Episode 200

Disciple Up #200
Looking Back To Look Forward
By Louie Marsh, 2-24-2021

Intro – Open, then play the opening of episode #1.

The Value of History – a Christian view of history – watching God and man act, as God slowly works out his plan for the age in spite of our sin and folly.

First Episode Discussion of the word Disciple

DISCIPLE

(1) Usually a substantive (μαθητής, mathētés, “a learner,” from manthánō, “to learn”;

Latin discipulus, “a scholar”):

The word is found in the Bible only in the Gospels and Acts. But it is good Greek, in use from Herodotus down, and always means the pupil of someone, in contrast to the master or teacher

In all cases it implies that the person not only accepts the views of the teacher, but that he is also in practice an adherent. A disciple is a “follower,” someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct.

The word has several applications. In the widest sense it refers to those who accept the teachings of anyone, not only in belief but in life. Thus the disciples of John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14; Luke 7:18; John 3:25); also of the Pharisees (Matthew 22:16; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33); of Moses (John 9:28).

But its most common use is to designate the adherents of Jesus. (a) In the widest sense (Matthew 10:42; Luke 6:17; John 6:66, and often).

42And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”” (Matthew 10:42, ESV)

It is the only name for Christ’s followers in the Gospels. But (b) especially the Twelve Apostles, even when they are called simply the disciples (Matthew 10:1; Matthew 11:1; Matthew 12:1, et al.).

In the Acts, after the death and ascension of Jesus, disciples are those who confess Him as the Messiah, Christians (Acts 6:1-2, 7; Acts 9:36 (feminine, mathétria); Acts 11:26, “The disciples were called Christians”). Even half-instructed believers who had been baptized only with the baptism of John are disciples (Acts 19:1-4).

The disciple of Christ today may be described in the words of Farrar, as “one who believes His doctrines, rests upon His sacrifice, imbibes His spirit, and imitates His example.”

Jesus used the term disciple but never Christian. The first instance of the word Christian is found in the book of Acts: “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Most Bible scholars agree that it is unlikely that the believers themselves thought up the name “Christians.” The early church had other names for themselves, such as “disciples” (Acts 13:5220:121:4) and “saints” (Romans 1:71 Corinthians 16:1Ephesians 1:1) and “brothers” (1 Corinthians 1:91 Peter 3:8).

The name “Christian,” meaning “belonging to Christ,” appears to have been invented by those outside of the church. It was most likely meant as a derogatory term. Only two other times does the word appear in the New Testament (Acts 26:281 Peter 4:16). The idea that the term Christian was originally a pejorative finds some support in 1 Peter 4:16: “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”

Thoughts on: Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ

  • What does this mean to me?
  • What does this mean to my listeners?
  • How can I improve on this – how can I communicate this better?

 THE “DISCIPLE UP LOW DOWN” From Ep. 1

The Low Down on the “Christian Ghetto.”

When it comes to engaging culture as a Disciple or followers of Jesus there’s several errors that we see over and over again in church history. You can sum them up in three words – Capitulation, Isolation, Communication.

Capitulation.

This is probably the most common response of the church to culture. It’s common because it’s unconscious. We are so absorbed by our culture that we don’t even see how we are surrendering the Gospel to the culture. You can see this in the church of the south that taught slavery for blacks was God’s will. You can see it in the churches in Germany who supported Hitler. Today we see this in churches that almost automatically accept and seek to advance whatever the cause of the moment is. From women’s lib to ecology all the way to gay marriage it’s most common in theologically liberal churches but can be seen everywhere as well.

Isolation is the exact opposite of Capitulation. This occurred quickly in church history. All the monks and people who fled into the desert to live alone or in a small community are examples of this.  All of the pole sitting monks – like Simon the Stylite (now a saint in the Catholic church) who lived on top of a pole for decades. They were known as Pillar Saints and were deemed holy because they disengaged from their culture as much as possible. Ironically in so doing they created their own culture of asceticism. Links on this in the show notes on Discipleup.org.

Isolation comes in degrees of course. There aren’t many people who can completely disengage and live in a monastery.  But we can create a subculture within our own and that’s exactly what we do. We have Christian versions of just about any business you can think of. From Christian music, books and movies, to Christian stores, people are pressured to only partake of those and shun all the bad stuff the world is putting out.

Steve Taylor captured this brilliantly in his song, “Guilty By Association” on his Meltdown album way back in 1984 – when they still made albums by the way –  when he said…

“Only drink milk from a Christian Cow”… what else can I say to that but halle-moooo-yah! Links to Steve’s music are in the show notes at discipleup.org.

My name for this is the Christian Ghetto. By cutting ourselves off from the culture we make it all but impossible to obey Christ’s commands to “make disciples.” Now you might respond, “Hey if we build it they will come.” I say not only is that unscriptural but it’s been tried for centuries and has failed for centuries as well!

And then there’s communication. This of course is what we’re supposed to be doing. Being in the world but not of it. Engaging our culture, understand and taking part in it when and where we can with a clear conscience. Being light in the ever increasing darkness instead of hiding our light under a basket that’s hidden inside our little Christian Ghetto.

Communication is rare because it’s hard and complicated. We won’t always agree with each other about what we should be doing. How do we show our world that God loves them but does not approve of what they do?

We must engage and engage with them in way that they find meaningful. If that makes us feel uncomfortable then that’s the price we must pay to really love the world that way Jesus does. The incarnation and redemption on the cross was anything but comfortable or acceptable for that matter.

