Conversion and Discipleship: You Can't Have One without the Other

by Bill Hull, Scot McKnight Narrated by Angelo DiLoreto

Overview

Discipleship occurs when someone answers the call to learn from Jesus how to live his or her life as though Jesus were living it.* The end result is that the disciple becomes the kind of person who naturally does what Jesus did.*

How the church understands salvation and the gospel is the key to recovering a biblical theology of discipleship. Our doctrines of grace and salvation, in some cases, actually prevent us from creating an expectation that we are to be disciples of Jesus. A person can profess to be a Christian and yet still live under the impression that they don't need to actually follow Jesus. Being a follower is seen as an optional add-on, not a requirement. It is a choice, not a demand. Being a Christian today has no connection with the biblical idea that we are formed into the image of Christ.

In this ground-breaking new book, pastor and author Bill Hull shows why our existing models of evangelism and discipleship fail to actually produce followers of Jesus.*He looks at the importance of recovering a robust view of the gospel and taking seriously the connection between conversion-answering the call to follow Jesus-and discipleship-living like the one we claim to follow.*

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173252258
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Conversion and Discipleship

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By Robert W. Hull

ZONDERVAN

Copyright © 2016 Robert W. Hull
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-52009-2

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CHAPTER 1

THE GOSPEL

I believe the word gospel has been hijacked by what we believe about personal salvation, and the gospel itself has been reshaped to facilitate making decisions. The result of this hijacking is that the word gospel no longer means in our world what it originally meant to either Jesus or the gospels.

— Scot McKnight

One of the perennial tasks of the church is to reexamine the gospel we preach and believe, alert to ways it has been reshaped by the idols of our culture. Martin Luther did this in his day in response to the Roman Catholic understanding of the gospel. Yet a mere hundred years after Luther led the Reformation, the gospel was contorted and the German church was an orthodox carcass. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, picking up Luther's torch four hundred years later, spoke about this corruption: "What emerged victorious from the Reformation history was not Luther's recognition of pure, costly grace, but the alert religious instinct of human beings for the place where grace could be had the cheapest. Only a small, hardly noticeable distortion of the emphasis was needed, and the most dangerous and ruinous deed was done."

Even small corruptions of the gospel make a mark. And they do not often begin with big sweeping changes. Among Luther's followers three generations after him, the corruption was only a change in emphasis, a slight redefinition of grace. However, this soon became the dominant emphasis of the gospel message, and it bred passivity in believers because it replaced the emphasis on living out professed faith. Luther's followers didn't explicitly advocate cheap grace. They simply neglected to talk about discipleship.

What Is the Gospel?

The word "gospel" simply means good news. The word occurs over ninety times in the New Testament and is a translation of the Greek noun euangelion. Both the noun and the verb form, euangelizo, are derived from the noun angelos, which is often translated "messenger." "An angelos was one who brought a message of victory or political news that brought joy." We should note there is nothing inherently religious in the word gospel itself.

Though the word translated "gospel" can be found alone at times, it is most often accompanied by a modifier. Among the most common are "the gospel of God" (Mark 1:14), "the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mark 1:1), "the gospel of his Son" (Rom. 1:9), "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matt. 4:23), "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), "the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4), "the gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:15), and "an eternal gospel" (Rev. 14:6). These modifiers give us a sense of the content of the good news, that it is of God, of Jesus Christ, of the kingdom, and that it relates to grace, peace, and glory in some way.

Yet the power of context is even more helpful than these simple adjectives. Reading about the gospel in the context of a broader description by the apostle Paul helps us grasp the meaning and content of the gospel in a person's life: "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'it is through faith that a righteous person has life'" (Rom. 1:16–17 NLT).

Here we see Paul launching into a grand description of the gospel that continues until his magnificent pivot point in Romans 12:1–2. There he turns to the practical application of the gospel's power to change a person's life when he says, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you" (Rom. 12:1 NLT). The gospel that Paul speaks about captures God's work from creation to consummation — nothing important is left out. Paul's letter to the Romans concludes with practical teaching on how the gospel's power and wisdom propel us through even the most mundane experiences of religious community life.

The structure of the gospel is best displayed in 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, which serves as a helpful, concise summary of the gospel. Paul reminds his followers of the core message in light of the resurrection: "Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place" (1 Cor. 15:1–2 NLT).

