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38th Street Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Choosing Discipleship ” |
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I. Introduction.
A. Why did you come to this assembly? No matter how each
of us would answer that question, no matter what
motivation there was for us as individuals, most of us had
to choose to come here. Had to choose to be here rather
than somewhere else, doing something else.
B. All of life is a series of choices. Constantly confronted
with having to make decisions.
1. Sometimes, our choices are between two things
that don’t really appeal to us, so we say we take
the “lesser of two evils.” We choose the least
offensive, or least unacceptable, alternative.
2. Other times, our choices are more clear cut. We
like one alternative, and dislike the other, enough
that we already know what we will choose.
3. But, whatever we choose, it automatically means
we give up something else.
C. Then, there are some things about which we have no
choice. (Birth; family; time of death.)
D. The Bible contains several reminders of the different
alternatives God puts before us, always with the advice
that we choose that which is good.
1. For example, Deuteronomy 30:15-19 (READ).
Through Moses, God gave Israel a message on
choices, choices of “life and death.” With each
alternative there was a clear consequence, either
blessings, or of condemnation.
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2. Probably, one of most expressive passages
on matter of choice found in Joshua 24: In his
“farewell address” to Israel, Joshua says: “Now
therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity
and in truth: and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in
Egypt; serve the Lord. / And if it seem evil to you
to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you shall
serve: . . . . but as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.” (verses 14-15).
3. In this New Testament age, we continue to face
important choices.
a. I Thessalonians 5:21: “Prove [test] all
things; hold fast that which is good.”
Everything we might read, or hear, should
be tested by comparison with the only true
standard – what God has said.
b. In John 6 some disciples were leaving Jesus,
no longer choosing to follow Him. To those
who remained, Jesus gave the same choice
(“Will you also go away?”). No one forced
to stay. Everyone free to make own
decision. But, there was, and is, no neutral
ground.
4. Like those to whom Jesus spoke, we must choose
one course or another. Psychologist William James
said: “When you have to make a choice, and don’t
make it, that in itself is a choice.”
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E. Christianity is an “either – or” proposition. We either
choose discipleship, or we don’t. For the remainder of this
lesson, let’s consider some choices we must make in order to
be a disciple of Jesus. Will we go with Him, all the way, or will
we go away, as so many have, and do, today? To do this,
we’ll focus on one portion of “Sermon On The Mount”, in Matthew 7.
II. “Either – Or” Religion.
A. Begin at verse 13: We must choose either the broad way or
the narrow way. (Read verses 13-14).
1. Only a “few” will find, and follow, the “narrow
way”, but it is available to everyone.
2. Jesus’ use of term “way” corresponds to other
places in Bible where word signifies peoples’
serving God.
a. Isaiah 35:8: “A highway shall be there,
and a road, and it shall be called the
Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not
pass over it, . . .” The “way” of holiness is
only for those who choose to follow it. But
it is a sure, and secure, way.
b. When Saul of Tarsus was zealously
persecuting the church, he was seeking those
who were of “this way” (Acts 9:2), meaning
the way of Christ.
c. Jesus said of Himself: “. . . I am the way,
the truth, and the life: . . .” (John 14:6).
3. While there are many wrong ways, there is only one
way of truth, and one way to eternal life.
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4. So often, the reason a person does not find, and
follow, that narrow way of truth is because of self-
will, obstinacy, and pride (or simply a lack of
belief.)
(Illust.) Man driving in territory unfamiliar to him
came to a sign that said that a bridge was out on the
highway he intended to take. He was directed to
take a detour over a much rougher road. But, to
him, the highway ahead looked straight and clear.
That must be an old sign. Surely, the bridge was
open now. He drove on for 13 more miles, came to
the closed bridge and had to turn around and go
back. As he drove along, he saw another sign,
painted in big letters: “It sure was, wasn’t it?”