If we really are followers of Jesus then we must be willing to go to any length to, in the words of an old hymn, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”

In the end engaging the culture isn’t about the culture or you and me at all. It’s all about them, those outside of Christ. They are ones we must bring to Jesus. Their souls are what’s at stake. We cannot and will not be able to do that if we choose to remain safe, sound and comfortable in our little Christian Ghettos.

So disciple – are you willing to Disciple Up, what are you willing to do to rescue the perishing?

And that’s my Disciple Up Low Down on the Christian Ghetto. Let me know what you think by e-mailing me at louie@discipleup.org.

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Episode 199

Disciple Up # 199
Mercy, Tolerance & the Loss of Focus
By Louie Marsh, 2-17-2021

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

Synonyms for merciful according to Thesarus.com:

Charitable, compassionate, forgiving, gracious, humane, lenient, beneficent, bleeding heart, indulgent, liberal, softhearted, tenderhearted, tolerant.

To Stay focused I must think MATURELY.

20Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:20, ESV)

8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9, ESV)

Three Ways Not to Think:

 Tribally

  • Emotionally
  • Faddishly

3) I need to learn how to think BIBLICALLY.

God calls disciples to think Biblically not culturally and not to simply follow my feelings or to go by my instincts. No, God calls all disciples to think clearly, critically (I mean analytically not to be critical of others).

21  but test everything; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)

Our first impulse should not be to either accept or reject but to test!

Word test here is one of Paul’s favorites. It was used of testing coins or metals in order to see whether they were genuine and of full weight.

Test everything – especially things that make me feel good while sending me off in a slightly different direction in life.

This kind of testing, comparing everything to Scripture – needs to become a deeply ingrained habit that the disciple does automatically!

1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 (ESV)

  I become merciful through Jesus’ GIFT OF MERCY.

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

God is angry at my sin (so I need mercy) because he’s a God of love, not because he isn’t.

18  Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18 (NIV)

I don’t want to accept this because I’ll lose control of my life.

 16  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

You will never feel accepted till you know you are accepted at your worse.

I admit I’m dying for acceptance – unconditional acceptance – that can come only from God.

I give the mercy I received from Jesus but do not deserve to others because I know I don’t deserve it.

4)I FREELY GIVE to others the mercy I receive but do not deserve from Jesus

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

Shyness and bragging are both gone.

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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Episode 198

Disciple Up # 198
The Christian Faith & Freedom
By Louie Marsh, 2-10-2021

Articles Quoted in this Episode:

 https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2016/09/17405/

 https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/chuck-colson/weve-been-lied-christians-not-enlightenment-invented-modern-science

 What About Myanmar (Burma)?

 What Does the Bible Say About This?

Not much. What the New Testament has to say about Government isn’t a lot. The main passage on this topic, fittingly enough, is in the book of Romans. Paul, writing to Christians in the capital city of the Empire, talks for a bit about what Government is for, why God wants it and what our attitude towards it should be.

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:1–7, ESV)

Notice that Paul says government exists to establish justice, punish wrong doers and reward those who do good. So we must pay out taxes so that it can do these vital things.

But what if they cease to do these things, or indeed do the opposite? As an American I have a point of view on this since my country was created by a violent revolution against the government of that time – the British.

Is There Something Special About Freedom?

I believe there is and that this verse, and probably others as well, hint at it.

1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, ESV)

The word free of 4:31 is the translation of the same Greek word rendered liberty in this verse. The word is dative of advantage. The teaching is that Christ died on the Cross to give us the advantage of having this liberty or freedom. This liberty consists of the Christian’s freedom from the law. Under the law, the person has no more liberty than a child in its minority under a guardian. The child has no freedom of action nor right of self-determination. He must move within a set of rules prescribed by his guardian. He is not old enough to act alone. He must always act under the restrictions of his guardian. So is it with the person under the law. Here were these Galatian Christians, free from the law, having been placed in the family of God as adult sons, indwelt by the Holy Spirit who would enable them to act out in their experience that maturity of Christian life in which they were placed, now putting on the straight-jacket of the law, cramping their experience, stultifying their actions, depriving themselves of the power of the Holy Spirit. They were like adults putting themselves under rules made for children. – Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 3, p. 136). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Christ didn’t set us free to be self-actualized, or happy or to have a good self-image or be rich or healthy or any number of other things. No He set us free for the very sake of freedom!

 What does that mean?

 How does this tie into what’s happening around the world and especially Myanmar right now?

 FAILURE IS THE ADVANTAGE OF FREEDOM!!

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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Episode 197

Disciple Up # 197
A Disciple’s Identity Pt. 4: Staying Hungry!
(Plus the Coup In Burma)
By Louie Marsh, 2-3-2021

1)    I seek God’s righteousness NOT MY OWN since I have forsaken self.

 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

 This is the key stone in the arch of the Beatitudes. A Christian mourns his own righteousness and seeks that which only comes from Jesus. If I have His righteousness then no one else’s matters

21  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: Romans 3:21-22 (ESV)

  • What is righteousness? Righteousness = approved; Rightness = accepted
  • I don’t hunger for BLESSINGSbut for righteousness.

We hunger for a righteousness we don’t have. It is not our own.

  • This cannot be part of my character if I’m a moralist.

Moralist – very upright, smug, self-righteous

Christian – meek and moral, humble and at peace with God and others

Moralists can do the first 3 beatitudes but not the 4th.

2)    My hunger is huge – I want ALL GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Accusative case here = whole loaf

Genitive = of  – this mean perfect righteousness not just partial.

21  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21 (ESV)

30  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 1 Corinthians 1:30 (ESV)

35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (ESV)

We all sense the truth of this passage before we’re taught to ignore it.

Article Sited:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/january/covid-19-religion-survey-pew-pandemic-strengthened-faith.html

Please Get In Touch!

Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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