3 Common Barriers to Discipleship
In a previous post, I laid out the theological foundation for discipleship. Christians are commanded by the resurrected Christ to make disciples of all nations for the glory of God the Father. Jesus not only commands this: He also is with His Church as they perform this task. The question is why is discipleship not always a primary focus among Christians and in Churches? I think there are 3 common barriers to discipleship that keep believers from living in obedience to Christ’s command.
These barriers to discipleship are not legitimate excuses for disobedience. Rather, they are subtle lies you and I can allow ourselves to believe that keep us from prioritizing discipleship. In this post, I want to go through each of these common barriers to discipleship and show how Scripture addresses them. You will never become a discipling Christian if you don’t fight these three lies which pull you away from prioritizing pouring your life out for the spiritual benefit of others.
“I am too busy for discipleship”
Is any excuse more common in our modern world that “I’m too busy?” I hear the excuse almost daily and, if I’m honest, I hear the phrase come out of my mouth more often than I care to count. “I’m too busy” is our society’s magic bullet for excusing ourselves from something. It is another way of saying “I am not going to do that or make time for it.” And this “I’m too busy” excuse is used to dodge the command to make disciples both within and without the Church.
The barrier of “I’m too busy for discipleship” is insufficient for a number of reasons. The first of which I already wrote about in a previous post: the command is given by the authority of Christ.
No Christian should be too busy for obedience.
Part of becoming conformed to the image of Christ is conforming your life to Scripture. That means, among other things, you let the Bible set your life’s priorities. If you feel too busy for discipling others, then the first step is to remind yourself that Jesus sets your schedule, not you.
Secondly, I have been discipled by half a dozen men throughout the course of my life and every single one of them had a busy schedule. Every single one of them could have made the excuse “I am too busy for discipleship.” They had jobs, family responsibilities, were involved at Church, had aging parents, and a host of other things I probably didn’t know about. But the reality is you can have a lot of responsibility and still make time for discipleship. It takes effort, but God will give you grace as you seek to obey His word.
Finally, God has much to say about how His people use their time. Consider the following verses:
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
..you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Colossians 4:5, James 4:14, 17 ESV
Your time is a gift from God. Today is the time God has given you to live in obedience to His will and His commission to make disciples. If you have read this post or you have read Matthew 28, you know that discipling is the right thing to do. Therefore, to say you are too busy for discipling other Christians is sin per James 4:17. What is the solution? Ask the Lord’s forgiveness and start reworking your schedule so that you aren’t “too busy” for pouring your life into others.
“Discipleship doesn’t really work”
Rarely will you hear a Christian say “discipleship doesn’t really work” outright. Instead, it is an implicit assessment you and I can easily make each week. Discipling can be draining, time consuming, and seemingly fruitless. Why? Because you are spending time investing in sinful people. When discipling gets tough, it can become easy to think “well, this is a waste of time! There has got to be more effective and easy ways to serve Christ!”
You and I live in a “quick and easy”, “non-committal” culture. If you don’t like your job, you switch as soon as possible. Marriage problems? Get a divorce and find someone who can make you really happy. Is your food taking too long to cook? Just run out and get fast-food. This is what the culture values and if you are not careful, you can start wishing God’s plan included quick, easy, low commitment, low suffering obedience.
But discipleship is none of those things. Discipling takes endurance, patience, perseverance, love, and a host of other virtues. It involves sacrifice, suffering, and will sanctify you as much as you will help others. God’s plan for the nations involves making disciples and God’s plan will succeed. You must remind yourself that it doesn’t matter if you discipling others is “working” from your perspective or if it is “effective”. All that matters is you are being obedient to God’s plan.
When you are tempted to think God might have gotten it wrong by prioritizing discipleship, remind yourself of Isaiah 55:8-9.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Discipling takes faith: faith that God’s means by which people are brought into the Church and built up in Christ are the best means. Faith that God’s plans, God’s methods work even if you don’t fully understand them. If you find yourself doubting if discipleship “works” or wondering if it is as important as people make it out to be, the problem is most likely a lack of faith in God to accomplish what He promises in His word.
You must walk by faith not by sight if you commit to disciple others.
“I am not equipped for discipleship”
Maybe you are trying to make time for discipleship and maybe you do truly believe it is integral to God’s plan for your life. I think the most common barrier to discipleship is even simpler than these: you don’t feel equipped to disciple someone else. You don’t see yourself as the Christian who knows the most, who has the most spiritual experience, who is the wisest or as godly as other believers around you. Who are you to try to disciple a younger believer? Won’t you do more harm than good?
As I have repeated in this post, discipling others is a matter of obedience.
When you pour into others for their spiritual good, you are working in accordance with God’s plan for the world.
The question you have to ask yourself is: will God abandon you to obedience alone? Does God call you to do something that He will not equip you to do? The answer is no, of course. God, through the Holy Spirit, provides you with everything you need to disciple others.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence
2 Peter 1:3, ESV emphasis added
You might not feel qualified or equipped. But Scripture says God has given you what you need to obey Him. More than that, if you are a Christian you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you giving you the power to obey. If you want to become a discipling Christian, you are going to have to fight feelings of inadequacy with the truth of Scripture.
Remember also the promise of Jesus in Matthew 28: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Don’t focus on yourself and the ways you feel ill-equipped to disciple others. Look instead to Jesus and who He is. Is Jesus equipped to disciple others? Does He have all knowledge and wisdom? Then remind yourself that this same Jesus is with you as you seek to pour into others. He will give you what you need.
Conclusion: There are no barriers to discipleship
These 3 common barriers to discipleship can keep you from the joy and satisfaction of living in obedience to Jesus’ plan for your life. Discipling others is not easy, it takes a lot of your time, and requires you to rely on the Lord moment by moment. But that is the point. God calls you to toil for other people’s spiritual good because it also sanctifies you.
When Jesus was teaching His disciples, they didn’t always understand. Reading the Gospels, sometimes it seems like Peter takes one step forward and then three steps back spiritually. But Jesus calls you to follow in His footsteps by patiently and lovingly laboring and teaching other people God’s truth. You aren’t doing it alone: God is empowering you and equipping you every step of the way. None of these barriers to discipleship should keep you from living out God’s will.
Click here to view previous posts in the series “Becoming a Discipling Christian.” If you found this post helpful, share and subscribe below. Follow The Average Churchman on Instagram for more content.