DISCIPLESHIP AND DISCIPLINE

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March 2005:

“Acceptance of responsibility usually involves some form or amount of sacrifice.  Sacrifice is invariably painful. In Philippians 2: 5 – 8, Paul describes the attitude towards acceptance of responsibility and the sacrifice which accompanies it that should characterize Jesus’ disciples:  “Have this attitude in yourselves which also was in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  Our Lord voluntarily gave up His Majesty, and if it had ended there, it would have been a great thing; however, He went on to complete His mission, to take upon Himself the sins of the world, to die upon the cross.  As it is written, “Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me), I delight to do Thy will, O my God. (Psalm 40: 8)”.

Sometimes making the sacrifice after having accepted a responsibility is where disciples will have the greatest difficulty.  Even Our Lord, in Matthew 26: 39, asked His Father to remove the bitter cup of His impending crucifixion.  In the final analysis, He said, “yet, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”  More on this in the discussion of the Cost of Discipleship, below. In accepting a responsibility, it is important to assess whether or not you can fulfill your obligation.  In order to make this assessment, you must first know what the responsibility actually encompasses or what it is I am saying I will do.  The good part is in knowing that you have got “what it takes” to be and to make disciples because the Spirit of God indwells you, enables you, empowers you.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  What are the responsibilities of disciples of Jesus Christ?  What does the Word of God describe as what we Christians (I Peter 4: 16) should be doing?””

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“The next concept to be developed in our understanding of this second element of discipline is acceptance.  Acceptance means to reach out with an open hand to receive.  Acceptance implies a willingness to take something from someone else voluntarily.  Acceptance conveys not only the willingness to take upon oneself the responsibility to take the appropriate action, but also implies a confidence or assurance that one has the capability/capacity to do the job successfully. We must accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior.  In the same manner, we must also accept the responsibilities of discipleship.  God does not force Himself on anyone! Abraham’s chief servant’s responsibility was to find a wife for Isaac.  Isaac is Abraham’s heir, the vehicle by which God keeps His promise to Abraham- and to all of us who are of the household of faith.  The chief servant employed the elements of discipline in accepting and discharging his responsibilities.

Several Scriptures illustrate these concepts of acceptance of responsibility.  Harkening back to our original paradigm, Abraham’s chief servant, we note in Genesis 24: 9 that “the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.”  In Genesis 24: 8, Abraham spells out the conditional nature of the acceptance of this responsibility to his chief servant, saying that if he (the chief servant) could not find a wife for Isaac, he would be released from the obligation he was being asked to assume. Even though he was Abraham’s servant, he was not commanded nor coerced into taking on the important task of finding a wife for Isaac.  He accepted the responsibility of his own free will, signifying such by placing his hand under Abraham’s thigh to affirm the covenant they were making.  The underlying truth in this situation is that the chief servant really did love his master, Abraham, and would do whatever his master asked of him.”

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

“Dr. Peck’s second element of discipline is Acceptance of Responsibility. There are two concepts here that bear exploration.  The first concept is tied to connotations in the word, ‘responsibility’.  The word responsibility is actually two words in one- response and ability.  Response presupposes, contemplates or envisions an action that can be taken given a situation or set of circumstances.  Ability presupposes the wherewithal, the capability to take the appropriate, contemplated action.  Thus, “response-ability”, or the ability to respond.  The ability to respond also implies the availability of adequate resources- motivation, spiritual gifts, tools, intelligence, skills, talents, experience- which are relevant and appropriate to be applied to the task assigned.

The word “responsibility” has come to connote something more, taking on an obligatory tone.  “It’s your responsibility to clean the bathroom, Bill!”  There is also the connotation of accountability, tinged with a sense of moral imperative, inherent in the term responsibility.  A person who discharges his responsibilities or who keeps his obligations is deemed reliable.  It is in the doing that one meets the test of acceptance of responsibility.”