IT IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE DISCIPLE TO BE AS HIS MASTER AND THE

BONDMAN AS HIS LORD. Matt. 10:25.

There seems to be three levels of commitment for genuine believers. The first level is true of the great majority. It is the level of simple faith, that which brings the individual into the experience of salvation, and makes a person a child of God. This is stated by the Apostle Paul in Gal. 3;26. I need to emphasize this because there are many that have been taught that when they were sprinkled or immersed as infants, they were made a child of God by the action of the person doing the baptism. This error has put many into a totally false position. Many think that they are children of God, when really they are ‘children of disobedience", Eph. 2:2.

If any person reads this, and that is their position, then please do not be offended by my frankness, but settle the matter now, by repenting of your sins, and putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Saviour. This is the only way that any person can be saved as Gal. 3:26 clearly states.

However this is only the beginning of the Christian life, not the end. God desires that you may grow spiritually, and come to an ever-deepening commitment to Christ. It is rather sad that many settle down at this juncture, and think that now that they are saved, that is all that matters. Think of it in this way: If you have a child and you send that child to kindergarten, that is a happy day, but if after many years they are still in the Kindergarten will you be happy? Thus God is honoured when His children desire to grow in the true knowledge of God. The scripture exhorts us, ‘Let us go on unto perfection.’ Heb. 6:1. We need to make that our deliberate choice.

LEVEL ONE: CONVERTS.

The first level of Christians is that of converts. So often in evangelism it seems to be the evangelist’s desire to ‘get converts’ whereas the command of the Lord Jesus was ‘Make disciples’. It is possible to be a convert that is to have genuine faith in Christ, but not to be a disciple.

LEVEL TWO. DISCIPLES.

To be a disciple involves discipline of life and in the choices we make. There are some things that prevent one from being a disciple. The Lord Jesus said that to be His disciple one must put Him first. To make obedience to His will the priority of our lives. Even to obey Him first before our closest family members. Luke, 14:26.

To be a disciple one must be willing to bear the Cross and to follow Him wholly. That means that we must be willing to deny ourselves, to say no to everything that would hold us back from wholly following Him. Luke, 14:27.

To be Christ’s disciple, we must be willing to forsake all that we have, to regard the blessing of God as far greater wealth than any earthly possession. These are very solemn requirements, with out which we cannot be Christ’s disciples. If we solemnly face these tests we may find that many of us come short of the requirements. That is why I said earlier that while there may be many Converts, or ‘Christians’, there are far fewer disciples. It would behoove us to ask ourselves the question, "Am I a convert, or a disciple? Which level of devotion, or commitment have I reached?"

A LEARNER

The idea of the disciple is that of a learner, one that is willing to submit to a teacher or Master. This is not an academic exercise, and such lessons can never be learned in an academic institution. It involves being willing to sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary of Bethany did. It is said that she sat at His feet and listened to His word. Luke, 10:39-42. When one does this, they have a deep appreciation of the worth and beauty of the Master, and of the authority and sweetness of His word This is indeed the good part, as the Lord Jesus said, and we need to make that our deliberate choice. May the Lord enable every one of us to meet the standards required of us to be His true disciples.

SATISFACTION.

If we are true disciples, then our consuming desire will be to be like our Teacher, or Master. It is quite a different result than what we would expect in any academy, where it is the chief desire to the genuine student to gain top marks. In such institutions the teachers themselves are far from perfect, also their knowledge is very limited. A diligent student once told me that he was of the impression that the lecturer was only just a jump ahead of the students.

Our Teacher is unique, He possesses all knowledge but also He is the fount of all wisdom. Not only this, but He is perfect in every way, and thus is a perfect model for us to follow. So that true satisfaction is not just gained by getting knowledge, but in becoming like our Master in every way.

It will also mean that we must be willing to be treated by men and by the world as He was treated. Religious men called Him Beelzebub, so if we are to be like Him, then we can also expect to be called nasty names, and to be wrongly accused. Are we ready for this? This second level is desired of every person that comes to Christ. It is not to be thought of as something special, but normal experience. Yet the sad thing is that many believers have not yet reached even this level of devotion or commitment. Again let us ask ourselves, "Am I a convert, or a disciple?"

LEVEL THREE: A BONDSLAVE.

