Paul’s Discipline to Make Disciples

 

Paul - Kenneth Wyatt Galleries

2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:10–11, Philippians 4:8–9

This 12‑part series on Jesus’ Prescriptions for Discipleship, the first prescription is simple enough to write on a sticky note: Be disciplined to make disciples.

If anyone modeled that prescription well, it was the apostle Paul. The New Testament links Paul with seventy‑five different people he influenced: taught, traveled with, corrected, encouraged, or entrusted with ministry. Seventy‑five. Most of us struggle to disciple two or three.

Paul is out here running a small seminary everywhere he goes.

His story begins with Ananias (Acts 9:10–19), who restored Paul’s sight and probably wondered what he had gotten himself into. He turned the hearts of the people of Damascus that the people helped him escape from the hands of the Jews by lowering him in a basket (Acts 9:25).

Then came Barnabas (Acts 9:26–27), the man who vouched for Paul when nobody else would. He took Paul by the hand, and soon the team of Barnabas and Saul became Barnabas and Paul, and ultimately, Paul and Barnabas.

On his first missionary journey, Paul traveled with John Mark (Acts 13:5), who famously quit early but later became one of Paul’s restored and trusted partners (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11). There’s hope for all of us.

On the second journey, Paul gathered a remarkable team: Silas (Acts 15:22, 40), Timothy (Acts 16:1–3), Luke (Acts 16:10), Lydia (Acts 16:14–15), and the ministry couple Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2–3). They helped shape Apollos (Acts 18:24–28), who became a powerful teacher in his own right.

The third journey added more names: Gaius and Aristarchus (Acts 19:29), Trophimus, Sopater, and Secundus (Acts 20:4), and the Ephesian elders whom Paul trained with tears and urgency (Acts 20:17–38). During his imprisonment, he discipled Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8), Onesimus (Colossians 4:9; Philemon 10–12), Tychicus (Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21), and Epaphras (Colossians 1:7; 4:12).

And then there’s Romans 16, where Paul greets so many coworkers that it reads like the credits at the end of a movie: Phoebe, Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), Ampliatus (Romans 16:8), Urbanus and Stachys (Romans 16:9), Apelles (Romans 16:10), Tryphena and Tryphosa (Romans 16:12), Persis (Romans 16:12), Rufus and his mother (Romans 16:13), Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas (Romans 16:14), Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas (Romans 16:15), Tertius (Romans 16:22), Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus (Romans 16:23). And that’s just one chapter.

Other letters add names like Stephanas (1 Corinthians 16:15–17), Titus (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), Justus, Nympha, and Archippus (Colossians 4:11, 15, 17), Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16), Prisca and Aquila again (2 Timothy 4:19), and Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus (Philemon 1–2).

In short, Paul didn’t just make disciples: he made disciple‑makers.

He lived a life worthy of replication and imitation, he entrusted disciple-making truths in faithful people, and practiced the kind of character qualities that not only multiplies, not only exemplifies, but also magnifies the ministry of disciple-making.

Tonight we begin with Jesus’s first prescription Disciples should be disciplined to make disciples, found in Matthew 28:19.

This prescription is of course seen best in the Apostle Paul

 

Pictures are used from Kenneth Wyatt Galleries  

Copyright:  © Timothy C. McKeown (www.timothymckeown.blogspot.com)

The Daysman

Good Friday Service, 2018, Reenacting John 17
See its dramatic inspiration here

   Those who know me know that I love the Gospel of John and most of all I love the “High Priestly Prayer” of John 17. In that prayer, one of the first requests from Christ to His Heavenly, Holy, and Righteous Father was “Father, glorify Your Son.” The following was adapted from the 19th Century book The Lord Prays for His Own by Marcus Ransford.

   If only we could enter more fully into the thoughts of His Father and now our Father, as to the core essence and the real consequences of sin as well as His boundless love for sinners, which was manifested in the gift of His precious Holy Son, who descended from heaven into our natural world in order to effect our salvation, to correct the practice of the broken law and commandments by truly fulfilling them, to declare the righteousness acts of God by truly living them, that Christ might be truly just, and that the same time be the Justifier of those who believe on Jesus,

   THEN only could we understand what a glorious position Christ did really occupy, and what a marvelous grace Jehovah bestowed upon Him in appoint Him to be the manifestation and incarnation of His Father’s Everlasting Love, indeed becoming Job’s “daysman, able to lay his hand upon both” the righteousness of God and the fallenness of humanity.

