By Jay Wegter and Shane Haffey

The premise of this article is that where the glory of Christ is central in the life of a local church, our Lord’s mandate of disciple-making will not require arm-twisting. By glory of Christ, we are not only referring to the exaltation of Christ to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:34-36; Phil 2:9-11), but also to the entirety of Christ’s redemptive work including His glory in the church, His preeminence, majesty and centrality in heaven, His present intercession, and the glorious destiny of His church in His eternal presence (2 Thess 2:13-14).

A Confession of Faith is the Body of Scriptural truths a Church confesses; the biblical Doctrines it believes and practices.

The glory of Christ is best viewed through the lens of Bible doctrine. ‘Doctrine’ refers to the entire body of essential theological truths that define and describe life in Christ. Systematic theology when organized as a thematic body of Scripture passages is sometimes known as a confession of faith. When believers subscribe to a ‘confession of faith’ they are stating that the biblical truths they hold are affirmed by the Scripture passages in their confession of faith.

Strictly speaking, a ‘confessional church’ is one that holds to an historic confession such as: The Belgic Confession, The Savoy Confession, The Augsburg Confession, The Westminster Shorter Catechism, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, etc.Although, numerous biblical churches today have written their own doctrinal confessions of faith.

A confession of faith is not meant to be a code ensconced in a glass box with the label, “In case of heresy, break glass.” A confessing church emphasizes that the systematic truths of the Christian faith are indispensable to church life, instruction, praise, spiritual maturity, orthodoxy, and philosophy of ministry. When these essential doctrines are ‘informing’ all of life and practice, then we are theologizing. No wonder there are six exhortations in the pastoral epistles to strive for pure and sound doctrine ‘adorned’ by consistent obedience (1 Tim 4:6; 6:3).

Theologizing is doctrine in practice; the process of putting on Christ (Rom 13:14; Eph 4:15).In view of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians, theologizing is the means by which believers realize their identity in Christ as ‘men made new’ (Eph 4:20-24). That identity lived out in trust and obedience is how Christ’s character is formed in us. “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has b een created in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph 4:17–24).” God’s plan for building up His church is theologizing—turning doctrine to life—and when deliberately pursued in our relationships, it is discipleship.

What about the family? What role does theologizing have in the home? Paul goes on to explain that theologizing in the family sphere is equally God’s plan for purifying and maturing His people. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” And of children, fathers are to “…bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 5;25-27; 6:4).”

God’s plan for His people is to grow into mature, active theologizers whether at home or in the ecclesia. Yet how removed have men become from this concept of being a full-time ‘truth broker’. Instead, men have become non-participatory, passive spectators. Religious consumers make poor theologizers. Conversely, a young boy that has been trained to be a theologizer and has witnessed the holy dividends it produces in his father, will embrace this role with joyful confidence as he integrates into the Body of Christ.

Why is a commitment to Discipleship such a ‘hard-sell’ in non-confessional churches? Here are some of the Reasons why:

Many churches today that are obsessed with numbers tend to base commitment on comfort rather than calling.
Believers tend to be unfamiliar with the obligations Christ has upon Christians.
In the ‘cultural Christianity’ so ubiquitous today, believers tend to be converted to the church rather than to the exalted sovereign Christ Himself.
Without a commitment to be immersed in biblical theology, it’s doubtful that professing believers will regularly behold the glory of Christ (2 Cor 3:18).
The glory of Christ in its power, purpose, and goal must be regularly exhibited to the church (2 Cor 3:18). This is absolutely essential to an ‘all-in’ commitment to disciple-making—for disciple-making is the command of our glorious King.
Thus, beholding the glory of Christ (v.18) is inseparable from what He requires of us in terms of self-denial, service, holiness, and Great Commission obedience.

The Love of Christ has a specific Goal, the holiness of His People.

The love of Christ is not only His compassionate, long-suffering disposition, the love of Christ comes from the eternal love of the Father for the Son, the Son for the Father, and the love the Son has for those given Him by the Father. This intense supernatural eternal love flows from, and through the covenant of redemption (Heb 13:20). In this covenant, Christ’s work is applied by the Spirit to the elect so that the redeemed become a people for Christ ’s own possession. They are uniquely His, possessed by him, purified, and zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Redemption is effectual, producing a new humanity in Christ which is nothing less than the reclamation of the image and likeness of God. This miracle replicates in the people of God the holy love and community of the Trinity.i The church as a new humanity manifests its uniqueness by reason of being organically joined to Christ her head (Eph 5:23; Col 2:19). Out of this union with her Head, Christ’s virtues are made manifest through the church, His earthly body.

