GLOBAL DISCIPLEMAKER: October 2009

“EARMARKS OF A DISCIPLE-MAKER”

(Philippians 1:27-30)

Paul was writing to common Christians, not superstar saints. He was writing to frontline troops in the trenches, not “stain-glass saints wearing haloes and enshrined in a cathedral.”

Philip Yancey, a widely read Christian author, places Christians into two categories. Perhaps the categories are a bit strained and unfair, but we can still learn valuable lessons from his analysis. Yancey says that there are Christian entertainers and Christian servants. He identifies the entertainers as the high-profile leaders who fill the Christian periodicals, dominate Christian conferences, conventions, and seminars, and appear on our television screens. They have fame, prestige, and money. On the other hand, the servants are seldom in the spotlight. They work steadily and faithfully without fanfare, and often in remote places. They often live among the rejects of society and work for long hours at low pay and with no applause. Their talents and skills are given to the poor and uneducated. Though the discernment of these categories can be too rigid, I believe the Bible supports Yancey’s assessment.

One of my favorite writers is the late Cambridge scholar, C. S. Lewis. In almost all of his Christian works, Christians are seen in aprons and overalls, not in clergy gowns or choir robes. For example, in his classic work, The Great Divorce, a great and noble lady is being drawn in a chariot on the streets of heaven. However, the dreamer who is reporting the story discovers that it is “only Sally Smith, a charwoman of Golders Green.” The charwoman is seen in her true character and nobility in heaven, though she was a “commoner” on earth. In The Magician’s Nephew, another classic from the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, a common Cockney cab-driver from London is seen to be the Adam figure of the story — and a “High King,” at that! During his life in London, he had been a man of simple faith in Christ, cheerfulness and trustworthiness of disposition, and had been “kind to his horse and loving to his wife.” You see, in Heaven, faith, joy, kindness and love are the stuff royalty is made of — though it may have traveled in disguise as a cab-driver on earth. In another of Lewis’ classics, That Hideous Strength, a group of simple believing women are choosing gowns at St. Anne’s. As each one tries on her gown, we see her suddenly transfigured and revealed gloriously for what she really is. When all the returns are in, it will likely be the “troops in the trenches,” not the preachers in the pulpits, who will receive the special awards. It is to these troops that Paul addresses our text. He is thinking like a disciple-maker — and why not, for that’s what he is! He is thinking of them as disciples — “Christ’s Pupils and God’s Harvest Hands.” As he combines his disciple-building mentality with their disciple-being responsibility, he presents to us a great list of “the earmarks of a disciple-maker.” Let’s examine them.

I. A COMPASSIONATE CONCERN

Every disciple-maker is consistently dominated by a compassionate concern which governs his life and actions. It is suggested in our text by the use of two words of contrast, the words “perdition” and “salvation” (vs. 28). A true disciple-maker is consistently conscious of the realities of an eternal hell and an eternal heaven. He knows that there is “a hell to avoid, and a heaven to gain.”

The word “perdition” describes the eternal condition after death in which an unbeliever will live forever. Dr. Thayer defined it as “the destruction which consists in the loss of eternal life, in eternal misery.” Perdition is the final, eternal, irrevocable ruin of a person without Christ. In the Bible, the word never means annihilation, or the cessation of existence.

The other word, “salvation,” includes both a crisis of rescue and a process of continuing safety. The one-time crisis of salvation is the great and gracious rescue of a sinner from the penalty and condemnation of his sins. This rescue is accomplished by God objectively through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and subjectively through the new birth, a miracle of conviction and conversion which “unselfs” the sinner and “re-centers” his life in Christ. The ongoing process is the progressive sanctifying of the believer, securing a condition of permanent safety in Christ and a conduct of saintliness and service. The process includes the continual cleansing of sin (I John 1:7), continual child-training for God’s sons and daughters, and continual commitment to service. This salvation already belongs to every person who has received and trusted Christ, but it reaches its glorious consummation in the future in heaven.

Perdition and salvation are two radically different conditions. Someone said it like this: “There is a difference between running a race and walking off a gangplank.” Most people who think they are running a race are actually walking off a gangplank. The person who is truly running the race has signed on with Jesus Christ, the Greatest of Coaches, taken the Coach’s Training, and is on his way to heaven, but the other person is merely marking time to stay out of hell. The disciple-maker must live at the place of uneasy tension -- acknowledging heaven and hell and bringing others to face them as well.

