A Christian Manifesto on Discipleship and Making Disciples

I. The Truth Matters

Recently, I received a phone call from a good friend whom I met out in the San
Diego California area (Escondido) a few years ago. I wasn‘t upset at the fact that it
was still dark outside and would be for several more hours, because I want to be
always accessible to my friends and those who want to be my friends. At any rate,
he was just checking in, letting me know how he‘d spent the previous day and
filling me in on the courses that he was going to be taking at the University of San
Diego. He‘s in undergraduate school, but is taking advanced courses working
toward an eventual Ph.D. in Philosophy to add to his degree in complex
mathematics, and he plans to be a great asset to the kingdom of God once he has
those credentials. As we talked he was pointing out some things about the moral
life of a friend of his, noting that the person was likely to be involved in sin if that
one opted to begin dating someone else who was ―not regenerate,‖ as he put it. I
countered with the statement that Christians are as inclined to sin as those who are
not born again and that I could list any number of circumstances, that even he
knew about along with me where believers stepped over into the questionable
realm of moral behavior.

Perhaps I was baiting the discussion somewhat when I then said to him that one
thing I was becoming encouraged about was that everyone is on the same playing
field at birth, and that even Jesus‘ life demonstrates to us that it is possible for a
man to live free from sin. His response was that because of Jesus‘ virgin birth to
Mary, he had advantages that we don‘t have that made him capable of living free
from sin. I offered that that just wasn‘t true, and that there was nothing in Scripture
that indicated that just because Jesus was born of a virgin that he was incapable of
sin. If anything, his being born of a human mother would cause him to receive in
himself that very propensity to be able to choose or to reject sin that Adam had. He
came back with a statement that basically said that the traditional and classic view
of the virgin birth of Christ was that such a birth made him free from sin, and the
fact that he was God born into the flesh was the reason that he could not sin.

Now my immediate reply was that I didn‘t really care very much for what the
orthodox or classic positions of anybody were. But that what we should be bound
to is the truth as it is revealed in the word of God. Period, the End. On a previous
occasion I had written these words: ―I constantly reevaluate my beliefs lest I might
have missed the truth along the way . . . I have not been afraid to say some things
in words that are atypical of my fellowship or to draw some conclusions that are
not even common to the mainstream of my present fellowship either locally or
worldwide. ( Essential Christian Baptism [Ft. Worth: Star Bible, 1990], p. 4.)

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As a matter of fact, it has become my increasing observation that far too often,
people are willing to accept what has been accepted by Church Councils and
denominational synods and conventions as orthodox and classic interpretations of
what we should believe. Actually, my friend I was just talking about happens to
hold that right now he is just too busy in school to do the sort of study that he
knows would be necessary to come to personal informed convictions about what to
believe about, say, the (so-called) Trinity. And he is content to believe what was
decided in the 300′s beginning with the council of Nicea as formulated by
Athanasius. Of course my response to that is that I‘m sure Athanasius was a very
smart man, and Church synods and councils have a lot of smart men sitting and
making decisions, but none of those official church decision-making bodies stand
above one‘s own understanding of the Scriptures to determine what an individual
should believe. Those meetings, in and of themselves, may be useful in trying to
come to terms with what is right and wrong, true or untrue, orthodox or heretical.
But in the final analysis, it will be the individual who will stand before God and
give an account of what he chose to believe.

Jesus was very pointed in bringing out just this truth as he criticized the religious
leaders among the Jews in his day for creating oral traditions that deviated from the
very propositional and written-out word of God by the inspired apostles and
prophets. In fact he said these words without apology: ―These people honor me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their
teachings are but rules taught by men‖ (Mark 7:6-7). Ultimately speaking, it is
what God has revealed, as opposed to what are functionally the traditions of men,
that will make us be what God wants us to be. Indeed, the Apostle Paul was not
hesitant to write this: ―All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work‖ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

If I want to be adequately and thoroughly equipped for what God wants me to

know and to be, I can find it in the Scriptures. I have no excuse to say that just
because wise men, leaders, councils, conventions, and synods have said thus and
so that I am bound to it. There comes a time when one must be responsible for his
or her own beliefs, and we‘d all do well to get to that point in our life‘s walk. I
want to encourage just that. Certainly you will see opinions expressed here.
Conceivably, you will find perspectives that are not, from a typical point of view,
―orthodox.‖ In fact, some of what you read here could be classified as ―heretical‖
by some. Ultimately, however, what is true is true, and you will be individually
responsible for standing before God to give an account for your personal
convictions. And you will stand there without your children, parents, without your

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leaders, and without the opinions of others to back you up. Certainly there is value
in reading what others have to say, or listening to them. Comparing thoughts and
ideas helps us to refine our own thinking. But none of us are permitted to say, ―I‘m
too busy to think‖ about essential matters. Each person has to give an account of
himself before God.