5. We can be very stubborn at times. We can take
that broad, easy crowded road, but one day we’ll
know that God was truthful with us. It is a way
that leads to destruction.
6. Also, there’s a difference in casually seeking the
narrow way and seriously following it. For
example, if you hear a child is lost and you’re
asked to help in the search, you’d probably be
more alert for that child as you go about your
daily routine, but it would be a more casual
effort. But, if your child were missing, you’d
look everywhere and as diligently and tirelessly
as you could.
7. The choice of discipleship is for those who
earnestly and diligently seek God.
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B. A second set of alternatives, or choices, is identified in
Matthew 7:15-20. (READ).
1. We must choose either to be a “good tree”,
producing good fruit, or a “bad tree” that
produces evil fruit.
2. Here, service to God is represented by trees, trees
which bear fruit. Putting these verses in context,
the emphasis is on warning disciples about false
teachers. All teacher, and what they teach, must be
tested, must be measured by, compared with, the
standard of truth. That truth resides in Word of
God. (John 17:17: “Your word is truth.”)
3. There is also the test of what teaching produces.
One who teaches principles contrary to the Word
of God must be a false teacher, and one who can
only produce evil fruit.
4. As disciples, if we’re going to put teaching to the
test, must have knowledge of the truth. Then only
may we choose the good fruit over the bad, and
live by correct doctrine as opposed to false doctrine.
As our knowledge leads us to teach truth, we choose
to be a good tree, not a corrupt one.
5. Jesus warned: “Take heed that no man deceive
you.” (Matthew 24:4).
6. Paul warned in Ephesians 5:6: “Let no man deceive
you with empty words, . . .”
7. Choose truth over error, sound doctrine over
possibly faulty tradition, producing good fruit over
evil fruit, and you will be known as a faithful child
of God.
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C. Then, beginning at Matthew 7:24, Jesus speaks of two types
of builders. (READ, verses 24-27).
1. The commentator, William Barclay, described some
of special considerations of building in Jesus’ day:
“In Palestine, the builder must think ahead.
There is many a gully which in summer is a
pleasant sandy hollow, but which in winter is a
raging torrent of rushing water. A man might be
looking for a house; he might find a pleasantly
sheltered sandy hollow; and he might think that this
was a very suitable place. But, if he was a short-
sighted man, he might well have obtained a house
in the dried-up bed of a river, and, when winter
rains came, his house would disintegrate. Even on
other sites, it was tempting to begin building on the
smoothed-over sand, and not to bother digging
down to the shelf of rock below; but that way
disaster lay ahead.”
2. In his description of these two builders, Jesus said
they shared one common characteristic: both heard
the truth He spoke. What separates them from one
another is that one chose a way of obedience, and
one did not.
3. These two houses could have been identical in all
ways. Until the storms came, one could have
appeared as secure as other. But, one could not
stand a difficult test and collapsed, and was washed
away.
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4. Our lives are represented in these houses. Each of
us is building, either on rock or on sand. When the
storms of life, tests of faith, beat against us, and our
house is put to test, will it stand firm on a solid
foundation of discipleship, or be destroyed on a
shallow, sandy bottom that looked so deceptively
good at one time?
III. Conclusion.
A. We’ve looked at “two ways”, “two types of trees and fruit”,
and two kinds of builders.
B. Each person is inevitably characterized by either one or the
other of these comparisons.
1. If we live life traveling the “broad way”, if we’re
producing “evil or corrupt fruit,” or if we’re
foolishly building on sand, then we’ve made a
choice – a choice of sin, death, and eternal
separation from God.
2. If we travel the “narrow way”, if we produce “good
fruit”, and wisely build upon the foundation of rock,
we’ve also made a choice – a choice of obedience to
God and eternal life with Him.
C. If we know anything about the Bible, we know which is
better choice. By making the right choices now, we’ll
never hear Jesus say: “. . . I never knew you: depart from
me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).
D. Let us choose discipleship!