All Christians are commanded, after salvation, to become Disciples of Christ. We are commanded to love God, love others, and “Go therefore and make Disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;” (Matthew 22:37-39 & 28:19-20). Once Christians are saved, they are given the power of the Holy Spirit to represent Christ to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This emphasizes Disciples are not new converts. Disciples have done the three most essential things: They read the word of God; pray and understand they are being taught and empowered by the Holy Spirit that lives within. They are now commissioned to be Christ’s personal ambassadors to the world to act and speak as they ought to act and speak for Christ (Ephesians 6:10-20). Knowing full well they may be ostracized and persecuted, but blessed when this happens (Matt 5:11-12). They have now matured past conversion and are committed to being sinless, selfless as they learn to become bold doers and truth speakers representing the word of God.
Paul described Disciples as “…steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Co 15:58). Christ’s brother adds, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;” “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:19 -22). Therefore, Disciples are constantly doing, learning, praying, teaching, and taking risks, while denying themselves through embracing the rigors and challenges of being Christ like. Disciples pray, and read the word of God, knowing the the most powerful being in existence, the Holy Spirit is guiding, comforting, teaching, and telling them what is to come. They know, the Spirit of God intercedes for them in everything they do for our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
The simple definition of the church is where Christ is represented, through the scriptures, as the family of God. Jesus the Christ’s church sponsors the absolute need for a Savior through prayer and edification to the world. It is the ten-lane wide freeway to the truth of God through the Holy Spirit that spiritually corrects lives, gives real purpose, and teaches converts how to be Christ’s disciples. The church is where people learn to be elevated by the divine and stive to be like Christ, the standard bearer of righteousness, who was never afraid to stand against the evil of the culture in which He lived.
Sadly, today there are many studies that produce undisputable evidence that the church today is not focused on representing Christ. The undeniable truth is the church today, knowing or unknowingly, chains the gospel of truth to the inside of the church, focusing on piety, fearing offense, while conducting half-hearted attempts at disciple making. They become complicit with evil by staying silent, refusing the stand against evil in the public area. This brings many churches to sponsor consumer Christianity, (pleasing and entertaining) that through selfish concerns, they would justify guardrails stopping themselves from representing Christ into the culture where they live (John 12:40-49).
The church’s failure is shown today by how little or no influence they have over our culture. Could the reason be, like the scribes and Pharisees Jesus called out and exposed in Matthew Chapter 23, many churches today are perverting the gospel of Christ by trying to entertain and please the attendees. When the Apostle Paul emphatically warns those that preach another gospel that they are accursed and as a bondservant of Christ, we cannot and are not to please men because the truth spoken into darkness does not entertain (Galatians 1:6-10).
How can this problem be solved? The answer is in the simplicity of Christ (2 Co 11:3). Simply read, and believe the word of God and do what the word says! When it comes to the Word who became flesh and brought truth and grace, Chistian’s have no decisional choice. We choose Christ’s way or the highway to hell. Then focus on what Jesus the Christ has commanded us to do after salvation. This will move us from ‘almost there’ to focus on our relationship with the source of truth, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
Let’s look at the simplicity of Christ’s words on Discipleship in just three Chapters of the book of John, where Jesus repeats Himself ten times defining the conditions that must take place for converts to become Disciples of Christ. When Jesus the Christ repeats His requirements ten times can anyone dispute Him?
John Chapter 14 verses 12 explains the results of Discipleship when Christ says most assuredly, (1) he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do, and greater works than these he will do. Then Christ explains in verse 15 our conditional relationship that (2) if you keep His commandments Jesus will pray to the Father and God will give you another helper, the Holy Spirit who will remain with you forever. Christ then states the condition, (3) He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” because “whoever does not bear his (own) cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).
We must know, loving Christ then will require personal sacrifice. Then verse 21 Christ give the precondition, (4) he who has my commandments and keeps them it is He who loves me. And then again, the prerequisite (5) in verse 23 Jesus says if anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We (the Trinity) will come to him and make Our home with him.
Then in Chapter 15 of John versus 1 to 4 Jesus explains,” I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Then Jesus confirms the requirement when He said, (6) “If you abide in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit but only if you remain in Christ.” This is simply saying Jesus is where everything grows from and as Disciples produce, God prunes us so we will be able to bear more fruit. However, we must remain in Christ or we will not bear fruit.
Then Jesus reveals His Spirits power (7) in verses 5-8, I am the the vine; Disciples are the branches. He who remains in Me bears much fruit but if you do not remain in Me, you will be cast out and thrown into the fire and burned. However, if you abide in Me and My words remain in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so, you will be My Disciples. Then to be His Disciples we must bear fruit. This is seeking opportunities to actively and verbally represent the Sonship of Christ to those living in darkness.
Then again in verse 9 to 10, “As the Father loved me, I also have loved (Sacrificed for) you; Abide in my (Sacrifice) love.” Again, Jesus confirms; (8) “If you keep my commandments, you will abide (remain) in my love.”
Then again (9) in verses 14-16, Christ tells us of our conditional relationship with Him. “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.” Then he says we are no longer servants but friends, because he has chosen us to go and bear fruit and our fruit will remain. Then Jesus says in verse 17 “These things I command you, that you love one another. Then Jesus explains that the world will hate us because of our works and this is because the world hated Jesus.
Then in Chapter 16 of John, Jesus tells us that whoever kills you will think he offers God a service. (Islam is the religion that believes this). Then in the rest of the chapter Jesus tells us the power of the works of the Holy Spirit. He the Spirit will tell us the truth, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The Spirit will guide us into all truth and when he hears from God he will speak and he will tell us things to come. The Spirit will take of Christ and declare it to us. Then in verse 27 Jesus confirms His conditional love, (10) the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Jesus by doing what the Father commanded.
Jesus the Christ’s testimony cannot be ignored. If confessed Christian’s ignore His testimony they would have to put up guardrails of evil that includes distortion, and subterfuge of the Gospel of Christ or be mentally deficient and not capable of understanding the simplicity of Christ’s commands. TEN TIMES in just three chapters of John, Jesus simply states the conditions that must be met. His Disciples must believe, remain in Him, and will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, the helper. The Disciple will be loved by Jesus and His father. IF they do what He has commands them to do. Then the Father through the Holy Spirit prunes His Disciples so they can produce more fruit. (The substance of these commands is repeated hundreds of times in the New Testament)
Therefore, when church leadership in America complicate the Gospel of Christ and do not focus on teaching new converts to be His Disciples by fulfilling Christ commands, this is the foundational reason for the failure of the American Church.
When the Apostle Paul wrote, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Paul feared church leaders who would complicate the Gospel’s design by changing the conditional relationship with Christ to promote self-serving interests.
The simplicity of Christ, commands His Disciples to keep His commandments and act and speak the power of God’s truth into the darkness of mankind, so the Holy Spirit can turn them from darkness to light, (Acts 1:8 & 26:18).
Therefore, Faith compels us to speak, (2 Cor 4:12-14), because without speaking the minds who are blinded will not see the light (2 Cor 4:4). For the word of God causes the intercession of the power of the Holy Spirit, (Ro 8:34). For the Spirit without the Word is mute! The Word without the Spirit is powerless. For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, Christ’s Disciples are God’s mouth piece and we use great boldness of speech (2 Cor 3:12). For we war against evil by the power of God’s word, for pulling down arguments against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:3-6). And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak (2 Cor 4:13).
May God bless you, with the knowledge of the simplicity of Christ!
David Howard Foxhole Ministry