The Ancient Men on the Old Docrine that The Terms of Discipleship Are the Terms of Salvation - Glenn Conjurske
The Ancient Men on the Old Doctrine that the Terms of Discipleship Are the Terms of Salvation
Introduction: The Terms of Discipleship
The scriptures which set forth the terms of discipleship are the following. I quote them in full, so that my readers may have no doubt concerning what I speak of. Some of these texts use the word “disciple,” while others do not, but the terms are the same in all of them. Those terms are, simply put, the renunciation of self—of all that we have, even to life itself. Those terms are explicitly made the terms of discipleship in some of these scriptures, while in others they are explicitly made the terms of salvation, and in yet others, obviously both.
Key Scriptures on Discipleship and Salvation
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 10:37-39).
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Matt. 19:27-29). The same is found in Mark 10:28-30 and Luke 18:28-30, in both of which eternal life is also promised to those who forsake all for Christ.
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26). The same is found in Matthew 16:24-26, and Mark 8:34-38, where its application to salvation is as clear as it is here.
“And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-33).
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:25).
Application to Salvation
We do not see how anybody could honestly apply these scriptures to anything but salvation. That they were universally applied to salvation before the present antinomian age is without doubt. But one thing must be borne in mind in dealing with old writers. They cannot be supposed to be addressing the issues of the present day, nor to have any knowledge of the present state of doctrine or practice in the church. They wrote for their own day, and they cannot be expected to explicitly affirm what no one then denied, nor to explicitly deny what no one affirmed.
The necessity of discipleship to salvation is rarely stated explicitly in old writers. Though it is perfectly evident that all their application of the terms of discipleship is to salvation, yet they nowhere say so explicitly. Many commentators and preachers spend all their words to explain and define in what sense we must forsake all, and in what sense we must hate father and mother, while they never trouble themselves to insist upon the necessity of such denial of self in order to salvation. There was no need, for that was taken for granted by preachers, writers, hearers, and readers alike. It was held by all, and denied by none. The fact is, it is not easy to find explicit statements on the subject in old writers. The reason is, there was no occasion to affirm what no one denied. It is another strange and singular fact that these solemn texts are never mentioned at all by many of the great men of the past, in many volumes of their complete works. This is certainly the mark of a deficiency in emphasis in Protestant theology.
The Old Writers on Discipleship and Salvation
So far as I can learn, among the thousands of sermons which Spurgeon published during his lifetime, he printed but two on discipleship. Those two are so clear and forceful (see below) as to leave no doubt whatsoever of his doctrine, but what if he had omitted those two? Then we should have cavillers enough, to proclaim their doubts that Spurgeon ever preached any such legal gospel, or held any such popish heresy. We may perhaps suppose that he preached more on the subject than he printed, but at any rate there is no doubt whatsoever as to what he believed. If there was any deficiency in him, it was not a deficiency of doctrine, but only of emphasis, for it goes without saying that if this doctrine be true, it ought to be emphasized. We see the same deficiency in many others.
Yet where these texts on discipleship are mentioned at all, they are applied to salvation. It is certain that this was not generally denied until modern times. Most of the older writers, therefore, never raise the issue at all, of whether the terms of discipleship are the terms of salvation. They assume it. This itself is significant, for in reality it constitutes proof that the whole church was agreed on the subject. There was no occasion to labor to prove what no one denied. The necessity of discipleship to salvation is everywhere assumed in their remarks, and sometimes shines through with unmistakable clarity, however incidentally. They did not apply these texts to some advanced state of spirituality, beyond what is found in ordinary Christians, but to nothing other than salvation itself. Whether explicit or incidental, whether clear or vague, all their application of the terms of discipleship is to salvation, never to anything else. My readers may consult, for example, the commentary of Matthew Henry, and they will find those texts which I have set forth at the beginning of this article invariably applied to salvation, yet he does not express himself in such a pithy form as may be quoted here, for I cannot transcribe whole pages. I quote only what is clear and explicit.
Quotes from the Old Writers
As always, I limit my quotations to those who are well known and esteemed in the church, and to those statements which are indisputably on my side. Some, perhaps, will dispute even these, for passion and prejudice dispute everything. I write for those who sincerely desire the truth. They will find in these quotations that these old men of God held the terms of discipleship to be the terms of salvation. I print in bold type those things which are particularly pertinent. I do not pretend to endorse every sentiment or expression in what I here transcribe. I quote only to establish the fact that these men held discipleship to be necessary to salvation. And here I direct the reader to take particular note of the titles of the pieces from which these extracts are taken, for those titles alone are sufficient in a number of cases to establish the fact that the writers apply these scriptures to salvation.