II. Non-Trinitarian: Jesus as Son of God, not God the Son, Connects With Us

I suspect there are readers who believe in some version or another of the Trinity
doctrine. I‘d dare say that many of the views one holds on the subject might have
had his or her head cut off if any number of convictions were espoused publicly.
Recently, I attended a church service in which the pastor said that God manifested
himself in three different and distinct ways: First, he said the Father laid out a basic
course for people in the Old Testament. Jesus picked it up in the New Testament
then returned to heaven. Upon arriving there he took a seat next to his Father. And
finally he sent the Holy Spirit to work with us now. The perspective expressed
essentially looked at there being three distinct entities, who might rightly be called
the God-Family, and each has a task to do in an overall plan. But because they are
unified in purpose, these three beings, having different roles, are all ―one‖ as God.
That perspective is true or false.

The perspective presented here is true or false. Jesus says in John 17:3 that eternal
life meant knowing that his Father was the true God and that people might know
Jesus Christ (his separate self) as the Son that the Father had sent. ―Eternal life‖ is
either a designation about end-of-it-all significance, means either that one has to
know this to receive ultimate salvation (which would make it a very important
thing to know), or else it is a statement about quality, i.e. that there is something
about knowing who God is and who God‘s Son is that makes one have ―eternal
life‖ in the here and now— something akin to the ―abundant life‖ that Jesus wants
believers to have now.

Even so, one thing seems to be certain from looking at John 17:3, Jesus is not the
Father, and the Father is not Jesus. And the Father is someone whom Jesus is
speaking to–he is certainly not speaking to himself. Other passages lead to the
same conclusion. Take 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 for example, where Paul says some
things about the way authority is set up in comparison with pagan ideas about
many gods:

―. . . For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed
there are many ―gods‖ and many ―lords‖), yet for us there is but one God, the

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Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one
Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we live.‖

His point is that, once again, so-called deities do not really have any place in the
presence of two distinct entities, namely ―one God, the Father,‖ and ―one Lord,
Jesus Christ.‖ In this passage God, who is many times called ―Lord‖ in the
Scriptures, is not the only one Lord ―for us.‖ No more so is Jesus Christ the ―one
God‖ for us. Whatever authority that Jesus has is authority that he himself admits
has been given to him. Note his very clear words in Matthew 28:18-20: ―Then
Jesus came to them [the 11 disciples] and said, `All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations
baptizing them [i.e. the nations] into the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.‘‖

On a previous occasion, men had criticized Jesus for declaring that a man‘s sins
had been forgiven. Their reasoning was that only God could forgive sins, as Luke
records the occasion: ―Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?‖ (Luke 5:21). A nice rhetorical question possibly based upon a
passage in the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:25, where God says, ―I, even I, am he who
blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no
more.‖ Maybe they had another reason for believing this. At any rate, note
Matthews account of the situation:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ―Take heart, son; your sins are
forgiven.‖ At this some of the teachers of the law [of Moses] said to themselves,
―This fellow is blaspheming!‖ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, `Why do you
entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‗Your sins are
forgiven,‘ or to say, ‗Get up and walk‘? But so that you may know that the Son of
Man [a reference to himself] has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .‖ Then he
said to the paralytic, ―Get up, take your mat and go home.‖ And the man got up
and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they
praised God, who had given such authority to men‖ (Matthew 9:2-7, ).

Matthew observes the obvious perspective that the authority to forgive sins was
given to men. Jesus spoke to his disciples in Matthew 28:18 to let them know that
there was quite a bit of authority that he had been given to him in heaven and on
the earth. And because of that authority, he could commission them to go and do
what was needed to begin a community of followers, disciples, who would be

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submitted to his will as were they. Paul goes so far as to distinguish the one God
from the one Lord in Ephesians 4:4-6:

There is one body [i.e. the church or assembly of believers, cf. Ephesians 4:25;
Colossians 1:24], and one Spirit—Just as you were called to one hope when you
were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is
over all and through all and in all.