The word translated ‘servant’, is the Greek word ‘Doulos’ which means a ‘bond-slave’. This is the third level of devotion, and it is never arbitrarily demanded of any believer, but is a voluntary total surrender to the Lord Jesus. A slave is a person that has been bought by another, and thus is not his own. Not only he does not own himself but neither does he own anything that he may use or enjoy. All is the property of his Master.

This is exactly the position of the genuine believer in Christ. 1Cor. 6:19-20. When He shed His precious blood on the cross at Golgotha He bought me spirit soul and body, to be His both now and forever. Yet though He possesses absolute rights over me, He never demands that I accept that fact. However He finds great joy when we voluntarily and joyfully accept this fact, and give ourselves up wholly to Him, and forever. This slavery is different to that practiced under the Law. In that case the period of slavery was set at seven years, and after that period the slave was free, and could return to his inheritance. Poverty or hardship brought about the slavery under the Law. A man could sell himself into slavery so as to be able to pay his debts, whereas this slavery is absolutely voluntary, and it is forever.

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to come to this point, where we are willing to yield ourselves fully to the ownership and control of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note the different way that the Apostle Peter introduces himself in his two Epistles. In the first he calls himself "Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ", but in the second Epistle he refers to himself as a Servant, that is a bond-slave and Apostle of Jesus Christ". The first Epistle was evidently written fairly early in his ministry, but the second Epistle at the end. In verse 14 of chapter one of the second Epistle, he tells us that the Lord Jesus had showed him that he was soon to put off his earthly tabernacle. He was to die soon, and he wanted his last words to remain in the minds of the saints. His wish was granted, and we have his words with us today. But we also have his example to follow, and it remains to challenge us.

VOLUNTARY.

As we mentioned earlier, though the Lord Jesus has absolute rights to us, yet He will never demand that we acknowledge His rights over us. He continues to patiently wait for us to respond to His love in this surrender. He became a slave to His Heavenly Father after He had become man. His downward steps are given to us in Philippians chapter 2:5-8, but we are told in verse 7 that He took upon Him the form of a servant, (bond-slave). It was in wondrous love that He emptied Himself, and voluntarily left the environment of Diety. After coming into this world, (again out of wondrous love to His Father), He took upon Himself in voluntary total surrender, the form of a bond-slave. Thus He calls us to follow Him, and to do as He did.

When we are willing to make that surrender, He is no longer just a Teacher or Master, but He becomes Lord to us. Once again it becomes the consuming passion of the bond-slave to become like his Lord. He is our perfect example in everything. There can be nothing greater for us here on this earth, than to manifest even a little of the beauty of our Lord. This is truly the consummation of the deepest desire of the bond-slave’s heart. It is a cause of the greatest wonder, that I a person that by nature was so unlike our blessed Lord, should become like Him.

THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BOND-SLAVE.

A bond-slave owns nothing, all that he is, and all that he possesses is the property of His Master. Man in the flesh, considers this to be the greatest humiliation, and the very pit of degradation. In human affairs this is true, however it all depends on the kind of master a person belongs to. There are certain advantages in being a bond-slave and we will detail some of these.

1). A bond-slave does not have to worry about where he will live. That is his Master’s responsibility.

2). A bond-slave does not have to worry about what he is to eat. That too is his Master’s responsibility.

3). A bond-slave does not have to worry about what he is to wear. Again this is his Master’s responsibility.

4). A bond-slave does not have to worry about who he is going to marry. Once more this is his Master’s responsibility.

5). A bond-slave does not have to arrange his own program of work or service, all he has to do, is to discover His Master’s will, and to do it with all his might, and for his Master’s pleasure.

I think that it will be acknowledged that it would be a great thing to be relieved of these responsibilities. It is the worry about those things that saps our energies, and robs us of our joy. The life of the bond-slave is a sublime experience, and is free of worry. Our chief interest is to do the will of our Lord, and to seek to please Him in all that we do. The bond-slave of the Lord Jesus does not have a tyrant master standing over him with a whip in his hand ready to inflict pain and suffering on the one that tends to slack.