My wife, Judy, and I are presently reading a book together in an early morning reading time. The book is entitled Heroes. It tells the stories of twenty believers, ten great Christian women and ten great Christian men. We recently read the chapter on Amy Carmichael, the great missionary of Dohnavur Fellowship in India. This paragraph describes the great spiritual crisis of her life:

When she was seventeen, seeing on the street in Belfast a poor woman in rags,
carrying a heavy bundle, she had what amounted almost to a vision of the things that really matter in life. She and her two brothers, moved with pity for the poor soul, helped her along, though they were embarrassed to be seen with her. Amy described it as a horrid moment, for they were “not at all exalted Christians,” but on they plodded through the gray drizzle. Suddenly words came to her, “Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ... the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide ...” From that moment, for the rest of her life, it was eternal things that mattered.

Happy is the disciple-maker who has been brought by the quickening work of God in his spirit to the point that he lives in light of eternity. He will not see people merely “after the flesh,” but rather against the foil of eternal destinies in the making. He will warn those who are in danger of hell, seek to win them to Christ, and work to build those who are won to live in obedience to Jesus and to win others. He will also be aware that he lives in a position of creative tension, and he will pass this redemptive tension on to others. Those who sound warnings and assist in rescues are not leisure-oriented people, and they are often labeled “alarmists” by their society. But remember, history now recognizes Paul Revere as a hero — though he disturbed everybody’s sleep on that fateful night! If a ship is sinking, the passenger’s best friend is the one who urges him to the lifeboat.

Years ago, I heard an evangelist preach on the subject, “Hell Is No Joke,” and he certainly was right. However, I recently saw a tee shirt whose picture and logos humorously enforced the serious realities of heaven and hell. The picture on the shirt showed Satan leering with a wide grin as he holds a knife in one hand and a fork in the other. Flames are leaping from a big fire beneath him. He is apparently enjoying roasting a sinner in hell. Underneath is this pointed question: “Wouldn’t you really rather hear JESUS say, Well Done?”

Suppose that you work as a cook in a restaurant. One day, when the restaurant is crowded with noonday customers, a fire breaks out in the kitchen and is quickly out of control. In the dining room, everyone is relaxed, having a good time, and eating a good lunch. The fire forces you into a very unhappy task. You must interrupt and disturb those happy and contented customers. You must secure quick and decisive action from them, a matter of life and death. But they have no idea of the seriousness of the situation. Either you must abandon them to their fate and bear the guilt of inaction, or you must risk their resentment and protest. They do not want to be interrupted. The waitresses out front don’t want to miss their tips. The owner doesn’t want a negative image. But you have a message that will save their lives, even though it makes them extremely uncomfortable at the moment.

With this awesome responsibility in mind, the disciple-maker invests his life redemptively in the lives of others. He is not likely to be appreciated by society at large, and may even be depreciated by many inside the restaurant (!), but the ultimate realities dominate his life, anyway. He is consistently governed by a compassionate concern.

II. A CONSUMING COMMITMENT

Then, the disciple-maker is marked by a commitment that consumes his thoughts, his time, his talents, his energy, his schedule, and his efforts. Eugene Peterson paraphrases verse 27 in this manner: “(Be) singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message.” “Contending for people’s trust in the Message.” This should be the commitment of every Christian’s life, but it is certainly essential in the life of a disciple-maker. There is a military metaphor pursued in this great passage of Scripture, an atmosphere of war. Here, the Gospel flag is placed in the hands of the common Christian soldier, and the goal is the same always — to plant the flag in other lands and in other lives. The word, “contending,” is by no means too strong a word for this activity. It conjures such ideas as tension, opposition, competition and conflict. The ground will be heavily contested by the enemy every step of the way. The Christian must challenge the enemy in the fellowship — and outside. In the fortress — and outside. In the foxhole — and beyond. When Jesus said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church,” He was not picturing His Church in a “holding” posture, a defensive stance. Gates are defensive devices. The church is on the march, assaulting the very defenses of hell. And it will win! “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” However, the army still must train, discipline itself, and attack. Every front is strategic, every battle will be strenuous, and every Christian is crucial. The true soldier knows that there is no gain without pain, no blessing without bleeding. Horatius Bonar stated it well in these poetic lines:

“Go, labor on while it is day,
The world’s dark night is hastening on;
Speed, speed thy work; cast laziness away;
Only with strong wrestlings are souls won.”

