A disciple of Christ “hating” the world

Renee Lillquist writes:

6 juli 16:06

Since so many seem so offended by the concept of a disciple of Christ “hating” the world, its people, and even his or her own life perhaps it's time to set the record straight.

Possibly the best example of the “hate” commanded by Christ (and as it is used in the Facebookgroup Christadelphians) can be found in Genesis 29:30-31. We are told Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. We are also told when Yahweh saw Leah was “hated” He took steps to make her more desirable to Jacob. Occasionally in Scripture the words “hate” or “hatred” are not meant to convey hostility or disgust. Rather, they merely indicate a level of feeling. 

Context, as always, indicates when they are to be taken in such a way. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. In the same sense, Yeshua says: "Those who come to me and do not hate their fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, and even their own lives cannot be my disciples.” (Lk 14:26) Surely, he isn't teaching the need for disgust, dislike, hostility, or any other destructive attitude or action. He is attempting to convey the idea that his disciples must love him more than they love their families and even their own selves. Loving the Truth more than others or even self is absolutely necessary for anyone who wants to become Yeshua's disciple.

English: Steps To Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the time of Christ, most Jewish families were involved in religious traditions of human origin. These people and practices did not please Yahweh. Later, when Gentiles received the gospel, there were Gentile families involved in idolatry and other forms of false worship. Yahweh was also not pleased by these people and practices. To believe and follow Christ (then and now) meant leaving these people and their fake religions behind, even if it required a person to forsake his or her own family. It is obvious from Christ's own words that family rules and traditions must never come before Christ's commands. It is obvious we must never cave in to family pressure if it means putting Christ in second place. And it is obvious above all else that discipleship without cost or obligation isn't taught anywhere in Scripture.

Some who are trying to be true disciples may be yoked to a spouse not involved with the Truth, or one who is involved but has chosen not to follow Christ's commandments. There may be a temptation to compromise. There may be a strong tendency to break faith with Christ to keep peace in the marriage. The level of loyalty Yeshua demands enables true disciples to overcome this temptation. There is another test having to do with family pressure. Children can often draw parents away from Christ and his commandments. Again, disciples with the level of loyalty Yeshua demands will convey this message to their children: “You know what we believe and where we stand. We are committed to the Truth and if you turn from it we will not be turning with you.” If love for a child causes a disciple to compromise, it is not the type of love required by Yahweh and Christ. If love for a child causes a disciple to ignore the Child's sinful conduct or become involved in the sin, that is also not the kind of love required. Loyalty to Christ is the highest priority and it does not allow for any adjustments in belief or conduct because of anybody, family or not.

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A call easy to understand

"'Follow me' said the King.

The call is so simple any child can understand it.
Its meaning is so sublime that no philosopher, be he ever so clever, can exhaust the infinite meaning of the mystery — its genius.
It is not misery — it is joy.
It is not doubt — it is conviction.
It is not fear — it is blessed assurance.

Disciples are bond servants, but also friends who know their Master’s will. They are not dragging themselves along reluctantly hoping that their misery may win them some reward. They follow gladly for love’s sake, trusting that because he lives, they will live also.

The genius of discipleship — the transformation — touches every aspect of life.
Being called, conviction, trust, surrender, purity, peace, prayer, service."

- Dennis Gillett
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The New Man
The Genius of Discipleship

Nederlandse versie / Dutch version > Een te begrijpen oproep
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2013 update:

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Half-hearted discipleship

"Christ himself shows us how to make disciples. He said, "Follow me;", and he insisted that his disciples did follow him. He was only willing to have men who accepted his standards. It is instructive to observe his treatment of two contrasting types (Matt. 8: 19-22). The first said, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Instead of patting him on the back and saying, as we should have done, "That's the spirit we want", he cautioned the man. Did he really know what he was letting himself in for?

The second man was of the opposite type. He explained to Jesus that he would be free to follow him when his father was dead and buried. This earned a sharp rebuke, "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead". We may wince at the severity of the Lord's words and yet miss the point. It is our bounden duty to stress the fact that the standards are very high. Christ wants dedicated people and nobody else. Is our half-hearted discipleship evidence of the fact that we have not heeded the Lord's instructions and have made the way too easy?"