We are indeed happy when we realize that we own nothing, and that all we possess is the property of our blessed Lord. How sad it is when believers are consumed with a desire to get possessions. There are those that will try to inflame the spirit of covetousness in the hearts of the believers. They tell them that it is a great delight to God to give, so we should not just ask Him for the things that we want, but we should tell Him, and expect Him to give us what we demand.

I have known brethren that had a very comfortable home, but the person that was ministering to them, persuaded them that they deserved a much bigger and a more luxurious house. They then arranged to sell their house, and built a much bigger one. As a result they had to borrow a large amount of money, and now both mother and father have to work so as to be able to keep up the payments on the mortgage. They are bowed down with care and worry. All of this is unnecessary. O that we might be content wit such things as we have! Heb. 13:5.

The teaching of the Lord Jesus is against all this. In Matt. 6:19, he warns against such practices. And in verse 24 He warns of the danger of material things becoming our master, thus challenging His rights over us.

This brings us to consider point 1). of the advantages of being a bond-slave. It really does not matter whether we live in a mud hut, or a palace. After all it is only somewhere to live. I have had the privilege of staying in the homes of believers of all walks of life. Some of the homes were like a palace, others were of the most humble variety, but I often felt that the warmth of the believer’s love was felt to be even greater in the most humble home. One dear brother lived in the slums of Bombay, (India). He was rather embarrassed to invite me to a meal in his house. He kept apologizing for the poverty of their home. I was able to tell him that the Lord of Glory came to his house, so who was I to object to coming there. His dear wife had prepared a lovely meal with many dishes. She had done all this with no stove, but only a small fireplace kind of thing, and using aluminum pots. They were happy with what the Lord had provided for them. Later the Lord provided them with a flat in a nice building. Let us remember that the Lord Jesus, (the owner of everything), once said; "The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no where to lay His head".

2). What we eat can be a very worrying thing, but when our Lord supplies our food we have nothing to worry about. So many of the health problems that people face today are due to over-eating. If we just learned to depend on the Lord for everything, most of our problems would disappear. Gluttony is a sin in a world where so many go hungry. He is the One that taught us to pray, "give us this day our daily bread". He also warned us not to be anxious about what we are to eat or to wear, Matt. 6:25. He holds up the birds of the air as an example for us to take notice of. Paul was the bond-slave par-excellence, and he could say, "having food and raiment let us therewith be content." 1Tim. 6:8.

3). As mentioned in the previous paragraph, food and clothing go together. However clothes minister very much to the vanity of the fallen nature of man. Human pride must be clad in the very best. It revels in the nice comments made by others on their appearance. A classic example is that of Herod-Agrippa in Acts chapter twelve; 21-25. Historians tell us that when Herod made his oration, he was clad in a shimmering silver gown. This added to his god-like appearance, and was in part the reason for the people calling out, "It is the voice of a god, and not the voice of a man". His vanity and pride drank up the adulation of the foolish masses, but the Angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory. He died a death of the greatest agony in the presence of his admirers, and clad in his gorgeous robes.

The Lord Jesus also said of the ‘rich man’ that he was clothed with purple, and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. Luke, 16:19-31. But he did not take his expensive clothing to hell with him. The clothing of the bond-slave may be very humble, but they will be content with whatever their Lord provides.

Contentment is a very blessed thing, and it is the portion of the bond-slave, because of the goodness of his Lord. What a privilege is ours to be free of worry about such things, and to be able to leave everything in the hands of our Lord.

4). Finding a suitable life partner is perhaps one of the things that take up the attention of many believers, (especially those of younger years). In India there is a system of arranged marriages. As a casual observer, I believe that if this system is followed sincerely. If the parents consider first for the Glory of God, and next for the happiness of their child, (excluding all other considerations, such as dowry etc,) then it is perhaps the best system. I have been most impressed by the sober and God fearing, prayerful approach to this great and important matter, by many young people that I have met. But if we are truly bond-slaves of our blessed Lord, then we do not have to worry about this matter, because He has already chosen the very best mate for us already. All we need to do is to discover the one that He has chosen for us.

Perhaps we may comment here that some think that it is perhaps the most dreadful thing to have to remain single all their lives. While most young people want to be married, and to be a mother or a father. Yet it must be said that it is much better to remain single, than to be married to the wrong person all your life. But what covers all this, is the will of the Master.

This may seem to be an ultra simplistic approach, but I can assure you that it is the wise and the safe approach. After all, He made us, and He understands us better than we do ourselves. Besides this, He can see beyond tomorrow, He knows the tests that may await us in future days. What a wonderful Master and Lord He is! We may well love and trust Him in everything.

Once the choice is made, and if in due course He blesses the couple with children, then even these are the property of our Lord. He trusts such lovely children to our care, so that we may get great joy in seeing them grow up, and develop physically. But still they belong to Him, and we are responsible to hold, to love, and to bring them up for Him. Our great desire is that when they reach the years of responsibility they will gladly receive Him as their Saviour. Then as they grow in the Lord, they too will first become His true disciples, and then become His willing bond-slaves also. But if in His wisdom He chooses to take them to be with Him, (as is His right), then we will also find great comfort in bowing to His will. We have the joy of knowing that we will be together with them in the presence of the One that we have loved and served here, for eternity. If we simply obey the will of our Master, and gladlt accept His provision for us, we could never entertain the idea of divorce.

5). This last point is most precious. It is quite sad that so many of us spend so much time in trying to arrange our programs of service for Him. It is common for believers to get a thought in their minds, and begin to pray about it, seeking to twist the arm of the Lord, to make Him fulfill their own plans. They even read the Scriptures daily, and use the Bible like a lottery book. They seek to discover some confirmation of their own plans from the Scriptures. Whereas the Scriptures tell us that we are His workmanship: That we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. But that God has already prepared those good works for us to walk in them. Eph. 2:10.

So many find ‘guidance’ to be a very difficult matter, but if we have reached the level of the bond-slave, then the problems will disappear. All we need to do is to daily seek His face, to get our directions from Him. Paul’s first prayer is very significant. As he lay there on the road outside the walls of Damascus, he prayed, "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" Let this be our daily prayer also!

THE COST OF BEING A BOND-SLAVE.

Thus far we have examined some of the great advantages that accompany bond-slavery. These cannot be emphasized too much. But there costs also. We may expect the world to treat us in the same way that it has treated our Lord and Master. We may expect to be shunned, despised and rejected of men. This is the way that the world treated Him. They imputed the power of His actions to Beelzebub, the prince of demons. If we dare to confront the powers of darkness: If we seek to deliver lost men from the manacles of Satan, then we can expect to be accused wrongly, and to be misunderstood. We may expect this even from carnal Christians. For example, where one has the courage to resist the pressure of the Pentecostal-Charismatic persuasion, to accept their errors regarding the gifts of the Spirit, such are often accused of ‘Blaspheming the Holy Spirit’.

To insist on the practice of plain decency in moral matters, one will most certainly be charged with ‘vilification’, or with being judgmental. This is the cost of just obeying our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. The world will try to enlist the help of the Lord Jesus and his bond-slaves, in their political aims. They will attempt to portray Him as a revolutionary, and a political leader, but the Lord Jesus stood apart from all such movements, and if we are to be true to Him, we must do so as well.

Finally let me relate to you a story that I once heard Evangelist Billy Graham tell on his ‘Hour of Decision’ Once there was a kind master, (in the days of slavery), but he fell on difficult times, and had to sell one of his slaves. He took the poor man to the slave market, and several buyers came along and subjected him to a humiliating physical examination. It was just like a cattle bazaar. Then a gentleman came and asked the slave many questions. This man went to the owner, and the slave witnessed a battle of words, as the buyer tried to reduce the price required. Then some money changed hands, and the new owner came to his slave. By this time the poor slave had experienced more humiliation that he could bear. He then launched into a tirade of abuse directed at the new owner. This person only smiled, and then said to the slave. "I bought you to set you free". At this the slave fell at the buyers feet, "Then sir, (he said), I will be your slave forever!" Love had won his heart, and it is the love of Christ, that will win our hearts, and bring us to this point where we too will gladly yield ourselves totally to Him forever.

May the Lord bring every one that reads these words, (as well as the person that writes them), to the point where we will gladly surrender all to His ownership and control. May He make us to taste the deep satisfaction, of being like our blessed Lord and Master. Let us remind ourselves again, that " It is sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master, and the bond-slave as his Lord!"

Written Tasmania. 24.1.03. C.E.Wigg.