Just as I had discovered that there were three keys in David’s approach to challenging the giant and that there were three aspects to each of these keys, the committee developing the discipleship program understood that there was also a three-pronged approach to studying a story and that each of these levels of study consisted of three specific questions that need to be answered. Perhaps the best way to understand this approach is to go through a Bible story asking and answering each of these questions. For that purpose, I’ve chosen a story that most of us have misunderstood and that is actually used in many discipleship manuals to teach something that is directly opposite to what it is intended to communicate. By simply going through these nine questions and answering them honestly without the biases we have inherited from sermons and previous teachings, we can uncover exactly what Jesus was trying to communicate. Hopefully, going through this parable with an open mind and a fresh approach will help us to see that a specifically trained or well-versed Bible teacher is not necessary to help new believers develop a strong and maturing Christian faith. The story I have chosen is Jesus’ parable about prayer.
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8)
Since this passage begins with a statement that contrasts praying against fainting and ends with the question about faith being found in the world, most teachers make what seems to be a logical deduction that the story of the widow’s request of the judge is intended to teach us about diligence in prayer. The result is that almost one hundred percent of the sermons and teachings based on this text emphasize a relentless—even demanding—attitude toward prayer. This passage is used to teach us that we must become adamant and resolute with God if we don’t get what we want on our first request. Teachers and preachers use this passage in such a way that it eventually suggests that an individual’s ability to determinately stand his ground in prayer will eventually get him an answer. However, as inspiring as such teaching might be, this is not at all what Jesus was saying. In fact, the underlying message conveyed in such an interpretation of this story undermines our basic relationship with our heavenly Father and teaches us to rely upon our own works (prayer) rather than to have a confident faith in God. Having “upset the apple cart” with these comments, I suppose that I’d better quickly move on into looking at what the parable actually says.
The first step in analyzing a story is to know it by acquainting ourselves with exactly what the story says. To do so, we have to ask three simple questions:
Who are the characters?
What are the actions of these characters?
What are the details that give life to the story?
In the discipleship process, these and all the other questions to be addressed are answered in a casual give-and-take discussion with the one doing the discipleship allowing the new believer to discover the answers as the teacher nudges him through the process. This present presentation requires that I give you the answers in print; however, I suggest that you take time to look through the story and come up with your own list of responses before looking at the answers I will give.
Who are the characters in the story?
He (Jesus)
Men
A judge
A widow
The widow’s adversary
The Lord (another reference to Jesus)
God
His (God’s) elect
The Son of Man (another reference to Jesus)
What are the actions of the characters?
He (Jesus) told the story.
Men were expected to learn to pray and not faint.
The judge refused to help the woman but eventually gave in.
The widow requested help from the judge and refused to give up until she got that help.
The Lord (Jesus) compared/contrasted the judge with God.
God avenges His elect.
The Son of Man will come looking for faith in the earth.
What are the details that give life to the story?
The reason that Jesus taught the story was that men would learn to pray and not faint.
The judge had no fear of God or regard for men.
The judge himself acknowledged that he had no fear of God or regard for men.
It was because the widow’s continual wearied him, not because of her need, that the judge eventually acted on her behalf.
Jesus called the judge unjust.
God will avenge His elect speedily.
God bears long with His elect.
The elect call upon God day and night.
The ones who call upon God are His elect, not unrelated widows.
We’ve probably all heard the expression, “The devil is in the details,” but the truth of the matter is that the devil actually wants to keep us out of the details because it is there that we discover the true intent of the story. By seeing the true nature of the judge, we realize that he is not intended to be a symbol of God. Therefore, the way the widow pled with him should not be seen as a symbol of the way we are to approach our heavenly Father. As we uncover the details, we begin to see that the story of the widow and the judge is actually a worst-case scenario against which we are to contrast the best-case scenario of a God who considers us His elect rather than some wearisome stranger. Rather than neglecting our requests, He answers them speedily.
Although I’ve already begun to interpret the story a bit by enumerating some of the things we begin to see by looking at the details of the story, this first level of study is intended to simply acquaint us with the story itself. It is actually in the next level of the study that we are to move to understanding the story. Again, there are three questions that we must answer in this process:
What are the emotions that the characters exhibit?
What are the choices that they made or could have made?
What are the motives behind the actions and choices of the characters?
In some stories, these questions are actually answered in the text; however, in most stories, we will have to use our imaginations and try to put ourselves into the shoes of the characters, feeling the story as insiders rather than as external observers. Since each person will feel and experience the story differently, there is not a list of correct answers to these questions and caution must ne taken in order that we don’t go too far afield by letting our imagination run too wild. However, if we practice reasonable constraint, we should come to some logical conclusions as to the emotions, motives, and choices implied in the story.
What are the emotions that the characters exhibit?