- Peter Watkins
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Some Difficult Passages
CIL - Book 4

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling > Halfslachtig leerlingschap

The Involvement of true discipleship

 
"True discipleship involves the whole man and its influence should be conspicuous in every department of daily living. The objective is conformity of the disciples's mind and will to the image of Christ, so that finally, when the Lord comes again, the whole man, body, soul and spirit may be changed and fashioned like unto him, immortal and incorruptible. But now, while he tarries, the purpose is to create and develop faithful and consecrated souls, upon whom he can depend, through whom he may witness and by whom his cause is advance in this world. The making of such through all the varied ways of life is the genius of discipleship."

- Dennis Gillett
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Preface
The Genius of Discipleship

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling > De betrokkenheid van geniaal leerlingschap

The first on the list of the concerns of the saint

 Love One Another

This should, of course, be first on the list of the concerns of the saint. And most of what has been said to this point is obviously related to love. But, as we near the conclusion of these matters, we must make a special effort to consider love once again.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

God is a jealous God. He demands all our love and attention. But because we love God the more, do we love our brethren less? Our love for God is different from our love for another person. If we truly love God, we will show our love for Him in practical expressions of love for others. True divine love does not exclude human love; rather, it enhances it.

Verses 4-7 above contain a dozen or so characteristics of Scriptural “love”. We shall consider each one in turn:

“Love is Patient”

We have the example of Christ, who patiently taught his disciples and time after time helped them when they stumbled and lacked faith. Undoubtedly there were times when he wanted to throw up his hands and abandon the effort altogether, for they were so slow to learn and so bent on maintaining their own natural affections. But he loved them dearly; he loved them despite their inadequacies; he prayed for them; and he persisted until his efforts began to bear fruit. Can we do any less for our brethren?

“Love is Kind”

This English word “kind” is one of those pale, sentimental words that just does no justice to the original. We should say, instead, that love is considerate ­ showing an active, involved concern for the needs of others, even to the detriment of one’s own comfort. We probably all think of ourselves as being “kind”, for we certainly are never “unkind”! Are we?

“If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?” (James 2:15,16).

There are times when a “kind word” is no more than hypocrisy, because it masks a failure to help in any practical way. Have we ever been guilty of such an act, in a benign, “friendly” indifference to the circumstances of others? Then we may have been courteous and civil and pleasant, but we have not been “kind” in the Scriptural sense, and we have not been loving.

“Love Does Not Envy”

The divergence of gifts among the Corinthians was a cause of envy. Likewise, envy can result today from comparisons between brethren: “Who is the better speaker?” “Why was he elected Arranging Brother?” “So-and-so wants to run everything. Who put him (or her) in charge?” The person who can ask such questions does not have at heart the best interests of the whole body.

Jealousy, or envy, is a terrible disease, and often fatal in the spiritual sense. It destroys its originator much more quickly than the one at whom it is directed.

“Love Does Not Boast ... is Not Proud”

Envy and boasting are quite closely related. They both stem from the same basic problem: love of self rather than love of others. True love does not have to be pushy. It does not need attention. It can afford to wait. Remember what Jesus said of the arrogant Pharisees ­ who did their works to be seen of men: “They already have their reward.” Let this not be said of us.

“Love is Not Rude”

Sometimes a gentle admonition or even a stern rebuke needs to be administered. It is possible to be in the right ­ even to say the right thing ­ but to say it in absolutely the wrong way. A criticism may be correct in every particular, but if it is delivered with a superior or proud or overbearing manner it will not achieve a good result. As always, the principle is consideration for others: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In short ... love.

“Love is Not Self-Seeking”

Have you ever participated in a three-legged race? You may be the fastest runner at the picnic, but you'll wind up sprawled on the grass unless you can adapt yourself to the style of your partner. This principle also holds true in the ecclesia. We are all members of the one body, and we must learn to function as a unit. We are “yoked together” with our brethren in many endeavors; we cannot always choose the way that pleases us most.

Your way of doing things may always be the best, but it won't always be the one chosen by the majority. Then what do you do? Go along or “drop out”? There have been cases of members leaving meetings because of absolutely trivial disagreements, in which they failed to get their own way and just could not bend enough to go along with others. And they, and sometimes their families, have paid for that stubbornness with twenty or thirty years of self-imposed isolation.

There is an extremely illuminating passage in this connection:

“For even Christ pleased not himself” (Rom. 15:3).

Just six little words, but a world of exhortation and self-examination. If even Christ did not please himself, who are we to think that things should always go our way? Who are we to please ourselves in everything?

