Following Jesus Christ: The New Testament Message of Discipleship for Today

As many here know, I write book reviews every so often. I recently was asked to review a book for Kregel Publications, and I ordered the book back in January and not sure what happened, but it arrived 2 weeks ago. That being said, I have look forward to reviewing this book.

Following Jesus Christ: The New Testament Message of Discipleship for Today really touches some under explored scriptures in part one on what the Bible actually says about discipleship. The book comes in at right at 350 pages, or 20 chapters that have been edited by John Goodrich and Mark Strauss.

The first part of the book is around 17 chapters look, each chapter explores a book in the new testament and what that book(s) say about discipleship. It is definitely a huge undertaking which is why the book is so important for Christians and ministry leadership. Once I started reading, I found the book hard to put down.

Discipleship and discipling are such strong words in Christian-ese that I think we lose sight as to what they meant to early Christians and the early church. In it's exploration of the scriptures this book does a great job at giving us a foundational understanding as to what discipleship and discipling means.

The last three chapters of the book look at discipling in the modern church. This section should have been longer, I felt like it was rushed. If it couldn't have been longer, then it should have been left out of the book all together.

Overall, I feel this book is a great addition to any church's professional library. While written very much in a text book style, it is a book that is both engaging and well thought out.

**I received this book from Kregel publishing for an honest review. It will appear here as well as Christian Book Distributers.**

Why learning the Biblical Languages is important...

During Holy Week I wrote a blog about forgiveness. In the blog, I used the example of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and the perpetrator Timothy McVeigh. This week, I had some folks take it upon themselves to treat me like I don't know the scriptures. Which is fine, except that I do know the scriptures and I carved out a very traditional theological education for myself at Liberty University for my MA in Religion. 

One of the things that I did was take Hebrew and Greek. It was important for me to know the Hebrew and the Greek so that I would know what I was reading. It is, however, not always important for people to know Hebrew and Greek, beyond what the Strong's Concordance teaches. And certainly, a person doesn't need to know Hebrew and Greek to know what the scriptures teach--after all we have the Holy Spirit. 

The argument was because I kept a disclaimer in my article "Please note that this article is not saying what Timothy McVeigh did was okay; it definitely was not okay. However, forgiveness is a huge topic and this was just a short introduction to how I looked at the death of Timothy McVeigh. Yes, what he did was evil, but I don't think that made him an evil person, especially in light of him calling for a priest--even if it was a moment of desperation." 

This one sentence has caused a lot of contention. I believe it causes contention not because of what it says, rather what people think I am saying; just as what they believe in their modern understanding of language the bible says.
The new testament uses three words for the adjective "Good." They are:
Kalos: which means something that is free of defects and is beautiful.
Agathos: Moral excellence, something that is worthy of admiration.
Chrestos: Something that is useful, profitable and serviceable, later coming to include kindness and goodness of heart.

One person pointed out "What of it that Jesus says only God is good. Don't you believe that?" Of course, I believe it, however, I can't say that what Jesus was saying is "the modern definition of good." When Jesus tells the young ruler this, He's saying "Only God is morally and ethically virtuous." You see the Greek here employs the word Agathos. 

Agathos: Greek: means "good" in a broad and general sense, and had no particular physical or aesthetic connotations, but could describe a person's excellence of character (ethical virtue), for example their bravery. It also describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life, through faith. 

An example of this is the word love. In Greek there are 6 different words for love.
Agape: which is charity, the love of God for humanity. 
Eros: Love, mostly of the sexual passion type.
Philia or Philos: Brotherly love, love between friends, equals.
Storge: Love/Affection between children and parents
Philautia: to love oneself
Xenia: hospitality --the reciprocal relationship between a guest and a host. 

Martin Luther said 

Let us be sure of this: We will not be long preserve the gospel without the language. The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit [Eph. 6:17] is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined; they are the vessel in which this wine is held; they are the larder in which this food is stored...If through our neglect we let the languages go (which God forbid!) we shall...lose the gospel.

I personally like the analogy of a basic TV vs. a curved 80" UHD 4K television with stereo surround sound. 

