitment.

When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to purge His threshing floor, He shall punish all who are not His disciples with a fearful punishment. All who are found impenitent and unbelieving—all who have held the truth in unrighteousness—all who have clung to sin, stuck to the world, and set their affection on things below—all who are without Christ. All such shall come to an awful end. Christ shall "burn up the chaff!

Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay, and the glory; speak also of the enemies, the battle, the armour, the watching, the marching, and the drill. Do not present only one side of Christianity. Do not keep back "the cross" of self-denial that must be carried, when you speak of the cross on which Christ died for our redemption. Explain fully what Christianity entails. Entreat men to repent and come to Christ; but bid them at the same time to "count the cost.

But the way Jesus discipled each man proves his humility. To be a crowd-drawing teacher can be a rather heady experience, all eyes looking to you for the next bit of wisdom to drop from your lips. It's easy to be gracious when you're adored. But when your class keeps missing the point, challenging you, running down rabbit trails, changing the subject, misunderstanding, breaking out into a brawl—that's when your character is exposed.

It is beautiful in a picture to wash the disciples' feet; but the sands of the real desert have no lustre in them to compensate for the servile nature of the occupation.