John Wycliffe (1320??-1384) “The Morning Star of the Reformation”
“Crist seiþ at þe bigynnynge, If ony man come to him and hate not þes seven þingis, he mai not be Cristis disciple, and so he mai not be saved.”
[With the spelling modernized, “Christ saith at the beginning, If any man come to him and hate not these seven things, he may not be Christ’s disciple, and so he may not be saved.”]
—-Select English Works of John Wyclif, edited from Original Mss. by Thomas Arnold. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Vol. I, 1869, pg. 189.
Richard Baxter (1600-1691) Puritan
“It was not for nothing Christ would have the first-fruits of his gospel church, (who were to be the example of their successors,) to sell all, and lay it down at the feet of his apostles: and it is his standing rule, that whoever he be that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be his disciple, Luke xiv.33. In estimation, affection, and resolution, it must be forsaken by all that will be saved; and also in practice, whenever God calls us to it.”
—-”Directions and Persuasions to a Sound Conversion,” The Practical Works of Richard Baxter. Ligonier, Pa.: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1990, vol. II, pg. 626.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) Congregationalist
“In order to a man’s being properly said to make a profession of Christianity, there must undoubtedly be a profession of all that is necessary to his being a Christian, or of so much as belongs to the essence of Christianity. … If we take only a part of Christianity, and leave out a part which is essential to it, what we take is not Christianity; … Thus it is essential to Christianity that we repent of our sins, that we be convinced of our own sinfulness, that we are sensible we have justly exposed ourselves to God’s wrath; that our hearts renounce all sin, that we do with our whole hearts embrace Christ as our only Saviour, that we love him above all, are willing for his sake to forsake all, and that we give up ourselves to be entirely and for ever his, &c.”
—-”A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections,” The Works of President Edwards. New-York: S. Converse, vol. V, 1829, pg. 279.
John Gill (1697-1771) Calvinistic Baptist
“He that loveth father or mother more than me, &c.] … That man therefore, that prefers father and mother to Christ, and their instructions, and orders, to the truths and ordinances of Christ; who, to please them, breaks the commands of Christ, rejects his Gospel, and either denies him, or does not confess him, our Lord says, is not worthy of me; … it is not fit and proper, that such a person should name the name of Christ, or be called by his name, and should be reckoned one of his disciples; he is not fit to be a member of the church of Christ on earth, nor for the kingdom of heaven, but deserves to be rejected by him, and everlastingly banished his presence: for otherwise no man, let him behave ever so well, is worthy of relation to Christ, and interest in him; or of his grace, righteousness, presence, kingdom and glory.”
—-Exposition of the New Testament, on Matthew 10:37.
Conclusion: The Agreement of the Church
Here we have the statements of High-church and Evangelical Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Plymouth Brethren, Baptists and Methodists, and I could doubtless give much more of the same, were it not for the paucity of my library. I may say with confidence that the Reformers and Puritans would stand with me to a man, for they had too much conscience to make void the Scriptures after the modern fashion, nor did they know anything of the modern notions of grace. And with the above quotations before them, perversity itself—cavil personified—cannot deny that these men held the terms of discipleship to be the terms of salvation. The antinomian preachers of the present generation think to follow in the train of these evangelical prophets of yore, but the ignorance of modern times has left them in utter darkness as to what these ancient men actually preached. Can we hope to be pardoned for laying the plain facts before their eyes? Alas! the readers of Olde Paths & Ancient Landmarks must now say that Edwards and Ryle and Spurgeon and Kelly were as defective in their views of salvation by grace as Conjurske is. But Conjurske does not stand on the words of Edwards and Ryle and Spurgeon and Kelly, but upon the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is his words which explicitly, unmistakably, and indisputably make the terms of discipleship to be the terms of salvation. With those scriptures before him which we have rehearsed at the beginning of this article, we really cannot understand how any man can deny this and yet be honest with his own mind and conscience. What is eternal life—what is losing or saving the soul—if it be not salvation?
Glenn Conjurske