Reading the Bible without knowing Greek and Hebrew is like watching a basic television, while reading the Bible knowing Greek and Hebrew is like watching a curved 80" UHD 4K television with stereo surround sound. You can fully understand what is going on with the basic television, but the curved 80" UHD 4K television with stereo surround sound gives added depth and clarity. With the help of the Holy Spirit, anyone can accurately understand the Bible in English. However, knowing Hebrew and Greek helps to better understand the nuances and richness of the biblical texts. 

I completely agree with the gospel coalition when they say that not everyone has to know Biblical Hebrew and Greek.  That being said, I think it is beneficial, as it lends context to the scripture, it allows for deeper understanding, for me, it brought the book to life, I could hear the people speaking and chatting to each other. It, as the analogy stated provided me a better understanding of the nuances and richness of the Biblical Texts.

Forgiveness...

**Please note this article may contain triggers.**

I have recently been reading a book called To the Moon and Back by Karen Kingsbury. It's a work of fiction, where the background of the two main characters is the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. An event that I remember well as I was just a freshman in high school. I have never been to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, nor have I been to the memorial after the bombing. I did once hold a piece of rubble from the site at a highland games when we took time to remember all the lives lost in Oklahoma City.

This post, however, isn't about the bombing or visiting the memorial; it's about something that happened to me on June 10-11, 2001. These dates probably don't mean a lot to most people. It was a regular spring day, the news carried footage of the bombing, because on June 11, 2001, Timothy McVeigh, the home-grown terrorist was going to die. He was finally going to get what he deserved. Everyone around me was happy, because why should he live when 168 people, children included, died. 

I remember at one point Mr. McVeigh's picture flashed up on the screen; the image of him walking

McVeigh getting ready to walk out of the Noble County Courthouse

out the Noble County Courthouse. I remember my neighbor Kelly walked to the door of my apartment and saying "Good, one less criminal we have to keep up." But something in the look on McVeigh's face showed that he was remorseful. Maybe not to the point we should think that he would have been, but something within me said "This is someone's son, someone's brother, possibly their uncle and maybe even someone's father (even though we do not know if he had children). 

After Kelly left, I called my parents, and I remember asking my mom "Is it okay if I cry when they execute Timothy McVeigh? Is it okay that I feel bad for him?" My mom must have been confused, but she never let it show, she said "Well, yes, it is okay to feel bad for him, and it's okay to cry." I guess I realized what a silly girl I sounded like, so I explained to my mom, "Ya know mom, I get that he's a terrorist, I get that he hurt a lot of people, but what if he truly is sorry? What if he asked God's forgiveness? And no one mourns his death because we are so caught up in the evil that he did before he knew Jesus?" 

Most people would say that there is no forgiveness for what Timothy McVeigh did. However, according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

You see there isn't one sin that you can name that Jesus Christ can not forgive.  So why do we find it hard to believe that Timothy McVeigh would be forgiven. Matter of fact, I learned tonight, that McVeigh sought forgiveness. "Tim asked to have the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, or Dying, if facing imminent death, at around 4 or 5 in the morning," Ashmore said. The chief biblical text concerning the rite is James 5:14–15: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (RSV). Father Ashmore, went on to state he[McVeigh] knew what he was asking to do--to stand before God, seek his pardon and forgiveness and to fill him with God's grace and lead him to life eternal and feel God's love."

1 John 1:9-10

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

1 John 2:2 

2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

You see as we enter the Holy Week before Easter Sunday, it is time for us to reflect on our own lives, and how we could have been such as McVeigh, but by God's grace we have not fallen into that place. It is also a time for us to reflect on un-forgiveness in our own lives and look for the times that we could have or should have and possibly can still forgive others. 


Please note that this article is not saying what Timothy McVeigh did was okay; it definitely was not okay. However, forgiveness is a huge topic and this was just a short introduction to how I looked at the death of Timothy McVeigh. Yes, what he did was evil, but I don't think that made him an evil person, especially in light of him calling for a priest--even if it was a moment of desperation.