   The death of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only begotten Son, was indeed glorious by God’s glorifying Him. Satan, the avowed enemy of God and adversary of humanity, was to be overthrown, the very head of this Goliath giant, who defied the armies of the living God, was soon to be crushed under the foot of the promised seed of the woman, with the wages of sin, Death itself, to be fully paid by God’s Sinless Son, destroying him who had the power of death, abolishing the eternal separation, extracting its sting, swallowing up its victory, rising again, once for all that all would die no more, imparting authority through His own risen life to all who would become His people by calling upon His name in faith. To accomplish all of this was indeed HIS glory.

   The prayer by Jesus to His Father to “Glorify Your Son,” was, as Hebrews 5:5 states, “Christ glorified not Himself to be made a high priest, but so that the Father would say unto Him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” The hour had come for His death, burial and resurrection, enthroning Him to be forever at the Right Hand of the Father, crowning Him as Head of the church, glorifying Him as He sent down the Holy Spirit to those on whose behalf He had suffered in this natural life, but even more as He would supernaturally suffer in vanquishing the eternal deaths of those who place their faith in His work. By this He would comfort them, He would quicken them, He would unite them to their risen Head and be in them “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

   Yes, this glory on the Son would put all their foes under His footstool, this glory would gather together God’s people to Himself, this glory would grant the Son to receive as Revelation 5:12 says, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Such exaltation was gloriously prayed by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:19-23, “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Paul again extolled in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” James, who rejected his own half-brother prior to the resurrection, called his risen Savior, “the Lord of GLORY.” Peter proclaimed that by His death and resurrection, “God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Jesus's 12 Prescriptions for Discipleship

    In Every Man a Warrior (Helping Men Succeed in Life), Lonnie Berger wrote on page 24 of Book 1, “Jesus gave us HIS definition of discipleship. We need to teach what HE taught.” That is absolutely true!

    In the gospels, there are many descriptions of what the early disciples did, and some of the descriptions were not very flattering. The disciples were far from perfect. They argued over who was the greatest. They doubted, disbelieved, and disobeyed Jesus, their “Master”. They were fearful. They shunned children from coming to Christ, when Jesus actually wanted to bless them. They frequently misunderstood Christ and sometimes they stopped following Him when His words were too hard to understand. They slept when they should have watched and prayed. One famously denied he even knew the man. Ultimately, they all fled when He needed them most.

    However, the failures of the early disciples can actually encourage us. We too will fail when we are tested, falter when we try our best, and even fall when we are tempted. We simply are in “bad company” with other faulty disciples. However, our faults should not stop us from seeking to be discipled.

    Failures do not define us. Descriptions are not prescriptions! Our past will not determine our future. God has prepared good things for us (see Ephesians 2:10).

    Jesus’s definition of discipleship are HIS prescriptions for discipleship! The following are clear prescriptions from the Gospels of what Jesus said a disciple should be and what a disciple should do. Coincidentally, I found precisely 12 prescriptions to define what a disciple should aspire to be and do, the same number of his original disciples.

    This list includes four prescriptions from the Great Commission, four prescriptions of those whom Jesus says “cannot be My disciple”, and finally four prescriptions from John’s Gospel, from the aged apostle who had disciples who made disciples who can be traced well into the fourth century. Those historic disciples included Ignatius, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, who stem from John’s disciple named Polycarp, a martyr who “played the man” and famously said before his death, “Eighty-six years I have been his servant. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

   We will also see which disciple most identifies with each prescription. May this study encourage you to be Great Commission Disciple Makers.

1.       D       DISCIPLES  WHO  MAKE  DISCIPLES . Christ commissioned His disciples to make disciples who MAKE DISCIPLES.

¹⁹ Go … and make disciples of all the nations           Matthew 28:19-20

While not one of the original disciples whom Jesus called to be apostles, the Apostle Paul certainly was the example for making and encouraging others to make disciples. Paul discipled Barnabas, who then discipled John Mark. Paul also discipled others including Silas, Luke, Timothy, and Titus. See 2 Timothy 2:2 and Philippians 4:9.

2.     I         INSTRUCT  others. Teach what Jesus taught. The word disciple literally means a learner, being developed by a master teacher. The best teachers are those who are good learners.