The animating power of Christ’s glory and purposes for His church tend to be vague or even non-existent in non-confessional churches. How we need frequent reminders that laboring in doctrine produces invaluable dividends. Believers fluent in the gospel are the most capable of the deep community and supernatural unity which Christ describes in John 17:20-23. Christ’s glory given to His church is the source of her unity according v. 22. Her mutuality flows from being members of Christ Himself and consequently, members of one of another (Eph 4:25). Of this unity Bruce Ware states, the church is an icon of the Trinity. And so much so, our Lord’s intent is that His body on earth manifest her Savior’s character to the watching world (Jn 17:23).ii But this public demonstration of

Christ’s virtues by the church will not happen without joining the personal to the commands of Scripture known as the one another’s. This glorious calling is not to be gained without the sacrifices involved in pursuing our mutuality in Christ. But abundant joy accompanies the intentional edifying of our fellow members.

‘The Spirit of Christ in you is the source of the Christian life’—that doctrinal truth is a ‘big picture unifier’. Preaching the N.T. imperatives must stay joined to the big picture of God’s majesty in His Son. We need a theocentric theology big enough so all of life finds its proper place. In sharing Himself in Christ, God has given His people the joyful, lifelong activity of making continued inquiry into Himself that our lives may be ‘calibrated’ to His Person and purposes.

For His glory and our good the Lord has placed Obligations on us.

Christ has issued commandments which His people are to obey. It’s impossible to be a fervent believer without attentive obedience to these five mandates.

Make disciples of all the nations teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded (Mt 28:18-20).
Bring every believer to maturity through discipleship (Col 1:28 -29).
As a living sacrifice, be renewed and transformed by the Word (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:23; Col 3:10).
Conduct your life in the fear of God; be holy as your God is holy, for you are called with a holy calling (2 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 1:16-17).
Be constantly engaged in the mutual edification of your brethren, proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (Rom 15:14; 15:1-2; 1 Cor 14:5; Eph 4:15-16; 1 Pet 2:9-10).

These five mandates of our Master can be described as ‘holistic discipleship’. These mandates provide the rhythm of church life and they flow from the glory of Christ and His purposes for His people. Without attentive obedience to these five mandates, discipleship will be a ‘hard sell’. This brings us back to the initial assertion that in non-confessional forms of Christianity it is common for cultural Christianity to eat up biblical Christianity. One of the greatest symptoms of this is that church members seem content to be converted to the church and not to Christ the exalted Lord.iii How different is the consecration manifested by a Christ-follower. A genuine disciple has the lifestyle of a ‘Christ-learner’ characterized by, “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:10).

The solution to a cultural form of Christianity is not only to repent—as is often commanded in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, but also to renew our commitment to be a church that exhibits the glory of Christ. The church must be convinced that she is called to behold Christ’s glory in order to declare His excellence (1 Pet 2:4-10), and manifest His virtues (Jn 15:7-10).

Now the marvel of grace is that God has joined His glory to the election, salvation, sanctification, and glorification of redeemed sinners in order that the Son of God might be the first born among many brethren (Eph 1:6; Rom 8:28 - 30). One of the strengths of a confessional church is the perception of a very clear unity and dynamic connection between such Bible doctrines—so that these truths animate and give substance to ministry and praise. Theology is ‘systematic’ for the very reason that the relation between doctrines is unfolded to express who God is and communicate His purposes. Thus, a spiritually healthy body of believers dedicated to the maturity mandate will intentionally move past a diet of milk and on to doctrinal strong meat (Heb 5:1-14).

Discipleship that does not have a robust, regularly communicated statement of faith is like giving out army rifles that shoot blanks.

Where intentional, repetitive and consistent equipping in sound doctrine is not central, a church will tend to drift toward meeting felt needs—leaving off “speaking the truth to one another.”A church that merely posts doctrine on their website but does not focus on systematic doctrinal instruction will end up having little to say. Congregants will tend to see the paid staff and elders as the real administrators and disciple-makers—discounting the role of the lay members of the Body. Small groups will have difficulty in theologizing. An every-member ministry becomes increasingly out of reach. Our Lord has something better.

Submitting to Christ means obeying His Mandate for Maturity.

