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 The
deliberate disciple is one who faithfully follows Christ as the
result of careful and considered decisions based on New
Testament evidence. All that he does in becoming and being a
Christian is determined by what he has learned from the word of
God. His relationship with the Lord is a deliberated one from
its very beginning. As Jesus says, "Every one that hath
heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me"
(Jn. 6:45). Men may come to religion without hearing and
learning God's truth, but no man can come to the Saviour
and salvation without it. This means that Christ does not come
to certain men, regardless of their will (predestination) and
that men do not come to Christ through their feelings or
experiences.
Accordingly,
when men get serious about saving their souls, it is a time for
careful deliberation on the matter of WHAT IS RIGHT and whether
they are willing to submit to it (or, counting the cost, Lk.
14:28). Regrettably, the issue of what- is- right has been
largely overshadowed by the question of who -is -right. Settling
the former would settle the latter and would go a long way
toward eliminating people-oriented religion. Since no man can be
right with God without abiding in the doctrine of Christ (2 Jn
.9), that must be our sole standard of authority. He who claims
the right to rule says that men are to observe all the things He
has commanded (Mt. 28:20), and that we will be judged by His
words (Jn. 12:48). He who esteems the Lord's precepts to be
right (Ps. 110:128) will carefully weigh ALL on the scales of
divine truth.
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Only
thusly do believers learn that union with Christ involves
repentance, confession and baptism (see Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10;
6:1-6; Gal. 3: 27). No relationship is more important or more
deserving of solemn and careful deliberation. This coming to
Christ must be seen as much more than "joining the
church" or "getting baptized". Neither is to be a
rash act of emotionalism, the importance of which is soon
forgotten. A premeditated and carefully thought out decision
about coming to Christ initially will make subsequent following
much easier.
For
instance, deciding — and I mean really deciding! — to
make Christ the Lord of one's life eliminates all the
"little" decisions that plague weak and halfhearted
followers. The matter of whether to be present for Bible classes
and worship was settled with the deliberated decision to become
a Christian. Those who have to ponder about whether or not
they'll resist every little temptation that comes along
obviously have never really resolved the basic issue about
putting God first in all things — they have never made a
deliberated commitment.
Not,
of course, that such a commitment would always insure
faithfulness — but it certainly would encourage it. In fact,
there is no facet of our work and worship that would not be
enhanced when prefaced by careful deliberation. Without it there
cannot be the sense of purpose that is so vital to our
perseverance. The deliberate disciple has his mind made up about
serving the Lord. He aims to go to heaven — on purpose! Dan
Shipley
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