²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you     Matthew 28:20

Matthew (also called Levi), is believed to have written the gospel by his name on behalf of his Jewish believers. Originally a tax collector, he was undoubtedly smart and astute, but not loyal to his fellow Jews. Perhaps wanting to make up for his disloyalty as a despised tax collector, Matthew is our example of wanting to teach his brothers and sisters through writing his gospel.

3.       S        SEPARATE  (or forsake) from everything he or she has. This is the first of four “cannot be My disciple” that Jesus pronounced, all of which are found in Luke’s gospel.

³¹ What king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.         Luke 14:28-33

Philip, although one of the first-called and first-listed disciples, had a hard time forsaking his preconceived images of Christ (John 14:8-9) and what Christ could do, (in the feeding of the 5,000, his first thought was financial, John 6:7). Linked with his hometown buddy Nathanael (Bartholomew), he may have prejudged people. Instead of going directly to Jesus with the Christ-seeking Greeks, he first went to Andrew. Philip had to learn from these lessons to forsake all for Christ.

4.       C       CARRY   their   CROSS ; a crucified life and/or death. Disciples must be willing to experience the baptism of sacrificial and crucified life or drink the cup of a sacrificial death. Sometimes, it is both. Both sons of Zebedee were told by Jesus they would be baptized in and drink the cup of suffering. Romans 12:1 describes a sacrificial life and Revelation 2:10 calls for us to be faithful until death. This is the second of four “cannot be My disciple” prescriptions.

²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross … cannot be My disciple        Luke 14:27

James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, was the first apostle to die, exemplifying the crucified life, even though he was thrust through with a sword. Both he and John proclaimed that they were ready to drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism that Jesus would be (see Mark 10:38-39). James lived and died to prove this (Acts 12:2).

5.       I         IMITATE  Christ. Jesus not only commissioned us to make disciples, but He commanded that disciples should strive to become like their teacher.

²⁰ …observe all things that I have commanded you          Matthew 28:20

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teachernor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.           Matthew 10:24 (Luke 6:40)

Thomas the Twin is our example (John 11:16). Since Thomas was probably himself a twin, he knew what it was like to be like someone else. If so, that may have accounted for his skepticism in believing that Christ was truly risen from the dead, as Thomas himself may also have often been a victim of a mistaken identity. He reminds us to be like Christ.

6.       P        PURSUE  Christ. They follow Christ. The third of four “cannot be My disciple” phrases Jesus used in Luke 14, this call to follow Christ was the first commands as well as last commands Jesus made to the fisherman and Matthew.
“And whoever does not … come after Me cannot be My disciple.”     Luke 14:27

“My sheep hear My voice … and they follow Me.”  John 10:27

Simon the Zealot, was a radical who apparently was radically saved. He had to abandon his desires to heroically overthrow the Romans and instead follow the meek and humble Messiah. He who once walked in his own way is often listed among the last of the disciples, with only Judas Iscariot being consistently listed at the back of the discipleship pack.

7.       L        Love  other disciples. The first of four prescriptions related to John’s Gospel, no gospel emphasized the prescription of agape love more than the fourth gospel. Love is not a suggestion, nor a stated aspiration. It is a commanded call in order to be a disciple. While loving neighbors as themselves was listed as an old commandment, Jesus gave the new commandment for discipleship is to love “as I have loved you.

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”           John 13:35

John, the self-described beloved disciple, is our example for this prescription of love. Once known as being a “son of Thunder” with his brother James, John was well known to the court of the high priest, allowing himself and Simon Peter access when Christ was on trial. John was undoubtedly among the youngest and certainly lived the longest, being the only disciple who was said to die a natural death. Yet his life of discipleship was imparted to others, including Polycarp, who then discipled Irenaeus, the first church historian.

8.       E        EVANGELIZE  and  BAPTIZE  converts. This is the final prescription from the Great Commission. While Christ’s commission to baptism is not the same as evangelism, the two are equated since one should only be baptized after he is evangelized and converted. Jesus prescribed his disciples to make disciples, but also to follow His example of preaching the gospel (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 11:5, 24:14). 