Non-confessional churches tend to lack the deliberate goal of moving their members to maturity through equipping in doctrine, and personal training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:176-17).And where numerical growth is deemed more important than spiritual maturity, keeping the bar doctrinally low, ‘a milk diet’ is an unavoidable symptom. Without a clear path to spiritual maturity, a wide swath of arrested development will characterize a church. If growing up into the fullness of Christ is not the ‘bull’s eye’, church members will not accidently hit the center of the target (Eph 4:13-15).Years of devotional and principle-based teaching tend to keep congregants on the outer edges of the target—failing to comply with Titus 2:1. “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. ” If not ‘nourished by sound doctrine’ (1 Tim 4:6), members will experience retardation in their spiritual development (Heb 5:12).

Decades of doctrinal emptiness prevent church members from developing the ‘spiritual enzymes’ needed to digest and assimilate the strong meat of theology. First-hand convictions born of Bible doctrine are essential if believers are to grow in their knowledge of God and are to live wisely unto Him. For, where besides doctrine do we find the transcendent holiness of God displayed—wonder, majesty, and awe which drive us to our knees in repentance? Paul states, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godlines s, he is conceited and understands nothing. . .” (1 Tim 6:3-4a). But when theology is applied to the heart of a saved man or woman, there will be ongoing soul-afflicting contrition and repentance in the fear of God (Is 57:15; 66:1, 2; Ps 51:17; Joel 2:13). That describes the healing ‘heart trauma’ comfortable pulpits conveniently avoid.

The Disciple’s Wealth, “The Fear of God is his Treasure” (Is 33:6).

A theologizer has a savor for the fear of the Lord. This is cultivated over time. It has been said that hard preaching makes soft hearts, for keeping a pure heart has to do with fortifying the mind by meditating on true treasure. A disciple-maker knows how fickle the heart is, thus he unfolds doctrine not as mere theory, but as life practice. A disciple-maker understands that theology consists of the building blocks of a life lived for God. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word (Ps 119:9–16).”

Consider the psalmist’s bold claims about doctrine’s contributions to the life of a man. BIBLE DOCTRINE:

Organizes our thoughts of God, becoming a kind of cherub-like guardian for the pure in heart.
Brings about a single-mindedness that acts as a defense from aimless living.
Fortifies the soul by consolidating its true treasure.
Becomes a boundless storehouse of God’s glory displayed in the creation.
Provides a source of deep joy which aligns a man to God’s purposes.
Becomes a trusted friend as we age, reliably calling to remembrance God’s ways and His timeless plan and purpose.

Discipleship is a beneficial Fruit of understanding the Doctrine of our co-crucifixion with Christ.

The fact that believers are crucified with Christ means that they have received three important biblical necessities for true discipleship. These are: (1) the motivation to be a disciple; (2) the obligation to be a disciple; and (3) the enablement to be a disciple. Of the motivation to live as Christ’s disciple, Paul states that “the love of Christ controls us,” (2 Cor 5:14) (iv) In perceiving the love of Christ as proclaimed (Col 1:18), the believer is gladly bounded, controlled, and motivated to obey Christ in response (2 Cor 5:14, also see Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 4:19). The cross also produces the obligation to live as a disciple. Having died with Christ, the believer is a new creation who is dead to sin and to the tyranny of his former self-life (Rom 6:6–7; 2 Cor 5:15). Christ has bought the believer and owns the believer. Finally, the cross produces the enablement to be a disciple. Our co-crucifixion with Christ has made the ‘old man’ inoperative as a ruling force. Through the cross the believer has been enabled to please God (Rom 8:9–11).v Christ’s love which is powerfully demonstrated in His death for His people has wrought a massive change—a transformation which makes true discipleship both possible and desirable (Jn 13:1; 2 Cor 5:14–15; Gal 2:20; Eph 5:25–27).

Only if a believer is instructed in the doctrine of identification with Christ will he grasp what the cross has accomplished for him and in him. Proclaiming the doctrine of the believer’s co-crucifixion with Christ is the biblical key to a response of willing and eager discipleship. For all of the elements essential to live as a disciple are found in the cross of Christ: 1) a motivating animating love, 2) a calling to live as one purchased and belonging to Another, 3) and the power to do so by means of a co-death with Christ which has inaugurated co-life in Him (Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 5:14-15).

End Notes:
i “The Church is an icon of the Trinity,” Bruce Ware, www.biblicaltraining.org
ii Ibid.
iii David F. Wells, No Place for Truth
iv Atticus Belgrave, “Co-crucifixion and the Life of the Believer,” a paper for Prof. Jay Wegter, Bib430 Principles of Discipleship, p. 3, The Master’s University
v Ibid.