Note carefully how the one Lord is distinct and separate from the one God.
Essentially, God the Father has made his Son Jesus to be Lord over the church,
which is his kingdom on earth. Presently, Jesus is at God‘s right hand where he has
been reigning as Lord at least as long as the day of Pentecost, which is revealed in
Acts 2:36 when Peter says in the first gospel sermon after Jesus ascension and
sending of the Holy Spirit to the 12 disciples, ―Therefore let all Israel be assured of
this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah‖ (Acts
2:36). And this is preceded by the very revealing citation from the Old Testament
where David is said to have predicted this very reality: ―The Lord said to my Lord:
`Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet‘‖ (Acts
2:34-35. This and the previous passage quoted from Today‘s New International
Version.)

Jesus, the seated King (Mark 16:19) is scheduled to reign over his kingdom until
Death is destroyed, at which time he will deliver up his kingdom to God. Note the
distinction yet once again in 1 Corinthians 15:22-24:

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then
the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has
destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all
his enemies under his feet.

And pay careful attention to the latter portion of the paragraph:

―When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put
everything under him, so that God may be all in all‖ (1 Corinthians 15:28). So,
Jesus final destiny is to give up the authority that God gave him to rule over the
kingdom-church and hand over the kingdom to God, who will once again have all
authority that had been delegated to him.

III. Jesus Has Work to Do

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In the meantime, Jesus is quite busy, among other responsibilities that Scripture
reveals that he has, serving as mediator for us when we sin. As Paul says by
revelation, still showing in his manner of expression, that Jesus is distinct from
God: ―For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus‖ (1
Timothy 2:5). One of the most encouraging things that I think I have found in my
most recent study of the Scripture is knowing that Jesus has paved the way for us,
demonstrating, as the human that he was, that it is possible to live free from sin.
That we have chosen to sin has to do with our desire not to live up to our potential.
God began things this way. He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam was the
son of God at that time according to Luke who traces Jesus human lineage all the
way back to the beginning of time. He says distinctly that ―Enosh [was] the son of
Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God‖ in Luke 3:37. He miraculously was placed
in this world as was Jesus, who is appropriately called ―the second Adam.‖ Note
Paul‘s explanation:

―Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even
over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a
pattern of the one to come‖ (Romans 5:14).

Even so, Jesus is called a life-giving spirit, inasmuch as he, having the same ability
to make choices for good or evil as Adam #1 did: ―So it is written: ―The first man
Adam became a living being‖ the last Adam, a life-giving spirit‖ (1 Corinthians
15:45). Jesus basically showed us that a sentence of physical death—which came
about because of the sin of one man, who could choose to sin or to be obedient to
God—could be reversed because of the obedience of one man. What one man did
to curse the human race because of his choices, another man could un-do because
of his decision to learn obedience in this life. Jesus had the choice of sinning, since
he was a man. Certainly God cannot be tempted, nor does he tempt anyone,
according to the testimony of God‘s inspired writer James (James 1:13). So should
we find it strange to see that Jesus, who was not God was tempted? The Scripture
said that he was just like us–made that way by God:

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he
might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he
might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered
when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews
2:17-18, ).

This truth is repeated two chapters later where we find these words: ―For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have

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one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin‖
(Hebrews 4:15). The fact of the matter is that Jesus understands us because he was
subject to what we were subject to: temptation and the possibility of sin. It‘s a silly
waste of time to argue that anyone could have been the sacrifice on the cross for
sin, since it was God‘s choice that (1) his only Son would be given for that
purpose; and (2) no one, to that point in time had lived the life that Jesus chose to
live in obedience to God. It was that very life that earned his right to be
ceremonially ―perfect,‖ and therefore qualified to serve as the sacrifice for sin:
―Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once
made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him‖
(Hebrews 5:8-9).

So when Satan tempted Jesus to satisfy his hunger, worship him, and
inappropriately use the power that God had given him to remain physically safe
until it was time for him to die as a human sacrifice for sin on the cross (Luke 4:1-
11), he was moving God‘s plan forward. Jesus had things to learn. Jesus had
perfection to be accomplished. It wasn‘t that he was a perfect God man who ―had
all of his stuff together‖ to qualify him as a sacrifice. He was a man who had to
learn things to reverse what another man had neglected to do. The Second Adam,
the man Jesus, suffered in his resistance of temptation and became what the first
Adam forfeited when he chose to sin in the Garden of Eden. And in so-doing, Jesus
demonstrated that we do not have to give into our basic nature, the same nature
that he had by his human birth, and give in to sin. No! His life, attacked and
tempted as it was by all the sins that we have been attacked with— again ―tempted
in every way‖ (Hebrews 4:15)—sufficiently demonstrated this truth, so cogently
expressed by the apostle Paul:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful;
he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are
tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1
Corinthians 10:13).