¹⁹ Go therefore … baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit             Matthew 28:19

Andrew was, along with the Apostle John, were the first to recognize Christ as the Messiah. Both were fishermen by trade along with their brothers. Andrew first got his brother, Simon, who would later be called Peter. He also brought the lad with the five loaves and two fish, and also brought the Greeks to Christ along with Philip. Despite this, for some inexplicable reason, Andrew was omitted from the inner circle of Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37, Mark 14:33).

9.       S        SUBORDINATE  all relationships in comparison to love for Christ. This is the final of four “cannot be My disciple” prescriptions. While it seems harsh to hate father, mother, wife, siblings, and children, it comes into greater perspective when we read the “yes, and his own life also” prescription.

²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.        Luke 14:26

Linking James the Less to the call to subordinate all family relationships isn’t obvious at first. However, James is likely the closest kin to Christ. He was Christ’s own cousin, seen when we compare Mark 15:40 (“Mary the mother of James the Less” to John 19:25, where Mary was likely an aunt of Jesus and sister to Christ’s mother (“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas…” John 19:25). In Christ’s call to his own cousin, James the Less, would go on to face the same fate as Jesus’s other cousin, John the Baptist.

10.     H       HUMILITY  and  SELF  -  DENIAL  is prescribed for discipleship. This is the second of four prescriptions linked to John’s gospel, but also recording in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Self-denial was prescribed by Christ, and exemplified by our Lord most notably when He stooped to wash the disciples’s feet in John 13. Paul described Christ’s self-denial and humility beautifully in Philippians 2:5-11. Christ called his disciples to deny themselves, in such things as in fasting (Mark 8:34; also Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35, Matthew 16:24).

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself … ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Simon Peter (Cephas), yes, Simon Peter, because he struggled with humility in so many ways, even to the point where he at first denied Jesus when the Lord came to wash Peter’s feet (John 13:8). He also is famous for another type of “denial”, but not of himself, but of Christ. Three denials, in fact. But at the end of his life, Peter was told “you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19  He said to him, “Follow Me.”

11.     I        INDWELLING  (stay, abide, continue, hold to and remain with) the Words of Christ. Obey, abide in, and remain faithful to what Jesus commanded is implied in the Great Commission and other places (Matthew 28:20, Luke 6:40), but very explicit in John’s Gospel (John 8:31, 35; 15:4-10). This is the third of four prescriptions found in John.

“If you abide (continue) in my word, you really are my disciples.”   John 8:31

Judas, not Iscariot (Lebbaeus/Thaddaeus) responded to abiding and manifesting in him, see John 14:20-24. Judas felt comfortable enough to interrupt Jesus with a question, wanting to know why Jesus would treat disciples differently from the world. Judah thought the Messiah would reveal Himself in power, but Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” In John 15:7-8, Jesus further said, “If you abide in Me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

 

12.     P       PRODUCE  fruit. Flowing directly after abidance or remaining with Christ, a disciple is prescribed by Jesus to produce fruit, a direct result from nourishment and pruning.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”         John 15:8

Nathanael (Bartholomew) was a devout Israelite and student of prophecy.  Skeptical of anyone from Nazareth, he quickly changed his mind. Found by Philip, He reminds us that bearing fruit is what disciples should do because his call to be a disciple was related to him sitting beneath a fig tree (see John 1:50).

What is a blog for?

A blog unattended is hardly a web log. 
A blog overthought will never be written.
A blog too long will never be read. 
A blog underthought will be useless.
Oh my blog would be a better cuss phrase that OMG.

  Some people think with a pen and a yellow pad. Others think with a random part of their anatomy. I think with my fingers, a key board, a screen and especially a backspace. 
  
   I've found my blog looks best in Verdana type. 
   I wish my blog didn't have a spot at the end. 
   I don't blog because I think I am profound. In fact, I often don't blog because I know I am not particularly profound.
   I know few read blogs of any type any more. It was a strange thing in the first place in my opinion, to put your thoughts out there for the whole world to read. 

   Who cares, I thought. You may think the same thing as you read it. I don't care if you care  ... *I am going to avoid my favorite backspace and simply strike through to let you know that I really do care if you care*  
   I do care if you care, but I wish I didn't.
   Writers write because they either have an agenda or have an ego. I hope I am the former.
   I once was caught when I said, "It won't hurt my feelings if you..." and proceeded to say what it would be. 
   The person stopped me and said "Oh yes it will." 
   Busted. Feelings are easily hurt when you wear them on your sleeve (and when you are a #4 on the Enneagram Spectrum.
   