Paul reminds us that believing something and standing firm in it are the same thing. His words indicate that belief is more than mere agreement or intellectual assent; belief involves existential living as a demonstration of belief. Paul includes a somewhat cryptic phrase, "unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place." He may be referring to a belief in the gospel without the hope of the resurrection or to belief in a different "gospel," one corrupted by his enemies or rivals. Paul then speaks of the origin of this gospel message and its importance: "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me" (1 Cor. 15:3a NLT). He wants us to understand that the gospel is not his, something he made up or created. He does not have permission or authority to make up the gospel or to write his own version of it. The gospel is something that is received, passed on, and entrusted to others. It is not to be edited, adorned, or removed from its proper context, here referring to the resurrection. Receiving the gospel and passing it on — unchanged — is the only way to preserve it from corruption.

The skeleton structure Paul gives us in this passage has three parts: Christ died, Christ was buried, and Christ was raised.

1. Christ died. "Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said" (1 Cor. 15:3 NLT). "Just as the Scriptures said" is shorthand for the writings of the Old Testament. In particular, Paul is thinking of the predictions of the coming Messiah, the promises God gave to Abraham, David, and others that were fulfilled in the birth and work of Christ. When Jesus was born and formally began his ministry, he presented the full revelation of God to the world. My point here is to remind us that before Jesus died, he lived. Ninety percent of his time on earth he lived in obscurity — not exactly a strategy designed for impact. Yet in three short years, he rocked the world in which he lived and started a movement that continues today.

Jesus' death meant something far more than most deaths because of who he was: God incarnate. His death had greater meaning because of his godly heritage and because those closest to him considered him sinless. In another passage, Paul interprets Jesus' death to mean something that all Israel should have understood: "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Cor. 5:21 NLT).

When Paul proclaimed "Christ died," he meant several additional things that are a result of Jesus' death. Because Jesus was the appointed one, chosen by God as a substitute, he took the penalty of sin in place of all who are guilty by birth through Adam's curse. Why God decided on this plan is not explained here. But we have the simple revelation that Christ died for us and that his death in some way satisfied God's requirements for humans to be reconciled with him. A living Christ was both chosen and volunteered to give up his life. This is where the gospel begins.

2. Christ was buried (1 Cor. 15:4). At first, this second point may seem incidental. You might think, "Of course he was buried. Why mention it?" But Paul includes this point because it establishes that Christ really was dead, locked away in a tomb with a two-ton stone wedged against the opening and a Roman guard making sure no one would steal his body. Jesus himself claimed that he would be in the earth for three days and nights and then would be raised. So part of authenticating Jesus' words and life and establishing the truth of the promise he fulfilled is verifying his death. Yes, Christ was buried. He really died. And as we shall see, he was truly raised from death.

3. Christ was resurrected. "He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said" (1 Cor. 15:4). Again, the phrase "just as the Scriptures said" refers to all of the messianic promises God made, starting with his statement to the serpent that the deliverer would strike a fatal blow to his head while he would wound his heel. However, the fact that Jesus experienced a verifiable death and burial does not hold much meaning for us without the final act, his resurrection. And resurrection is only an abstraction without appearances and eyewitnesses. Paul chronicles Jesus' appearances to Peter, the twelve, and more than five hundred others and explicitly states that many of these five hundred could verify to Paul's original readers what they saw (1 Cor. 15:5–6). Paul even mentions James and himself as among those who saw Jesus after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7–8).

These three points are the skeletal structure of the gospel. The remainder of 1 Corinthians 15 is devoted to explaining the significance of the resurrection and includes the fact that Jesus will one day return and subject all things to himself. The resurrection naturally leads to the return of Christ, the consummation of the gospel and the believer's blessed hope for the future.

But the story of the gospel is not over yet! The good news for today is that because of what Christ has done, we will one day see God eliminate sin, free us from the distress of living in a broken world, give justice, creating a new, eternal world. These truths, guaranteed by the resurrection, should bring great joy for all who have placed their hope in Christ.

The Gospel Elevator Speech

The skeleton I've sketched out is Paul's summary of the gospel. These are the essential points you might share on an elevator ride with an inquiring fellow passenger. If we have to explain the gospel quickly, we can say that Jesus lived, that he claimed to be sent from God, that he was killed, and that his death brings reconciliation to all of creation. Finally, we can share that Jesus was raised from death, ascended to heaven, and will return to bring about the promised reality. To access this gift of God, people need to acknowledge their need for it, turn toward Jesus, and start following him as proof of belief in him.