Could I claim to have taken hold of that hope and resisted Satan‘s temptation in my
past? No. There are many reasons, perhaps, why that isn‘t so.

One that I hope I will not lean on is the one that admits defeat in advance and says,
―I‘m infected with the sin nature of Adam, and I just can‘t help myself!‖ This is
Satan‘s lie that we have believed too long, and that we have used to excuse our sin.
The life of Jesus encourages us to know that we can resist sin, just as he did, made

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like us as he was ―in every way,‖ says the writer of the book of Hebrews (Hebrews
2:17).

IV. Perfection: the Goal, not the Reality, for Disciples

I‘ve only lost a position as a minister of a congregation once where I was asked to
leave. And that was because I wanted to study the question of the humanity vs. the
divinity of Christ–I hadn‘t even made up my mind on the question. But because I
would not say that I was certain that Jesus was pre-existent God, I had to give up a
successful college ministry because my church elders and co-workers in ministry
saw me as a heretic. It was deemed insufficient to say what Scripture said—I
believe Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:21). I had to say something the Scripture
did not say: ―Jesus is God the Son.‖ And because I would not say that, I was given
the opportunity to resign my position quietly at first. And even after that, it was
decided that I would be hung out to dry in a public assembly of the church where
this heresy alone was said to be sufficient (despite any other deficiencies I may
have had in my ministry). All of that is fine, I suppose. God will judge on such
matters in the end.

Even recently, I am said to be unnaturally fixated on this subject–that this ―Trinity

thing‖ has now become ―a religious hobby.‖ If there is one thing I do intend to be
fixated on is the grace that comes through the life of Jesus the Messiah being
applied in all its provision to my life. I have already admitted my firm God-is-one-
not-three focus. But that is not true for its own sake. Nor is a consideration of such
a thing a matter of weird fixation. There are implications about Jesus‘ humanity
that impact my Christian walk, and I see sense in exploring that idea with others.
Jesus‘ could, as a human, be tempted to do wrong. God cannot (James 1:13). That
fact alone provides knowledge that empowers me, in reflection, to live a life of
faith like Jesus, the pioneer of my faith (Hebrews 12:2), boldly resisting Satan, not
weakly wandering through life claiming an inability to resist sin.

It should, then, be our focus to understand that perfection is our ultimate goal, and
it is our ultimate reality. Paul tells us that when we do sin it is because of the
present life of the Son of God that I can have victory: ―For if, when we were God‘s
enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!‖ (Romans 5:10). This
forum is not fixated on anything but those things that will empower us to be
successful disciples living for God from day to day.

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Yes, that involves the encouragement that comes from knowing the correct identity
of the Son of God—Jesus the now-glorified man. It also comes in knowing that
Jesus argues on our defense daily as he is in the presence at the right hand of his
God and Father. John says he writes to believers to encourage them not to sin at
all. But he goes on to say that ―if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the
Father in our defense—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice
for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world‖ (1 John
2:1-2).

I think that something upon which to be fixated! IF I sin and IF you sin, we have
an advocate with the Father—the one who understands our weakness, but was just
and righteous and marked the way for us in his sinless life and in his sacrificial
death on a Roman cross. In the words of the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews,
our continual confidence is this: ―Therefore he is able to save completely those
who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.‖
(Hebrews 7:25). In essence, God disregards our sins because of the continual
appeal of Jesus on our behalf—a reality that ought to make us even more grateful
and desirous of living for God as he did.

V. Gospel: Salvation is a Message for Believers

Not only this—a personal confidence as a disciple benefiting from the salvation
that comes through the Christ—but therein also exists our mission as disciples of
Christ: to take that saving message to others. Of all the things that I observe in
modern-day Christendom that disturb me the most, the tendency of Christians, so-
called disciples, to bask in the glory of their own salvation is most offensive of all.
I have worked with teenagers for many years in various spiritual capacities. One of
the most frustrating things that I have observed in working with their parents as we
have tried to outline a program of spiritual growth for their children is this—and it
is practically universal across denominational lines—Parents are more concerned
that their children not get pregnant or get in trouble with the law than they are
about spiritual disciplines. They desire youth ministers to provide social programs,
alternative activities, to offset school dances, proms, and parties, etc.