   I also was once told, right before I started blogging (pay no attention to the description on my page... I am no longer new to blogging), that writers write and the only failed writer is a writer who fails to write.

   Now that I've been (self-) published, I can no longer say I am a failed writer, unless I fail to write. 

   Write poorly if necessary. Write for your own amusement and amazement. Write for the glory of God, if you choose, to reflect later on that which you have written. You will be the best critic and the best recipient of your writing.

   True, you become vulnerable when you write, but likewise, you get few accolades by your silence. I say few, because I sometimes applaud those who keep silent when they have nothing to say and roll my eyes when they say it anyway.

   Writing is best when you make it long enough to cover the topic and short enough to draw attention...

   ...Like a miniskirt, my journalism professor once told me. 

How Jesus defined discipleship

Making disciples is a life-long project.

I was first discipled by my senior pastor Kenny Lewis in 1994. Being a disciple is not something we do on our own. We need to find someone to go along in this journey. John the Baptist had John and Andrew. Jesus had Peter, James, and John. Paul had Barnabas, Silas, Luke and Timothy.

But what does it mean to be a disciple-maker?

In Every Man a Warrior (Helping Men Succeed in Life), Lonnie Berger wrote on page 24 of Book 1, “Jesus gave us HIS definition of discipleship. We need to teach what HE taught.”

That is absolutely true!

In the gospels, there are many descriptions of what the early disciples did, and some descriptions were not very flattering. They were far from perfect. They argued over who was the greatest. They doubted, disbelieved, and disobeyed Jesus, their “master”. They were fearful. They shunned children from coming to Christ, when Jesus actually wanted to bless them. They frequently misunderstood Christ and sometimes they stopped following Him when His words were too hard to understand. They slept when they should have watched and prayed. One famously denied he even knew the man. Ultimately they all fled when He needed them most.

The failures of the early disciples can actually encourage us. We too will fail when we are tested, falter when we try our best, and even fall when we are tempted. We simply are in “bad company” with other faulty disciples. However, our faults should not stop us from seeking to be discipled.

Failures do not define us. Descriptions are not prescriptions! Our past will not determine our future. God has prepared good things for us (see Ephesians 2:10).

Jesus’s definition of discipleship is HIS prescription of what a disciple should be. The following are clear prescriptions from the Gospels of what Jesus said a disciple should be and do. Coincidentally, I found 12 prescriptions to define what a disciple should aspire to be and do, the same number of his original disciples.

This list begins with the Great Commission, then follows in order throughout the rest of the gospels.

Disciples are believers who…

    1. …evangelize and baptize converts. (Matthew 28:19, John 4:2) 

    2. …make other disciples. (Matthew 28:19) 

    3. …teach what Jesus taught. (Matthew 28:20, Matthew 10:25) 

    4. …obey, abide in, and remain faithful to what Jesus commanded. (Matthew 28:20, Luke 6:40, John 8:31, 15:4-8) 

    5. …deny themselves, such as in fasting. (Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35, Matthew 16:24) 

    6. …are not above Jesus but strive to become like Jesus (Luke 6:40, Matthew 10:24-25) 

    7. …love Christ more than anything and anyone else. (Luke 14:26) 

    8. …carry their crosses; that is, are willing to sacrifice to the death. (Luke 14:27, Matthew 16:24) 

    9. …follow after Christ (Luke 14:27) 

    10. …forsake all that they have for Christ. (Luke 14:33, Matthew 10:24-25) 

    11. …love other disciples. (John 13:35) 

    12. …bear fruit. (John 15:8)

There are other parallel verses that are similar in Jesus saying what are the requirements in following Him, but these are specifically tied to discipleship.

Like I said at the beginning, making disciples is a life-long project. So is being made into a disciple.

WHY are you saved?

“Brothers and Sisters, are you saved?” the evangelist asked from the pulpit at a revival I went to several years ago. I immediately thought of a follow up question.

“Brothers and Sisters, WHY are you saved?”

The Bible says we should “examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Corinthians 13:5.

Most people think they are saved, hope they are saved, or believe maybe they are saved. But the second question is equally important: If you are saved, what is the purpose of your salvation?

Jesus said in Matthew 18:11, “For the Son of man has come to save those who are lost.”