“Love is Not Easily Angered”

A person possessing the true love of God has a peace of mind that no other has. In the midst of strife and controversy, he maintains a calm and reasoning mind, and a disposition to peacemaking. He has that same inner serenity that sustained Christ through his great trials.

A person in such a frame of mind cannot be offended by others. He is not provoked to backbiting or vengeance. He relies upon the grace of God, he knows that there is a final judgment that will right all wrongs, and he is not concerned about what man may do to him in the meanwhile. If God is for him, who can be against him?

“Love Delights Not in Evil, But in Truth”

If ever a thought might be coupled with “Let a man examine himself”, surely this is it! Don't we all do this? Don't we all listen to gossip and rumors and evil insinuations? Don't we all ­ sometimes ­ derive pleasure from the shortcomings of others, especially those who have previously appeared to be models of uprightness?

We judge ourselves by the standards of others, and when we do this we are glad to see them fall. We tend to think we are lifted up in proportion as our brother is cast down. But when we live by this standard we are completely corrupting Paul’s teachings of the unity of Christ’s body and the dependence of one member upon another. These lofty ideas lose their meaning when cooperation is replaced by competition.

“Love Always Protects”

We need go no further than Christ’s example. Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree, and more than that he bore our sorrows that he might be a perfect mediator.

The mind lingers on a picture, perhaps well-known to many. One boy with a younger one on his back. “He ain’t heavy. He’s my brother!” Strain is obviously there, but he bears his burden gladly. All things are relative, aren’t they? Yes, in more ways than one! We are willing to do for our families what seems intolerable if done for others.

Do we sit in the meeting on Sunday morning, and feel that those with whom we break bread are really our family? Or are our expressions of “Brother Smith” and “Sister Jones” merely a formal, stylized address? Let us live that family relationship of which the Bible speaks so often; let us rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Let us “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

“Love Always Hopes ... Always Perseveres”

The Christian’s life of love is a joyful existence. In the midst of sorrows and pains, he rejoices in the great gifts of the Creator.

His eye is firmly set upon the hope that rises as a mountain before him. There may be a valley to traverse before he reaches that distant peak. But he never takes his eye off that glorious future; and all life’s little annoyances and inconveniences are seen for what they are ­ stepping stones en route to the Kingdom. Paul says in another place:

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:12,13).

All that God has given us ­ riches, talents, intelligence, health ­ diminishes with the passing of time. Man grows old and dies. Only love remains, as a bridge between this life and the life to come, a bridge over the chasm of eternal nothingness. Every other gift or talent will fail, just as the Holy Spirit gifts finally ceased. The only thing that endures is the character of man, engraven in the infinite mind of God.

- Brother George Booker
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A New Creation
A Manual for New Christadelphians, Young Christadelphians, and Prospective Christadelphians Chapter 46

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling > Het eerste op de lijst van de zorgen van de heilige

Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside

"... the beauty of holiness, the expression of worship, is something which breaks through from inside. It is centred in a heart filled with reverent fear, seeking to discover the will of God and to answer it in humble joy; a life trembling at His word and responsive to His command; walking in the way of God’s appointment, whatever it may be, like sheep content with the pasture which the shepherd has selected; a life of holiness unfolding the beauty which glorifies God.

The phrase occurs in Psalm 29:2, one more proof that worship is achieved by giving glory to God: “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” If we seek to do the first in the regular exercise of the life of faith, we shall thereby worship the great God in the daily experience of discipleship.

Psalm 115 reveals a great principle—that men become like the God they worship—false or true. The end of true worship is Godlikeness. This principle is at the root of a great New Testament word: “We shall be like him”. But one thing is essential—that the worship is true."

- Dennis Gillett
The Genius of Discipleship
Worship - Part 2
The Beauty of Holiness
Continue reading > Doctrine and Conduct Cause and Effect
+ Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation!
+ Prayer: Blessed be the name of Jehovah

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling > Schoonheid van heiligheid

worship (Photo credit: vicki wolkins)

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Fellowship

"FELLOWSHIP is an important Bible word. It is particularly prominent in the New Testament. Fellowship means sharing, partaking and having in common. The word is translated in all of those ways as the following, fully representative selection of passages will indicate:

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized ... and they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:41-42)

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3)

"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9)

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? for we being many are one bread and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

"If there is any ... participation in the Spirit ... complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." (Philippians 2:1, R.S.V.)

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)

"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth but if we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7)

"That I may know him (Christ) and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10, 11, R.S.V.)