Indeed it is very important not to neglect setting before youth the supreme value of
knowing the Scriptures that would guide them in the right paths. Is it really
preferable to bring in someone famous or important individual who will ―wow‖ the
kids, or is it more important to emphasize an appreciation for the Scriptures, which
contains the message of God? Do they not come from God, and do they not
comprise a solid and superior motivator for Christian living?

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Parents are so concerned that their teens avoid infection from sexually transmitted
infections, conception if their children do misbehave sexually, and public detection
if the embarrassing worst occurs. True as this may be, it is also a Christian parents‘
responsibility to teach their children as disciples how to make disciples, which
requires that parents teach their children how to engage sinners, not how to damn
their kids into the attitude of neglect that says, it is more important to stay away
from sinners than to be their friends (as was Jesus, Luke 7:34) influencing them as
God‘s representatives.

The commission, the Prime Directive (if you will) as recorded by Mark, is that
Jesus orders his disciples to ―Go into all the world and preach the gospel–the good
news–to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned‖ (Mark 16:15-16). The good news that we
have to give a world, that is very much so caught up in sin, is that that there is
forgiveness and encouragement and hope of a better life to be lived as disciples of
Jesus living for our one God and Father. We have as a basic and essential message
the proclamation of this salvation through the forgiveness of sins. There is initial
forgiveness that brings us into the community of believers (Acts 2:38). And there
is the forgiveness that keeps us there.

VI. God’s Universal Kingdom

The ultimate question we have to ask is are we submitted subjects of the Great
King and Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. That his kingdom was to come during the
reign of Roman rulers is well attested in prophetic scripture. Daniel writes
unequivocally to that issue: ―In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set
up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It
will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever‖ (Daniel 2:44).

Jesus, at about 30 years of age, comes proclaiming the good news of God during
the reign of the Roman kings, saying, ―The time has come. The kingdom of God is
near. Repent and believe the good news‖ (Mark 1:15). As we have noted earlier,
Peter proclaimed that he was seated next to God as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:34-36).
And placed as a descendant of God‘s first messianic king, Peter spoke of David
who spoke of the reign of the Ultimate Christ/Messiah:

―But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would
place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the
resurrection of the Christ that he was not abandoned to the grave nor did his body

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see corruption.‖ (Acts 2:30-31). Paul acknowledges that Christians, at the time of
his writing, definitely had been ―rescued from the dominion of darkness and
brought . . . into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins‖ (Colossians 1:13-14). It is for Christians to live this life as
the church, the community of believers–those living by faith, who are little by little
adding virtues to life over the course of their days, becoming more and more like
Jesus in their moral behavior, and ultimately seeing their destiny of receiving ―a
rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ‖ (2
Peter 1:11).

This is the disciples‘ ultimate reality and identity. God the Father in his wisdom
and love has ordained that there be spiritual children. Our hope is that, by the grace
of God, we who are his children will be what Jesus has become, a man granted the
inheritance of an eternal existence in the presence of God. Hear the words of the
apostle John:

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we
will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him
purifies himself, just as he is pure (1 John 3:1-3).

VII. Conclusion

To conclude, then, discipleship is a broad thing. Yes, it acknowledges the identity

of God the Father, and it admits a place for Jesus that, while not equal to God in
position, is very high indeed. He demonstrated that what was undone by his
counterpart the First Adam could be repaired in his perfectly obedient life despite
the temptation that he endured as a man (for he could not have so suffered
temptation had he been God). This should encourage us to live up to our potential.

But even when we do not, Jesus stands as our defense attorney before God his
Father, appealing on behalf his spiritual siblings like whom he was made. While he
learned what it meant to be tempted to sin, he now pleads that we be shown mercy
on the basis of his blood sacrifice. This salvation initially brings us into God‘s
community of believers, stage one of the kingdom of God through the forgiveness
of our sins. Stage two is the final rich welcome of increasingly perfected believers
into the eternal kingdom. This is the gospel of the kingdom of God, which is our
evangelistic message to the world: As we have been saved and are being saved, so

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may they also be if they will learn obedient faith as Jesus our Lord and Christ did.
One day, we will receive what Christ received after his successful journey through
this life. Having been declared successful and considered perfect on the basis of his
sacrifice, we, God‘s sons and daughters of God that we have become through
obedient faith in Christ, will one day be like him, as he is.

Danny Andre‘ Dixon

BereanDAD2010@yahoo.com

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