Step 12 | Lesson 1
Discipleship
Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
Print-Ready PDF
Great for personal study or discipleship
Let’s look at Step 12, Part 1, as we look into the 12 Steps with God
Step 12 – Discipleship – Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
In this final step we want to take a few lessons to highlight the important themes: the journey of faith, the role of church in our lives, and the nature of discipleship.
In today’s lesson, we focus on this journey of faith, and while that is a vast subject with lots of nuance and detail, I want to encourage you with the basics.
When you read God’s Word, the “journey of faith” is actually referenced by one of several terms, but two of the most prominent are sanctification and the faith. Both highlight the progressive nature of our relationship with Christ.
The life of a Christian is a life of relationship. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7.
The context of this verse indicates a life committed to godliness, separating from sin, and living/walking in the light of His righteousness – that is a big ask. If we will do that then we have a good and open fellowship with God himself and that relationship is sweet, secure, and encouraging. But that is not all, we also enjoy sweet fellowship with others who are also walking in the Light. If I am pursuing godliness and so are you, then our relationship benefits from a common focus.
This brings up an especially important concept – separation from sin. This is known as holiness.
Peter quotes the Old Testament when he writes,
1 Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
God intends that His people walk apart from this world’s sin. We should be ridding our lives of sin, and constantly distancing ourselves from it, though it is all around us. This part of the Christian experience is referred to as sanctification – being set apart to God.
1 Peter 2:1-3, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord”.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31,“And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”
This verse equates sanctification with being in Christ Jesus. This is not just a statement of position, but also of progress in Christ Jesus. You see, to be in Christ is a lifestyle. In our spiritual infancy we struggle to know how this new life is to be lived. Because of Christian influences in society, we may feel immediate conviction about chemical abuse, bad language, adultery, etc. when we first get saved. But as we grow in our relationship with Christ, we get better and better at dealing with those “big” sins and become more and more sensitive to the sins we did not even know were there. You may become convicted about your lack of patience with people, your need to be involved with certain ministries of the church, your need to have a bolder witness at work, etc. It is vitally important that believers begin acting on those convictions and thereby mature in their spiritual life.
1 Corinthians 1:31 introduces the idea of boasting and boasting is normally a sin as it is tied to pride and self, but the related verse in the OT in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “This is what the Lord says: “Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast of his might, nor a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let the one who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
That intimate knowledge of God is the basis of our journey of sanctification.
In similar fashion, it is this life of faith that marks our journey. Now faith is an interesting study in the New Testament because it speaks to the means by which we are saved and in which we live.
Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
This faith is present in every human being. Every person believes in something. The fact that they believe something helps us recognize that there must be someone in whom we can believe. God created mankind with a natural ability and longing to hold a view about spiritual things – someone greater than ourselves.
For us as Christians, faith is the vital step to being saved.
Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
We lay our lives, our eternities, our very existence into the hands of Christ, acknowledging that He can keep us better than we can keep ourselves. We trust Him, we put our faith in Him.
Also, as Christians, faith is the route by which we continue in salvation.
2 Corinthians 10:15b, “But our hope is that as your faith increases,
our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged…”
This increase in faith does not speak to quantity as much as it does quality. Our faith increases as we learn, as we grow, as we are refined, and as we become more like our Savior. We trusted that Christ could save us from our sin and now we trust that Christ is our brother, interceder, and advocate. Like sanctification, faith is a clear mark of the believer.
Consider and Confess:
- A person who is truly born again pursues holiness. This work of sanctification is a marker of spiritual change or becoming more spiritually mature: are you growing in your relationship with Christ? Is that growth coming with removal of sin?
- How healthy is your relationship with Christ? How would you categorize that relationship – is it close and growing closer? Do you agree with God about the sin in your life?
- Is holiness important to you, do you think about it? When you evaluate your spiritual priorities, where does holiness rank? Are you set apart to God, separating yourself from sin in the world?
- Have you noticed growth in your faith? As someone said years ago, “Your faith is only as good as what, or whom, you place it.” We all have our doubts from time to time, but we should come back to the reality that Jesus can take care of us. Do you believe that?
- How are you feeding and strengthening your relationship with Christ? Name as many things as you can that are helping you grow that relationship. Name things you must improve to strengthen that relationship.
Looking forward:
In our next couple of lessons, we will talk about the church. It has been misunderstood through the years, has caused problems in people’s lives, has made terrible mistakes; yet Christ referred to the church as His temple and His bride. We must know more about this beautiful entity, because we are fellow members of the family of God.