The widow could have run through a gamut of emotions from desperation to fear to disappointment to anger; however, the one emotion that dominates the story is her feeling of determination and self-reliance.
The emotion of the judge is obviously frustration.
The emotion of God must be one of compassion as He views the needs of his elect.
The Son of Man may possibly experience disappointment if He does not find the faith that He is looking for in the earth. On the other hand, He may experience delight if He finds what He is looking for.
What are the choices that they made or could have made?
The widow obviously had the choice to give up or to continue persistently begging the judge for help.
The judge’s clear options were to help the widow or to decline her plea.
God also has choices. He can act like the unjust judge and make His elect grovel while He lingers on assisting them or He can immediately spring into action to answer their petitions.
What are the motives behind the characters’ actions and choices?
The widow’s motive is apparent. She has a desperate need and wants to get it answered.
The judge’s motive is obviously selfishness. It is possible that he delayed his answer hoping that the widow would resort to offering him a bribe. At any rate, it was his own discomfort, not the widow’s need, that finally moved him to action.
God’s motivation is evidently love in that He answers the requests of His elect—those who have a relationship with Him, not some random widow who has showed up at His doorstep.
At this point, we are inside the story enough that we are actually able to understand what it is intended to communicate. The lesson we see is that we should always feel confident to pray to God. Unlike the unjust judge, God has a character of compassion and is interested in all our needs. Unlike the unrelated widow, we are His elect; therefore, He is ready and willing to answer our requests speedily. It doesn’t matter when we call upon Him—during daytime business hours or even in the middle of the night—He is ready to help. If we had to rely upon our own strength to “arm wrestle” God into answering our prayers as the widow did with the unconcerned judge, we might faint in the process. Because we often do take this self-relent attitude toward Him, God does have to bear long with us, hoping that we will eventually catch on to the generous relationship He so graciously extends to us. The Son of Man is looking for faith, a confident trust in God. But will He find that in the earth, or will He find the earth populated with people whose confidence is in their own stamina and ability to persistently argue their case before a God with whom they have no true or intimate relationship?
Now that we know the story and have begun to understand it, we still have one more level that we must explore before we have completed the discipleship process. We must apply the story. Here, again, there are three questions that must be addressed in the process. These questions come from the words of the Apostle Paul in II Timothy 3:16-17.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
It sounds as if the apostle had disciple-making in the forefront of his mind as he wrote about scripture as being profitable for the ultimate purpose of producing men and women who are perfect and thoroughly furnished for all good works—a perfect description of those who have successfully gone through the discipleship process. The three questions we use to apply the scripture to our lives answer the specific aspects for which Paul says scripture is profitable. He first mentions doctrine or teaching, as other translations render his wording. This is the overall educational process covered through all three stages of the exploration process; however, the remaining three aspects are specific to this last stage of application. Reproof, which has to do with our past actions, challenges us to look back to see what we have done wrong in the past. Correction has to do with the present, asking us to discover how we can remedy our past errors. Instruction in righteousness relates to the future as we develop a plan for moving forward, free from these faults and enabled not to repeat them. Our three questions for applying the truths of the story to our lives are:
What have I done wrong in the past?
How can I correct these errors today?
How can I ensure that I don’t repeat these errors in the future?
Obviously, the answers to these questions will vary with each individual student; however, allow me to list the answers as I would personally respond because I believe that my answers might not be too far afield from those of anyone who has taken an unbiased look at the story and has honestly let it speak to him.
What have I done wrong in the past?
I have erroneously interpreted the story to imply that I need to beg God to answer my prayers and that it is really my persistence in prayer (works) rather than God’s love (grace) that gets results.
How can I correct these errors today?
I must change my mental perception of God in order to know how to effectively approach Him with true faith when I pray.
How can I ensure that I don’t repeat these errors in the future?
Since I know that the only true source of information that can change my way of thinking and life is the Bible, I must find scriptures to use as anchor points for renewing my mind so that I don’t fall back into my natural, carnal point of view. I will memorize them and apply them when making requests of the Lord. Second Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” tells me that God (unlike the unjust judge who didn’t want to be bothered by the widow’s problem) is actually looking for a chance to get involved in helping me. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” tells me that, because of His extreme love for me, God spared no expense in rescuing me from my sins. Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” furthers that truth by telling me that if He was willing to give His Son for me He will certainly take care of anything that requires a much less expense on His part. Isaiah 65:24, “It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear,” and Matthew 6:8, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him,” assure me that I don’t have to beg, plead, or be dramatic to get God’s attention; He is already attentive to my need—even before I make my requests. Secondly, I will constantly remind myself of who I am to God. I am not a widow; rather, I am His bride for whom He has given Himself. (Ephesians 5:25) If He gave Himself, certainly He will not turn a deaf or unconcerned ear to my needs and petitions.