I long ago abandoned the belief that specific words or religious ideas are required to receive salvation. It is a bit absurd to think that magic words must be said to acquire eternal life. And few people have to rely on an elevator speech as the basis for their relationship to God. Nothing in Scripture says I should be able to tell the entire good news in ten minutes, or twenty minutes, or even ten hours or ten months. I have often suggested a simple elevator gospel message, "Follow Jesus, and he will teach you everything you will ever need to know." Of course, filling in what Jesus teaches will take a lifetime of learning.

People become Christians when they decide to follow Jesus. They may not believe everything the Bible teaches. But if they can get the basic facts and from them reach the point of wanting to be a follower of Jesus, they are on their way. They should know that Christ lived, Christ died, Christ was buried, and Christ was raised and will return to make all things right. But this simple skeleton isn't all that the Bible teaches about following Jesus. Nor does it represent the fullness of the good news we are called to preach.

WHAT GOSPEL ARE WE PREACHING?

Nothing is more insulting to evangelical pastors than the accusation that they are not preaching the gospel. I recall a lunch meeting with a member of the church I was pastoring. We had enjoyed lunch at the restaurant several times before, and I anticipated another delightful experience. It was an Italian establishment that served great spaghetti and meatballs. I poured on the parmesan, wrapped the spaghetti around my fork, and was about to enjoy the first bite when my friend said, "I must share with you my disappointment that you have failed to preach the gospel."

I took a big bite and waited until it found a home in my gullet before I spoke. "I can't believe you said that. I'm preaching through Romans verse by verse. Isn't that the gospel?"

He remained unconvinced. "We're not seeing people getting saved. There are people in our service who need to know how to gain eternal life, and you're not giving them that opportunity." He stood firm with a grim expression on his face. I was finally able to grasp his meaning — I was not laying out the plan of salvation at the end of the service and inviting people to pray the sinner's prayer. I was preaching the truth of Romans, clearly and plainly, but I was not asking for a public response. To this individual the gospel was the plan of salvation. But I was attempting to show how the gospel was the grand sweep of salvation history. We were looking at the story of God's work from Genesis to Revelation, from creation to the fall, and from the promise of Messiah through Israel to his coming in the form of Jesus. We were looking at the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and his promise to return and establish his kingdom.

I could tell that my friend and I were on different pages. We were using the same words, but we were speaking a different language.

Evangelicals expect Christians to have had an experience they can point to — a salvation experience. The more dramatic, the more authentic, and the more powerful one's story is, the more it helps those who hear it. I am no theological curmudgeon. I love a good story, and I've had many a good cry hearing such accounts. But I am convinced that by reducing the complete gospel story of God's work from Genesis to Revelation to a packaged three or four points with a prayer, we have diminished our understanding of salvation and what it means to be a follower of Christ. This shift from gospel culture to salvation culture has weakened the church, diminished the lives of Christians, and made disciple-making difficult. What we should see as the starting line, our conversion to Christ, has become the finish line.

FROM LUTHER TO BRIGHT

Scot McKnight, in his book The King Jesus Gospel (see Digging Deeper section), helpfully summarizes some of the history behind the reduction of the gospel. In the West from the fourth century until the Reformation, it is difficult to find examples of the methods of evangelism known today. Most people came to faith through their families and in cultures dominated by the church and Christian kings. Nearly everyone in the West was baptized into the church at birth.

Prior to the Reformation, Christian theology was structured around the Apostle's Creed or focused more on the nature and holiness of God. With the Reformation came major confessions and other documents crafted with the doctrine of salvation as central. Yet this shift did not immediately affect how the gospel was preached. For example, you would be hard pressed to find a call to salvation or an "invitation" akin to those given by modern speakers in the sermons of Luther or Calvin. Even jumping ahead several generations to the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley, invitations and calls to accept Christ as savior are still quite rare. Someone once asked George Whitefield how many conversions occurred in a meeting, and he reportedly answered, "I don't know. We should know more in six months."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Conversion and Discipleship by Robert W. Hull. Copyright © 2016 Robert W. Hull. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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