Goal of Discipleship
Knowledge vs. Obedience
Knowledge-Based Discipleship
Result: Information transfer. A lot of people know a lot about God, but it doesn’t impact their lives. They are hearers, not doers.
Obedience-Based Discipleship
Result: Obedience. Everybody is a witness — starting day one. They respond and apply the Word of God to their lives.
Which Is Better?
- The guy who knows 100 commands of Jesus but only follows one?
- Or the guy who knows only one command of Jesus but follows it?
Many people know much but obey little.
Jesus discipled his guys for three years, but it was not a class. Jesus invited them to “come and see”, and then He sent them out to do it early and often. Jesus values obedience — not knowledge.
You Don’t Know It Until You’ve Done It
“My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
“Many people read the Word of God; few become it.” (Curt Vernon)
Hear the Word. Do the Word. Become the Word.
Obedience-based discipleship is about pointing people to the Word of God and challenging them to obey it. When people hear, obey, and share the Word, they become the Word to a lost world.
How To Encourage Obedience
Simplify
Sometimes knowledge is the biggest obstacle to action; we want to know everything before we do anything. There are two common problems. Sometimes we move too quickly from one topic to the next, so we never have time to practice it. Or, we spend too much time talking about something without ever applying it. When leading a Bible study, once you covered the main point of the passage and you sense discussion is no longer productive, stop. Move to the application — “I will…” statements.
Two Quick Tips
- Don’t study confusing passages.
- Study passages that are easy to understand but hard to apply.
The goal is not a long discussion. The goal is application — obedience.
“I Will…”
Whenever we read the Bible or learn about a topic, don’t just end in prayer. Challenge everyone to end with an “I will…”statement: “I will do…” or “I will tell…”. This challenges people to apply what they just learned to their lives and to share it with somebody new.
Follow-Up
The key to “I will…” statements is the follow-up. If you never follow up with people, they won’t do it. They will think it’s not important. This is accountability. We’re training people to obey the Word of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If they don’t do it, don’t just say it’s okay. It’s okay to express disappointment and challenge them, but always support them. Don’t be critical or judgmental.