Who would have ever thought that we could gain so much practical instruction for living from one simple Bible story and nine little questions? And even more, we were able to do so without being highly trained Bible scholars. This is proof positive that disciple-making is no more difficult than witnessing or evangelism. It can be done without extensive preparation or a fully developed curriculum. All it takes is an unbiased mind and a heart open to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Remember that one of the significant elements in disciple-making was the necessity of a genuine commitment between the one doing the discipleship and the new believer. If such a relationship exists to the level that the two can sit together and explore the revelations in one Bible story each day, they will have covered over one hundred eighty stories in the process of six months, the time span I suggested earlier. Imagine how far along the new believer will be in his Christian faith by the time he has dug out the truths in that many scriptures and put a plan in place to ensure that he is constantly applying them to his life. Certainly, he’ll be well on his way to perfection and fairly well furnished for all good works by that point. Without a doubt, he’ll be ready to find at least one more person with whom he can share the joy and adventure of exploring the scriptures and discovering their truths. The next grain of rice will be added to the chessboard, and we’ll be one step closer to conquering the giant challenges of discipling the nations and accomplishing the Great Commission.
The passage in II Timothy that I quoted in the section about the application questions states that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; therefore, it would be totally appropriate to simply hand a Bible to the new convert and the individual who is discipling him and let them pick Bible stories at random to study. However, it seems a bit more logical to guide them through certain significant topics in the initial stages of their discovery process. Therefore we spent some considerable time and effort perusing other discipleship courses and doctrinal statements (such as the Apostles Creed, the Westminster Confession, and the statements of faith of all the major Christian denominations) in a quest to find what topics seemed to be most commonly recognized as the essentials of the Christian faith. The result of that study was a fifty-two-lesson study divided into four parts. The four divisions were modeled after the pattern of a house, based on Paul’s illustration in Ephesians 2:20 where he says that our faith is a structure built upon the doctrines of the apostles. The first thirteen lessons are the cornerstone that is the identifying mark of the Christian faith—those teachings that set our faith apart from other world religions and philosophies. The second set of thirteen lessons constitutes the foundation—those truths upon which all else rests. The thirteen lessons in the walls section are those elements that outsiders observe as they see Christians living their daily lives. The final thirteen lessons in this portion of the study make up the roof—scriptural truths that prevent the entrance of false doctrine just as a roof serves as a protective shield over a home to keep out the destructive elements. After these four essential segments are covered, all following lessons are considered as interior topics—studies that can be selected according to the specific needs and interests of the individuals, just as the owners of a home can make their own decisions about how to arrange and decorate the interior of their personal homes.
One aspect that the development team was very sensitive to was the fact that much of the scripture is not in story form and that such didactic teaching must be incorporated in order to have a thorough understanding of the gospel. Therefore each lesson is accompanied with a list of additional scriptures on the topic so that the instructor and student can make a more thorough study of the topic and, therefore, obtain a more well-rounded view of what the scriptures have to say about each truth. To learn more about the Be Fruitful and Multiply approach, please visit www.ech.org and click on Be Fruitful and Multiply under the resources tab.
Appendix I contains in skeletal form—title, scriptural reference for the story (in bold print), and additional scripture references (in normal print)—the fifty-two lessons in the original Be Fruitful and Multiply series along with an additional one hundred thirty-one lessons, constituting enough lessons to carry a new believer through one story each day for the six months suggested in the discipleship model presented earlier in this book. The additional lessons I have added take the new convert through several interior category studies [lessons 53-71], a study the life of the early church as depicted in the book of Acts as a pattern for the present-day church [lessons 72-84], a series on the fruit of the Spirit [lessons 85-93], an analysis of the commandments of Jesus (since Jesus specifically listed this as part of the discipleship process in Matthew 28:20) [lessons 94-141], and the parables of Jesus [lessons 142-183].
I pray that when you come to the end of the prose section of this volume that you don’t assume that you have finished the book. In all actuality, everything else in this book is little more than introductory material to prepare your for the next step. Please go to the appendix, pick a lesson or two at random and take a few minutes—or few hours—to explore the truths in the story by applying the nine questions to the passage. Take the time to carefully examine each detail and to investigate every possible motive, emotion, and choice in the story. Be sure to look up the additional study scriptures and even add your own additional scriptures by using your concordance to follow up the key words, thoughts, and ideas in the story. If your Bible has cross-references, invest the time and effort to look them up. I’m certain that you’ll find the study so rewarding that you’ll find yourself wanting to go through the other hundred eighty stories and then plunge into the other stories you’ll find on your own in the Bible. But please don’t stop there. Ask the Lord to show you the sons and daughters of peace around you who already have a heart’s desire to find the kingdom of God. Invite them to join you in your journey through the scripture and, in doing so, you’ll bring the Body of Christ one step closer to fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission and discipling your nation.