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Hey friends and family!
We continue to add more features to this new website, and want to make sure you can use it as easily as possible.
One of our newest features is a "search" bar at the top of the website. It might be obvious, but here, you can search
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Marks of a Disciple: Sacrificing
Disciples of Jesus follow Jesus in giving away their lives. (sermon audio)
Of all the marks of a disciple, this is the capstone – a willingness to sacrifice of oneself to follow Jesus. By definition, a disciple is follower of Jesus, not just someone who is intrigued by Jesus or thinks highly of him. Disciples of Jesus are followers of Jesus, so when we talk about Growing disciples who make disciples, we are talking about growing people who: 1) follow Jesus faithfully no matter the cost and 2) help others do the same.
The dictionary defines sacrifice as the “surrender of something for the sake of something else.” And that is exactly what God has done for us in Jesus. Jesus willingly gave his life for us, not simply as a model of selfless living for us to follow (though his example certainly is that) but as a sacrifice for our sin.
Think about that truth. Pick up the Bible and read Hebrews 10:1-14. Let your heart ponder this sweet center of the Gospel – “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Theologians call it substitutionary atonement. Simply put – Jesus died in our place, and that death reopened the possibility of a relationship with God.
Throughout the series, we have been looking at the stages of spiritual growth as defined by the REVEAL study:
The idea is that all of us are on a spiritual journey and called to keep moving spiritually, to be growing people. The ultimate goal of following Jesus is to become more and more like Jesus, not simply to use Christianity to improve our lives. A distinguishing characteristic of a Christ-Centered person is a mindset of surrender. “Rather than expecting Jesus to be there for the sole purpose of helping them with their lives, they respond to his call to sacrifice and lay down their lives to serve Jesus and advance his mission in the world” (Move, Greg Hawkins & Cally Parkinson, p.93). This is what it means to be a sacrificing person.
In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul tells us to follow the example Jesus when he offered up his life for us (Eph. 5:1-2). In Romans, Paul writes this: “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” Basically, this means “live as if you’ve died to yourself.” It is exactly what Rob Ellis was getting at in the March 16 devotional he contributed to our Lenten Devotional Guide. Rob wrote this: “This is the true meaning of discipleship—the suffering through the loss of our natural self by denying its sinful lusts.”
This death to self becomes visible to others through a willingness to sacrifice of self to follow Jesus. A willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others is love. And as the old song says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
Disciples of Jesus follow Jesus in giving away their lives.