What exactly does that mean? I believe we are saved for a number of reasons, most of all to glorify God. But from our perspective, here are at least five reasons I see in the Bible that we are S.A.V.E.D.

First, we are “saved” for Sanctification in purpose. We are saved for a purpose and we are to be set apart. The Greek word for sanctification or set apart  is “hagios”  and when used to describe believer, it is translated as “saints”.

The most common word used for Christians in the Bible was not “Believers” or “Christians” but “saints.” Now lest you think, “a saint, I AIN’T”, the word “saint” in the Bible does not mean what we commonly think of as a pure or near perfect person.

The “saints” were people who believed and followed Christ and were “set apart” from the non-believers. The term was used 61 times in the New Testament and referred to living, breathing, and, yes, imperfect people who were called to be holy.

Many believers today are saved and are set apart, but they often are lost in their purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says “we are God’s masterpiece (“poema” or work of art), created in Christ Jesus “so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Rick Warren is intrinsically linked with the word “purpose”, having written The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life. We who are saved must find the purpose for which we were set apart, but many are lost from their God-given purpose.

Secondly, we are saved for Activation in good works. We are not saved by service but saved for service. The book of James famously states that faith without works is dead. Our good works are not what save us. Jesus Christ did that on the cross.

And yet, many saints are lost from good works. Christ came to seek and to save us from being lost.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that our activation in good works will shine as a light before others and will bring glory to God (Matthew 5:16).

Jesus said in Matthew 7:20 that Christians will be known by their fruits. And ultimately all fruits have their roots in the most vital fruit of all: Love.

Are you saved or lost? If you are saved, why did Christ save you from being lost? Be found for your sanctification in purpose, activation in works, verification in fruits, edification in growth and dedication in growth.

Fourthly, we are saved for Edification in growth. Several passages say we are a building for God, an edification. I remember a comedian once asked, “Why do we call a building a building, when it is already built?” We are edification in process and we should have progress! But some believers are lost in growing in the grace that saved us.

Fifthly, we are saved for Dedication in discipleship. Disciplines like daily “quiet times” (times of devotion alone before God for prayer, meditation, Bible reading and worship) develop the inner spiritual person. Jesus said if we are to be His disciples, we are to deny or “dedicate” ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

Are you saved or lost? If you are saved, why did Christ save you from being lost? Be found for your sanctification in purpose, activation in works, verification in fruits, edification in growth and dedication in discipleship.

5th Church: Sardis

To the Angel of the Church of Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6

Historical Setting: Sardis, population 120,000 at John’s writing, was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, and located at the foot of Mt. Tmolus, about 50 miles east of Smyrna and 35 miles south of Thyatira. In AD 17, “the greatest earthquake in human memory” destroyed Sardis and 11 other cities in a single night. Thus, the warning of Christ, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain…Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you,” was especially ominous. The city, like the church, was filled with former glory, but was now dead. “The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South” (Obadiah 1:20). Sepharad (“separated”) is believed to be the Semitic name for Sardis, which housed one of the largest known ancient synagogues.

Name Defined:  Sardis is associated with the city “Sepharad ” which means separated. Others have seen Sardis (which literally means “red” like the sardius stone) with Edom (which also means “red”), who are descendants of Esau. Sardis/Edom/Esau/Dead Church is in contrast with Philadelphia / Israel / Jacob / Living Church. Sardis is dead, slumbering, and hated like Esau. Philadelphia is vibrant, “loving of brothers” and loved by Christ (Rev. 3:9).

Church History Parallel: “The Protestant Church” (1520-Tribulation)-Like the church at Sardis which had a name of being alive but in fact was dead, the churches from the Reformation “separated” from the Thyatira “Jezebel” church, but did not have its works “fulfilled” or completed before God (Rev. 3:2). Luther’s church in Germany soon became a state church and retained much of the problems of the Roman Catholic Church. The same can be said of the churches in Zwingli’s Switzerland, Calvin’s France, and Henry VIII’s Church of England.

     I.      Christ’s Description-Has The Seven Spirits Of God, The Seven Stars-see 1:4, 16 (Rev. 3:1)

   II.      Commendations (3:1,4)

1. Reputation-A name that it was alive

2. Remnant-A few had not defiled their garments, worthy to walk with Christ in white

  III.      Condemnations (3:1-2)

1. Dead-The church was dead

2. Deeds Incomplete-Its works were not fulfilled before God

 IV.      Commands (3:2-3)

1. Watch-Be watchful

2. Work-Strengthen the things which remain but are about to die

3. Remember-it had once received and heard

4. Retain-Hold fast to the early teachings

5. Repent-Turn around in your thinking so that your actions change.

   V.      Consequences (3:4-5)

1. The Overtaken

                           i.    Unwatching-Christ to come upon them as a thief (See also Rev. 16:15)

                         ii.    Unaware-The time will be sudden

                        iii.    Unprepared-for Christ’s return

2. The Overcomers

                           i.    Clothed-in white garments

                         ii.    Continued-Name not blotted out from the Book of Life

                        iii.    Confessed-Christ will confess his name before Father and angels

 ¹ “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

BE ALIVE: Christ has the seven-fold complete and fullness of the Holy Spirit. Yet the dead church was lacking the vitality of the Holy Spirit. As you study the book of Revelation, are you asking God to reveal truths to you today, for you to apply to your lives today? Is our church, the local church, is it in the hand of Christ? Is our church alive or dead? What are we doing and what are our works? Do we have a good reputation and a good name? Do we live up to our name?

The correlation of the Spirit of God, the Church of Christ’s hand and death are made clear in Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” and again in 8:5-6, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace,” in  8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” and again in 1 Peter 3:18 –“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”

²Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect (fulfilled-as in Rev. 6:11; complete-NASB,NIV) before God. ³Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

WATCH: Can you imagine finding out about some land for sale that had a huge supply of oil hidden beneath it? What would it be worth to you to purchase that land, knowing that once it was in your possession, all of your investment would be returned hundreds if not thousands of times over? The Sardis Church, and the dead Reformation/Protestant church is like the treasure hidden in the field. It had a name, but was dead. It had good buried within it, but on the outside it was languishing, weakening, ready to die. It had potential, but not brought to completion before God. It had received and heard, but it was forgetting and letting go of the truth. The church was more like the world, not even ready for Christ’s return.

What if you bought the land and spent all of your possessions for it, and then never used the treasure hidden within? What a waste! The joy of the purchase would turn to mourning. What if we as a church let the star’s flame flicker out? We know the answers. Paul told the Philippians that they had to do the things that they had “learned and received and heard and saw” in him in order to have the “God of peace” with them (Phil. 4:9). Paul rejoiced over the Thessalonians because the truth, the word of God, was effectively at work in them. “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thes. 2:13). The word “perfect” is nowhere else translated as perfect. Instead, it is translated as to “fulfill” or “complete.” Did you know that God has a work for you to do that no one else can do as well as you? Only you can fulfill the works that God has designed you to do. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). We are “thoroughly equipped” by the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and empowered by the Spirit of God (Acts 1:8)

A Sardis Church is a dead church and may have the name of church but does not have the spirit within it. It is a cold church, with the fire hidden, almost ready to forever be extinguished. Like the Corinthians to whom Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 15, they believed in vain, because while they received the word in part, they did not “hold fast” to all of the truth. Paul concludes with a charge that the Corinthians should “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” What happens to those who “hold fast”? Jesus commands John to write:

⁴You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Notice the journey of the names in Sardis whose garments had not been defiled. Those names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. Those names will be confessed by Jesus Himself. Greater than any graduation day, we will hear our own names being read off by Jesus Christ Himself. God the Father, on that great and glorious throne will listen as your name is read off by His own Son. In His nail-scarred hands, Christ will hold the Lamb’s Book of Life, and in permanent, indelible ink, your name will be forever listed as an overcomer. 

Your garments may have looked undefiled on earth, but look at the clothes you’ll receive in heaven! Never again will we endure shame as our white garments will cover all of our nakedness and sin (Rev. 3:18, 16:15). But look! Christ doesn’t stop with a new white wardrobe and a new name written on a white stone and a declaration of our name before His Father and His angels. Christ, with His hair all white, is clothed in garments of white, described in Matthew 17:2 as white as light. Christ rises from His seat at the right hand of the Father, as He did with Stephen (Acts 7:55), He stands and he walks with us in white, in purity and before all in heaven, Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God, declares us WORTHY. What does the Spirit say to the churches? 

Stay undefiled. Hold fast. Be separate. Be watchful. Work. Remember. Hold Fast. Repent. Be ready. Overcome.