Step 12 | Lesson 2
Discipleship
Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
Print-Ready PDF
Great for personal study or discipleship
Let us look at Step 12, Part 2, as we look into the 12 Steps with God
Step 12 – Discipleship – Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
In this final step we want to take a few lessons to highlight the important themes: the journey of faith, the role of church in our lives, and the nature of discipleship.
In this lesson, we will focus on the church as an institution, an institution that is ordained by God.
First, because the church is the body and bride of Christ, they are our family for eternity. It should not be a surprise that the church often becomes closer to our hearts than blood relatives. To some who have never enjoyed a rich, sweet and joyful relationship, trusting people with your heart is very difficult, but in a solid local church, you find people who love you for you, and willingly help whatever the need.
Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
…You find this to be so true in church.
The second reason we encourage you to join and participate in a local church is because through actively serving you strengthen your relationship with the Lord and grow in spiritual maturity. When you serve the Lord in His strength, you are afforded the opportunity to live what you are learning in the Word of God.
Romans 12:11-13, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord…
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
We see Christian service as a work that prevents depression and a focus on self, heals strained relationships, accelerates the maturing process, and many other blessings. This service is central to the life of a Christian. The only better place to exercise the opportunity to serve is within your own family.
The third reason for laboring in the church is it is an environment of high moral value and character; wherein you are around people who generally have prioritized godliness, integrity, and holiness and are there to encourage you along the same journey. The old adage seems true, “You are who you hang around.”
In the primary wisdom book in the Old Testament we read,
Proverbs 13:20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
If you want to be a godly person, spend time around godly people. By immersing yourself in the work of the church and its culture you will change in incredibly positive ways. Godliness from your peers tends to encourage you to be godly in kind.
The fourth, and our final reason for encouraging you to be involved in the church is that you are needed. Every local church, whether large or small, has ministry needs. God has a place for you to bring all of your spiritual gifts, talents, personality, and strengths to bear. You may not even know what some of those things are yet, but through the maturing process you learn who you are in Christ and how He is equipping you for unique service.
1 Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
In the context of this passage Paul likens the church to the human body. It has many parts that function together for the benefit of the whole body. You gain tremendously from seeing eyes, hearing ears, walking feet, working hands, or a smelling nose. In the church, you may be the eyes, the little toe, or the chin whiskers, but whatever your God-enabled purpose, you are needed by the whole. Serve your church and be a blessing to the body as you do your job and you in turn will be blessed. Whether big or small, what you contribute is necessary.
Consider and Confess:
- Are you serving in a church? You may say, “I don’t know what to do.” Look for something obvious that could be done and begin helping with that. As you work, God will show you more or different ways to be involved or tasks to do.
- Are you fellowshipping in a church? If so, how are you building relationships with people in your church? If not, why not?
- What kinds of godly traits do you want in your life? Do you know someone in your church that exhibits those traits? How can you develop a relationship with that person and learn from them?
- Do you know how you are gifted or talented, to the extent that you know how you can be involved in your church? If not, there are ways of learning about some of your personality traits, strengths, or abilities as a means of contributing. We encourage you go to work doing anything and God will direct your steps to find your niche.
- Have you ever faced a time of life when the church felt like your lifeline? They were there for you when you needed them the most. They loved you through the hardest circumstances. How important are they to you in your life because of that, if so?
- Have you ever been there for someone when they needed love? Have you been the answer to someone else’s prayers? Have you blessed others with your kindness, generosity, or hospitality?
- What are you doing in your church if you have one? What can you do if you are not already serving?
Looking Forward:
In our final study we want to discuss the discipleship model as taught in God’s Word. You should be learning truth, doctrine, and theology through the study of God’s Word from someone; but you should also be teaching what you know to someone else.
How do you disciple or teach someone else, especially if you do not know an awful lot yet? We will discuss these matters as well as the importance of study of God’s Word as a lifelong pursuit. You have learned a lot through the study of these 12 steps. Maybe it is time for you to teach someone else what you know because they need it – many have said that discipleship begins with “Hello”.
Step 12 | Lesson 3
Discipleship
Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
Print-Ready PDF
Great for personal study or discipleship
Let’s look at Step 12, Part 3, as we look into the 12 Steps with God
Step 12 – Discipleship – Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
In this final step we want to take several lessons to highlight the important themes: the journey of faith, the role of church in our lives, sharing our faith, and the nature of discipleship.
In the previous steps and lessons we have learned about our God, our selves, our great salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, and that we should make disciples. What we will discuss tonight is the fact that if God is truly our God, and His will is to spread the good news about Him, then we should be devoting our lives to that.
Romans 10:13-15 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
God makes it very clear in this verse, that people cannot call upon a Savior and God that they don’t know about. We have to tell them about God and about the wonderful salvation He offers through the Blood of Jesus Christ alone.
Ezekiel 3:17-18 “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou gives him no warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”
In this passage, we see the great passion God has for people to know Him, even before He came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. God’s plan from the beginning has always been that mankind would know Him in truth through the preaching of His people.
John 17:20, 21, 23” Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me…I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
Even more clearly do we see the will of God through the words of Jesus Christ that everyone in the world would hear the good news of His gospel. God loves the world in the same way as He loved Jesus, which is hard to understand but great to hear!
1 Timothy 2:3-4 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of truth.”
Again, we see that the will of God the Father is that all men should be saved. This isn’t just people that we feel like talking to about God. This isn’t about people who are convenient or easy to speak to. It’s all people. Everywhere. God wants all persons to be saved
Mark 16:15-16 “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Remember the parable of the sower…not the seed. If you struggle with speaking to people, or deciding which technique to use, simply remember the parable of the sower from Mark 4:1-32. Firstly, remember that it is a parable about sowing, not about seeds or fruit. This parable is not used to determine if someone is saved or not. Instead, it is to show that we are to sow the seed everywhere: good ground and bad.
Consider and Confess:
1. What has Jesus Christ the Savior done for you in your life? Why wouldn’t you want everyone to share in that incredible salvation?
2. Is there someone you refuse to share the gospel with? Why? How are they any less unworthy of God’s love than you?
3. Even if you are not capable of preaching the gospel to your community, nation, or the world, how can you devote yourself to the spread of it? Beyond fasting and prayer, are you funding those who go instead of you? What else can you do in devotion to the spread of the gospel?
4. We often take vacations for leisure and pleasure. Have you ever considered replacing a vacation with going on a gospel focused mission trip to another country? Why not?
5. Now that we are hopefully free of addiction in our lives, what are we doing with the time and money we have left over? Are we spending it on ourselves or are we giving it to God through the spread of His gospel?
6. Have you ever felt led by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel and didn’t? What was your reasoning? Have you begged for forgiveness from God for disobedience? Can you find that person and share the gospel with them now?
7. Do you share the gospel often and are rejected just as often? Have you realized that it is your job only to share the gospel, not to convert them? How do you feel when people reject the gospel? Why? Are they rejecting you or are they rejecting God?
Looking Forward: In our final study we want to discuss the discipleship model as taught in God’s Word. You should be learning truth, doctrine, and theology through the study of God’s Word from someone; but you should also be teaching what you know to someone else.
How do you disciple or teach someone else, especially if you do not know an awful lot yet? We will discuss these matters as well as the importance of study of God’s Word as a lifelong pursuit. You have learned a lot through the study of these 12 steps. Maybe it is time for you to teach someone else what you know because they need it – many have said that discipleship begins with “Hello”.
Step 12 | Lesson 4
Discipleship
Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
Print-Ready PDF
Great for personal study or discipleship
Let’s look at Step 12, Lesson 4, as we look into the 12 Steps with God
Step 12 – Discipleship – Having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and beginning this journey of faith with Him in a Bible-believing church, we share the gospel with others and encourage them to grow in Christ.
Our final lesson deals with the matter of using what we have learned to build up those around us. There is a multitude of terms we could use for this work, but the Scriptures actually use a specific word, discipleship. In the following paragraphs we want to discuss the definition and explanation of discipleship, how we now live as disciples, and how we are to disciple others.
When we discuss discipleship, we should understand the word disciple as both a noun and a verb. The noun form refers to one who learns to follow Christ, watching Him, hearing Him, and mimicking Him. The verb refers to the action of either following Christ or teaching others to follow Him. This concept of discipleship is largely lost in our culture where fewer and fewer are joined in fellowship to a Bible-believing church.
In Bible times, religious training was a holistic learning experience. Young men would be placed in communal setting where the students would learn about and develop a Godly character. Often renowned philosophers or religious teachers would run essentially a boarding school where teachers and students lived and learned together. This is how Jesus discipled His chosen twelve, yet they had their experience on the road together for a period of 3 years. This gave Jesus the opportunity to teach, demonstrate the application of, and/or explain every lesson. He taught godliness – verbally, through his actions, and he followed that up with accountability. They learned God’s Word and witnessed God the Son live out and apply that instruction each day.
So, what does this mean to us? As followers of Jesus, we want to develop a genuine spirit and practice the discipline of discipleship. To do this we look for mature believers to whom we can listen to, watch, and mimic. They are Christians who are committed to Christ. Paul told the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Paul was one you could follow because he followed Christ.
There are men and women today that are mature, walking with God, and would make great spiritual mentors. These are the ones by whom you want to be discipled. The beauty of this discipling relationship is that you can observe how they take Biblical doctrine and apply it in their life. You and I are able to see what the truth of God’s Word looks like lived out in real time, right before our eyes.
The other aspect of discipleship is that you and I are responsible for discipling someone behind us. Jesus was crystal clear in His instructions to us when He left this earth. He said,
Matthew 28:18b-20a, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
In this instruction God’s command is to disciple people. He tells us three ways to accomplish this discipleship: Going – be busy in His work, keep going is the idea; Baptizing – bring people to a point where they not only place their faith in Christ, but publicly profess the same; and Teaching – to give Godly instruction to further their growth process.
Of course, for us to be successful in the work of making disciples we must practice what we preach.
James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
The level of commitment that it takes to pursue righteousness in Christ is very telling. We do not have to be perfect, but we do need to be committed to living out our faith, showing, teaching, and helping others do the same.
Consider and Confess:
- Who in the church can you follow? What characteristics of their life demonstrate a pattern that you desire in your own?
- Building relationships is integral to the discipleship process. How are you building a relationship with someone from whom you want to learn? It may be difficult. In what ways are you reaching out to them?
- As you learn from others about how to grow your relationship with Christ, who are you discipling in turn? How are you discipling them? (Do not mistake friendship for discipleship. Discipling is purposeful teaching and accountability in relationship, whereas friendship is mutual companionship where teaching, learning, and accountability may not be present.)
- One to ten, how committed are you to living out truth? One, you can take it or leave it. Ten, it has to happen because that is who you are in Christ.
- God’s Word will drastically change you if you do what it says, does that scare you? If so, that may mean that you need to boldly step out in faith and obey God…are you ready for that?
- It’s difficult to disciple others if you are not living your faith. How have you changed as a result of this series of 12 Step lessons? Have you or others close to you seen a change – greater obedience to God’s Word or maturity in your faith?
- The objective is maturing or growing in Christ – it’s better to focus on the positive, who is the person that God would like me to be? There is little value in dwelling on the person and the poor choices that characterized our life before we came to know Christ as our Lord and Savior. How has becoming a disciple of Christ changed your outlook about the future?
Looking Forward:
This concludes our series of 12 Step lessons, but it is our prayer that this has launched you on a track that is sustainable, and helpful in living for the Lord. It may be helpful to go back through the studies because they are loaded with biblical truth, or it may be helpful to leave some of the tasks/steps far behind.
The key now is cultivating your relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit so that they are your constant guide. Let the Word of God feed your soul as you continue to move forward.
The Biblical Basis for Change – Your Hope in the Midst of Trials
The words nouthesis and noutheteo are the noun and verb forms in the New Testament from which the term “nouthetic” comes. One description of these terms is “By means of admonition, advice, warning, reminding, teaching, and spurring on, a person can be redirected from wrong ways and his behavior corrected…noutheteo has to do with the will and the feelings of a man[1].
At least one commentator suggested that there are three basic elements to the nouthetic counseling described above:
· Nouthetic confrontation always implies a problem and presupposes an obstacle that must be overcome; something is wrong in the life of the one who is confronted. The purpose is to effect personality and behavioral change.
· Nouthetic confrontation is training by word of mouth. Think of Nathan and King David. Nouthetic counseling focused on the question of what – what was done, what must be done to fix it, what should the future responses be…directed toward bringing about change in the direction of greater conformity to biblical principles and practices.
· The purpose or motive is key to the discussion – verbal correction is intended to benefit the counselee. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:14…but to confront you “nouthetically” as my beloved children. The goal must be to meet obstacles head on and overcome them verbally, not in order to punish but to help…think Colossians 1:28 – present every person complete in Christ[2].
Romans 15:14
14 And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.
In this verse, goodness speaks to high moral character that is reflected in a person’s life. Knowledge speaks to deep, intimate knowledge of someone that is doctrinally sound, highlighting that truth and virtue are inseparable. Admonish speaks to the list above, where every believer is responsible to encourage and strengthen other believers with God’s Word and is divinely equipped to do so (2 Timothy 3:16[3])
Ephesians 1:3-6
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.
2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Philippians 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:9-12, 28
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power which works mightily within me.
James 1:1-4
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.
[1] The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology; Zondervan Publishing House, English Language edition volume 4 © 1986; pgs.568-569
[2] We proclaim Him, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ
[3] All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.