"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased ..." (Hebrews 13:16, N.I.V.)

"Command those who are rich ... to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." (1 Timothy 6:17, 18, N.I.V.)

"Our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." (2 Corinthians 1:7)

"I (Peter) ... am ... a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed ..." (1 Peter 5:1)

"He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4, R.S.V.)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14, R.V.)

From the foregoing it will be seen that fellowship has many elements. Some parts seem to be the foundation for the others. Let us set out these different parts under the headings of foundations and life:

Foundations

The apostles and their teaching
The promises of God
The forgiveness of sins and the blood of Jesus Christ

Life

The Body of Believers
The Breaking of Bread (Communion)
The Unity of believers in love, purpose and mind
The life of the individual believer in association with Christ
Living close to the Father and the Son

In addition to these two parts, there is the promise of ultimately sharing the divine nature by being blessed with immortality.

Fellowship becomes a very practical and living thing when based on these principles. It embraces all that it means to be a disciple
Discipleship is fellowship.

Let us suppose that someone outside this fellowship came alone and asked how he might share it. What would the answer be? We could at once assure him that such fellowship is possible for anyone, because the way has been made known for us in the Bible.
We could say also that it is not a mysterious process by which we wait for God to impart something to us from heaven. Some people have burdened themselves with this latter notion, and have waited for God to act directly upon them. This is not the process described in any of the verses we have quoted. Fellowship is made possible through the Word of God.

To be specific, the way to fellowship is through the apostles' doctrine or teaching. This teaching is the challenge to our existing fellowship outside Christ. When we learn of the great and precious promises of God made certain by the sacrifice of Christ, the moment of choice comes along sooner or later. Am I to remain walking in darkness in fellowship with the world? Am I to stay in the fellowship of death? Or, shall I step into the light in response to the call of the Gospel, and come to the new fellowship in Christ?
Fellowship comes by enlightenment and belief, by repentance and baptism, and by commitment to the new way of life. In this way the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin and we enter into the fellowship of God and His Son. We share the apostles' doctrine and the hope which they proclaimed.

The believer's fellowship is both inclusive and exclusive. He does not choose his companions in the fellowship; they are chosen by the very process which brought him into a relationship with God. There can be no artificial barriers of sex, colour, race, class or caste. All who hold the same faith in truth and submit to its discipline by baptism share a common heritage. They are members of the commonwealth of Israel and have a common hope.
The Lord makes believers one in him:

"There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female: for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28, R.V.)

"There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

From these declarations, it follows that there should be one united Christian community throughout the world. Throughout history this unity has suffered from the ravages of false doctrine and the human lust for power over one's fellow men. This evil was already at work or threatened in New Testament times:

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers ... and all that believed were together, and had all things common ... and they, continuing daily with one accord ... did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." (Acts 2:42-47)

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. For it hath been declared unto me ... that there are contentions among you." (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:12, N.I.V.)

"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character. 'Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God ­ I say this to your shame." (1 Corinthians 15:33-34, N.I.V.)

"For I (Paul) know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30)

"I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7, R.V.)

"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ ..." (Philippians 3:18)

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." (1 John 2:19)"

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Brother Harry Tennant
Fellowship
The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach

Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life

"The disciple has entered the narrow way to everlasting life, and he must journey in faith until death closes his eyes in sleep in his Lord, or, should it be so, the Lord himself comes back in the midst of his travelling. The narrow way is well marked with good signposts. The path itself is imprinted with the footsteps of those who also have walked the pilgrim way, including the Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded us to follow him.

The Bible is full of guidance. It tells us about the path, about the snares and pitfalls, about the places of refreshment and about the true companions on the way:

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path ..." (Psalm 119:105)

"The commandment is a lamp; and the law is a light." (Proverbs 6:23)

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

"Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." (Proverbs 3:23 - 24)

"For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." (Proverbs 3:26)

"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and walk not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass on." (Proverbs 4:14, R.V.)

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 16:25)

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter fill the full light of day." (Proverbs 4:18, N.I.V.)

Such counsel is practical and sound. There are things which have be done, and those which must be altogether avoided. Discipleship is a way of life. We must follow the footsteps of the men of Scripture, particularly those of the Lord himself. The Bible is the inspired handbook, the traveller's compass and road map; it provides unfailing, positive and clear advice for everyday living. No man can keep a true course without using the Bible. It is to be read every day."

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Brother Harry Tennant
Discipleship
The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach