Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-016 (Sermon – topical)

THE CHURCH: A DISCIPLING COMMUNITY (John 15:1-8)

“Science and technology are full of surprises,” said Greg Callaghan, writing in The Australian Magazine (30-31 May 1998), “and at no other time in history have they radiated such rich potential. Human ingenuity may just save us from becoming part of the planet’s fossil record.”

But science and technology don’t nourish the human spirit – at least, not directly. We need nourishment from God’s word and from the Christian community in which he has placed us.

It is the Bible and the church that radiate the richest potential, and that offer the only certain hope for our world. What happens when the word of God is eclipsed as the foundation of Christian living, and when spiritual nourishment is overlooked as the source of Christian growth?

For the final edition of the Australian Christian magazine On Being, before its relaunch as On Being Alive, the editors asked Christian leaders about their expectations and probable trends for the church in Australia.

Several common perceptions stood out: the increasing role of lay ministry, the need for repentance and prayer, the challenge of witness in a postmodern culture. Another shared concern was well articulated by Gordon Moyes, Superintendent of Sydney’s Wesley Mission.

“Mainline denominations are in free fall,” he said. “Decline is rapid . . . There is no future until there is a renewal of biblical Christianity . . . (I fear) continued acceptance of a humanist agenda. More members, especially those seeking a feelings based faith, will settle not for the meat of the word or even the milk of the word, but merely for the froth.”

I believe he is right, and I would not draw the line at the mainline denominations but include many Baptist and other evangelical churches in Australia. What we face [in] the 21st century is a crisis in spiritual leadership and practical discipleship.

A healthy church will be built on five balanced biblical purposes: worship, evangelism, service, fellowship and discipleship. Tonight we’re looking at the church as a discipling community.

The Macquarie Dictionary defines a ‘disciple’ as “a follower of Christ,” or “an adherent of the doctrines of another.” Jesus attracted many disciples, and chose twelve who learned from his teaching and from observing and imitating his way of life.

That pattern was repeated by the early church, and the education and mentoring of young men and women is vital for the health of tomorrow’s church.

Some of us may presume that, just as a seed inevitably becomes a fully grown plant, so spiritual growth is automatic once a person is born into the kingdom of God, but spiritual growth and maturity requires discipline.

That’s why, when Jesus spoke to his closest disciples just before his betrayal and arrest, he used the metaphor of a vine and its branches, with his heavenly Father as the gardener, to illustrate the relationship that would develop between him and his followers after he returned to heaven.

His words were also reminiscent of Psalm 80:8-19, where Israel is likened to a vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the fertile soil of the Promised Land.

But history did not favour Israel, and now the true vine – the true Israel – has come to consummate what God originally planned: a pure people for his name.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:1-4).

Jesus is the vital stem into which every branch is grafted, and on which every branch relies for its nourishment and fruit-bearing capacity, and whose Father guarantees the fruitfulness of those branches which remain attached to the vine.

He removes unfruitful branches (such as Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve – indicated by the Lord’s words in John 13:10 after he had washed his disciples’ feet: “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you”).

And he prunes fruitful branches to increase their health and ability to bear fruit. To bear fruit, a branch must remain attached to the vine, and a disciple must remain in a vital relationship with his or her Master. Jesus reiterates:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (verses 5-8).

It’s God’s will that his people bear fruit – “abundant” fruit. As F.F. Bruce comments, “The ‘fruit’ of which this parable speaks is, in effect, likeness to Jesus (the same may be said of the ninefold ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in Galatians 5:22f). Those who manifest such likeness show conclusively that they are truly disciples of his.”

What Jesus teaches in this short discourse, then, is what it means to be his disciple. I want to suggest four characteristics of discipleship.

First, discipleship is intentional; you don’t accidentally become a disciple, just as a branch doesn’t accidentally become part of a vine or bear grapes. You make a decision to be integrated into the life of Christ, and into the life of his Body, the church. You step over the line, and make a commitment.

Discipleship is also procedural. Spiritual maturity does not occur instantly. I don’t wake up one morning, rub my eyes, stretch my arms and discover that I’m suddenly a mature Christian. I don’t become spiritually mature by finding the right key and effortlessly opening a door.

In First Things First, Roger Merrill relates the story of a man who decided to landscape his grounds. He hired a woman with a doctorate in horticulture and emphasised to her the need to create a maintenance-free garden with automatic sprinklers and other labour-saving devices since he was so busy with work.

Finally she stopped and said, “There’s one thing you need to deal with before we go any further. If there’s no gardener, there’s no garden!” Growth is never instantaneous, and it always takes time and effort to produce a healthy, well-rounded tree. It’s the same with people.

Third, discipleship is also practical. Spiritual maturity should not be measured by what you know but by how you act on that knowledge.

Good theology and biblical literacy are greatly needed today, but they are powerless tools unless they change how we walk with God.

Paul prayed in Philippians 1:9-11 “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”

There’s a practical reason for knowledge and insight: to help us discern what is best, and to pursue righteous living.

We need intellectual stimulation, and we need to gain knowledge and skills, but if that does not lead us to becoming people who act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8), our learning is wrong-headed and of limited value to God’s purposes.

Finally, discipleship is relational. Spiritual growth should never be merely a private and personal matter. We grow best through engaging in enriching and replenishing relationships with other people, and through a wide variety of experiences.

That’s why I’ve described the five biblical purposes of the church in the context of a community. As a Christian, God does not only intend for you to embrace a biblically functioning lifestyle, but to be part of a biblically functioning community!

Spiritual growth is not automatic once you are born again; it takes discipline and sacrifice. It does not occur instantly; it is a process. It is not measured by what you know but by how you act on that knowledge: it is practical. And it is not a private and personal matter; we grow best through interacting with others.

John Waterhouse, Director of Albatross Books, comments in the same article in On Being from which I quoted earlier, “My single biggest fear (for God’s people in Australia over the next five years) is that ordinary lay people will continue to be fed a diet of mediocre sermons and inadequate teaching and that they be allowed to wither on the vine.”

We can’t allow such a tragedy to overtake us. We must get our act together as the church of Jesus Christ and promote biblical literacy, clear thinking and authentic discipleship. Often we accept the mediocre or second best, not realising our full potential in Christ.

But you can change that! Your commitment to lifelong discipleship will transform your own Christian experience, enrich the lives of others, and deepen the life of your church.

Discipleship is one of the five essential purposes of the church of Jesus Christ.

——————–

E068 Copyright (c) 2002 Rod Benson. Reproduction in any form is permitted with full copyright notice intact. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

You can contact Rev Rod Benson by e-mail at <> To subscribe direct to his weekly sermons, e-mail him with “subscribe” in the subject.