Note Paul’s emphasis on the independent duty of believers. He says, “Whether I come and see you, or else be absent, you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” American Christianity tends to be a leader-oriented, leader-dependent, hero-elevating kind of Christianity. This tends toward a paternalistic spirit, which is altogether too widespread in the community of faith — baby believers hanging on to the coattails or apron strings of a victorious saint, and the leader in turn building his image of success on the number of such followers who cling to him. Great wisdom is needed here. It is wonderful to have good leaders, and they should be duly honored and recognized. But you must not depend too much on them. As usual, the key is balance. Your dependence is to be upon Christ, not on any Christian. If you are to be a faithful disciple-maker, both dependence and independence ( and inter-dependence) will mark your life. Soldiers may get cut off from their commanding officers, and still should fight with efficiency and ability. A disciple should have a great measure of wholesome independence before God, as well as wholesome interdependence on his fellow believers. He should be independent enough to be a self-starter for Christ and to be an efficient producer even if he stands alone. He should represent his commanding officer and his country well, even if he fights alone.

The disciple-maker will think with this military mentality, and will train the disciples God gives him to think in this manner, also. He will do everything he can do to master the disciplines that will enable him to advance the Gospel — the discipline of evangelistic strategy and technique, the discipline of Christian apologetics, the discipline of relational living, the discipline of teamwork, the discipline of wise planning and training, etc., etc. He will be consumed by the commitment to “contend for people’s trust in the Message.”

III. CONSISTENT CONDUCT

The third earmark which a disciple-maker will reveal is consistency of conduct in his daily life.
Verse 27 says, “Let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” Let it be such as “becometh the Gospel,” the King James Version says. One woman says to another, “That dress becomes you,” and we recognize that she is pointing out a match between person and apparel. There is to be a becoming match of Christian and Gospel so that the Christian adorns the Gospel. The Christian is responsible to let the world see the beauty of the Gospel by the quality of his life. Each Christian should be very careful that his behavior doesn’t clash with the basic beliefs of the Gospel. Paul indicated that there are some practices that should “not be once named among you, as becometh saints” (Ephesians 5:3).

Paul uses a rather puzzling word for “conduct” in this verse. However, it is worth our time to try to solve the puzzle. The Greek word is “politeuesthe,” the word from which we get our words, “polity, politics, policeman,” etc. The word literally means “citizenship.” It refers to our duty because we are members of a certain group. As Christians, we have both individual and corporate duties. We are individual believers, but it is impossible to function as a true Christian with an independent spirit. The moment a believer is saved, he is incorporated into Christ’s body, and his relationship thereafter is the same as one member of his body to all the other members. Fingers and toes do not act independently of the body of which they are a part, and no Christian should act independently of the fellowship in which God has placed him. Your position in Christ and His Body brings you unbelievable resources and privileges, but it also entails great responsibilities and duties. There is an internationally used French expression that presents this idea. “Noblesse oblige,” they say. “Rank imposes obligation, privilege brings responsibility,” is the meaning of the phrase. Notable rank requires honorable conduct. Jesus said it first: “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). Remind yourself that the Philippians were Roman citizens because Philippi was a Roman colony. As Roman citizens, they enjoyed special privileges, but these privileges entailed special responsibilities, also. So, too, Christians are an outpost of heaven’s citizens on earth (Philippians 3:20), and their entire demeanor should be a miniature reflection of their true homeland.

The word translated “worthy of” carries the idea of weight. In fact, the idea is that of equal weight. Picture an old set of scales with a center pole and a crossbar. At each end of the crossbar is a pan in which objects are placed to be weighed. In Paul’s illustration, one pan contains the glorious and weighty Gospel of Christ. The other pan holds your life. The startling fact presented here is that your life is to be of equal weight to the claims and expectations of the Gospel. “Who is equal to such a task?” It is easy to see that the Christian needs daily discipline, daily vocation, and daily miracles to live the Christian life. Only then will his conduct by consistent with the glorious realities and claims of the Gospel of Christ.

IV. CONSTANT COOPERATION

The fourth mark of a disciple-maker is constant cooperation with other believers. “All of you are to stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel” (verse 27). The word “together” translates the Greek preposition “sun,” which is equivalent to our English prefix, “co-,” as in such words as “cooperate,” which means “to operate together.” A “co-partner” is a partner together with someone else. The preposition “sun” is used 16 times in Philippians in conjunction with verbs, showing Paul’s emphasis upon teamwork and cooperation. The word translated “striving together” is the word “sunathleo.” The root word gives us our English words “athlete” and “athletics.” But the prefix “sun” lets us know that Paul is not thinking of sports that require only individual participation, such as boxing, singles tennis, golf, etc. Rather, he is thinking of team participation in which success depends largely on standing together and being united.

When Lefty Gomez, the Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, was asked the secret of his success as a pitcher, he replied, “Clean living and a fast outfield.” He knew that any participant in team sports is only as good as the team that supports him. In the same manner, a disciple-maker is only as good as the team that supports him. How many times have I been made to look far better than I really am because of the great disciples God has graciously given to me. A disciple-maker should be a relational person, always looking for and cultivating relationships for Christ’s sake. John Wesley said, “There is no such thing as a solitary saint.” He was right. If a burning coal is isolated, it will burn out quickly, but in a fire of many coals, it will burn long and bright.

Two books with similar settings are Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson (I call them the “Robinson books”). Both tell of the efforts of survivors of shipwrecks at sea to maintain their lives on lonely islands. The obvious difference, however, is that Robinson Crusoe was alone while the others were a family. There is an analogy here to the Christian, and especially to the disciple-maker. No disciple-maker should be a Robinson Crusoe struggling alone against fear and loneliness on an isolated island of individual faith. If he remains alone for very long, he should check his vision, his understanding of the disciple-making process, his availability to the Holy Spirit to make disciples, and his relational aptitudes with other people. These are areas of deficiency where the disciple-making process may break down in an individual’s life. Every disciple-maker should be more like an active, aggressive, functional, contributing member of Swiss Family Robinson — dependent on a close, vital family relationship to survive and be productive in a hostile environment. Paul’s words clearly reveal his conviction that there is great power in relationships, cooperation and teamwork — the very ingredients that are at the heart of the disciple-making process.

Permit a personal testimony at this point. I have traveled to many foreign lands to teach national pastors and leaders how to fulfill the Great Commission by building world-visionary, world-impacting, multiplying disciples. Sometimes (usually because schedule has not permitted time to enlist a team) I have traveled alone. The efficiency reduces greatly when I am alone, the temptations are much greater to be slack and indulgent, the drain is much more obvious, and the process is left without a visual example. However, when I have at least one other disciple/trainer with me, all of these problems are resolved. Some of the greatest men I have ever known on earth have attended me on many of these trips, and the transfer of truth to life-changing reality is always much greater when they are with me. How I thank God for them, and I pray earnestly that God will give them the same great privileges that He has given me. Disciple-making is marked by the absolute necessity of constant cooperation with a large network of other disciples and disciple-makers.

V. CONSPICUOUS COURAGE

The last mark of a disciple-maker which I see in this text is conspicuous courage in standing for Christ and with other Christians. This entire passage of Scripture reveals the great need for conspicuous courage in the Christian community. No disciple-maker can afford to be without a Spirit-produced courage, a spiritual boldness, in being a disciple, in building disciples, and in leading disciples. Such terms as “stand fast,” “striving together,” “conflict,” “in nothing terrified by your adversaries,” highlight the need for courage. If anybody ever exhibited and exemplified courage, it was surely the Apostle Paul.

Samuel Johnson wrote of courage, “Unless a man has the virtue of courage, he has no security for preserving any other virtue.” In the Bible, courage has less to do with macho strength and more to do with heart and character. In fact, in the French language, the word “corage” means “heart.” “Lift up your hearts, be of good courage,” the Bible says. Henry Van Dyke said, “Courage is the soul’s standing army, which negatively keeps it from conquest, pillage and slavery, and positively guarantees its advance and victory.”

J. M. Barrie, author of the child’s fantasy, Peter Pan, was giving a convocation address at Saint Andrews Church. He held up a tattered letter written to him from Captain Scott, the explorer who died exploring the South Pole. It was discovered on his frozen body and sent to Mr. Barrie. Listen to a segment of the letter:

Hoping this letter may be found and sent to you. I write you a word of farewell.... Goodbye — I am not at all afraid of the end, but sad to miss many a simple pleasure I had planned. We are in a desperate state — feet frozen, etc., no fuel, and a long way from food, but it would do your heart good to be in our tent to hear our songs and our cheery conversation. We are very near the end.... We did intend to finish ourselves when things proved like this, but we have decided to die naturally.

Paul calls for this kind of singing, triumphant courage in our text. He himself exemplified it, and felt confident in inviting others to reveal it as well. The term “striving together” is an invitation to show a common courage in advancing the Gospel. Philippi was named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. Philip was the one who first used the military strategy known as the “phalanx,” the formation of a solid front of soldiers advancing upon an enemy. The need for courage was equal and common on such a front. The same is true in the community of faith.

“In nothing terrified by your enemies,” Paul says. Commentator R. P. Marting says, “‘Terrified’ is a strong term, unique in the Greek Bible, and denotes the uncontrollable stampede of startled horses.” Use your imagination. See a startled horse shying at something which is only half seen, or which is mistaken for something else. The horse is thrown into sudden confusion, and then into possibility of accident or disaster. This is especially meaningful to me just now because my wife, an accomplished rider, was riding with a friend some months ago when their horses were suddenly “spooked” by the intrusion of other unexpected horses. Their horses broke into a wild gallop and both ladies were thrown from their horses. Fortunately, they both escaped with only severe bruises. This is Paul’s illustration in verse 28. As we journey along the road of life, we may encounter threatening circumstances which may break up our serenity and throw us into panic. This may cause us to shy from our appointed course, and might even cause moral or spiritual disaster. Because of fear, we may lose our way. We need to be shored up with a store of courage.

In Bunyan’s classic allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian was climbing the Hill Difficulty. He saw two giant lions along the path, but he did not see the chains that bound them. The same may be true of us. We can see the menace, the peril, from far away, but we do not see the defensive grace God has provided until it is too late.

There is an old fable about a little boy who saw a witch turn herself into a cat. The cat began to run after the frightened little boy, who ran away as fast as he could. But when he turned around the cat had grown and become the size of a calf and was gaining on the boy. When he looked around again the cat had grown even more and was now the size of a house. The little boy ran with all the energy that he had. Finally he couldn’t run anymore. There was nothing else to do but to turn and face the danger. So he turned toward the cat. The cat turned and ran and the boy began pursuing it. The farther it ran the smaller it became until finally it was small enough to scamper back into the witch’s house. A fable full of truth! Courage will chase away the cat. Faith will overcome fear. In every situation, we must disregard our fears, trust God, and go forward. When we reach the lions, we will find that they are chained. To learn again from Pilgrim’s Progress, there may be cold water on this side of the wall, but the oil of inexhaustible grace is sustaining the fire on the other side.

A Gospel illustration will help here. A shadowy form appeared to the Apostles on the water in a stormy night, and they were thrown into uncertainty and fear. They cried in panic, “It is a ghost!” “And Jesus answered, It is I, be not afraid!”

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her little boy into bed. She was about to turn the light out in his bedroom and close the door when she heard his trembling voice say, “Mommy, will you stay here with me tonight?” Mother walked back to his bed, gave him a big hug, and said tenderly, “I can’t, son, I have to sleep in daddy’s room.” There was a moment of silence. Then in a shaky voice the little boy said, “The big sissy!”

The world needs Christians who are not chocolate soldiers, melting in fear before any enemy; it must see believers instead who will seek grace from God to “stand fast” to their purpose. Paul and Silas had modeled this courage at the time of the founding of the Philippian church when they had sung songs of praise in their jail cell at midnight. A Christian must not be startled or stampeded by the enemies of the Gospel. “Having done all, he must stand.”

These, then, are the marks of a disciple-maker. He is recognizable by a compassionate consideration that dominates his life — heaven and hell are real, and will last forever. He is marked by a consuming commitment — he is always “contending for people’s trust in Christ and His Gospel.” He shows a consistent conduct — his life confirms, and does not contradict, the Gospel. He practices constant cooperation — he shows an ability to get alongside all kinds of people, enjoying them, enlisting them, and engaging them for Christ’s sake. And he exemplifies a conspicuous courage — his walk with God puts steel in his backbone.

A final word. The disciple-maker must seek to be steady and faithful in showing all of these marks. “Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). You will not object to a humorous conclusion to a very, very serious message. A 104-year-old man was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter. “How did you do it?” the reporter asked. The centenarian answered, “I ate the right food, got plenty of sleep each night, didn’t fool around, and never drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or chewed tobacco.” The reporter said cynically, “I had an uncle like that but he died at fifty-five. How do you explain that?” The old man answered, “Oh, he just didn’t keep it up long enough!” Are the five marks of the disciple-maker present and growing in your life?

GLOBAL DISCIPLEMAKER

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