Discipleship Essay: What Is Discipleship?

What is Discipleship?

The early close followers of Jesus were known as His disciples, he had many other followers as crowds followed Him wherever he went, yet He had twelve close disciples. So, what is discipleship really? The definition of a disciple, according to Merriam Webster is, “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.” The twelve disciples certainly fit into that description. They believed the words of Jesus and His teachings, then after Jesus left earth to return to heaven, proceeded to spread the good news of Jesus, as well as salvation. One then could become a disciple of anything, such as an organization, or person, be it the belief of Evolution or a political party. In Matthew, 16:24, Jesus essentially

In the book, Seven Deadly Sins, it describes how, “pride infects Christians in a variety of ways that can spoil their commitment to Christ.” Pride makes us feel like we have it all together and that we do not need God in a sense. It gives us a false feeling that we have it all together, that we do not necessarily have to rely on God for everything. That obviously does not fit into what Jesus said about denying one’s self to follow God. He wants our whole being, so that He can mold us into what we were designed to be from the beginning. Discipleship involves the acceptance of God’s Word to the believer. This is obviously important as it would be difficult to follow Jesus without the acceptance of His teachings. Denying of one’s self includes laying down our earthly desires to follow Jesus which can be tough. The world wants us to look for pleasure and enjoyment in possessions, experiences, and other areas that only bring temporary satisfaction. God does not want His disciples to live dull, boring lives that have no fun, but when those things interfere with our calling to serve Him, it becomes an issue. Stuff should not keep us from God’s

That being said, being a disciple of Jesus can be a challenge as so many people in the world sadly look to Christians to see where they fail. The world also has certain ideas that attack Christianity, such as individualism, consumerism and moral relativism. Individualism, which is where man puts himself as more important then God. This is totally the opposite of Christianity, because God is the ultimate Deity, reigning supreme over the world. He created the world, universe and everything after all. Consumerism is when man makes their identity in what they own, always wanting the next bigger and better product, such as a brand new car or phone. As Christians, our identity is in Christ, not what we own. Moral relativism is when there each person’s morals are right in their own eyes and there are no real absolutes of what is right and wrong. That is also a wrong way of thinking as God defines what is right and