Fifth, Paul claims to have lived a blameless life before a watching world (v. 2:10). Blamelessness is not perfection. A blameless life is one without disclaimers. If we find ourselves repeating, "Yeah, but…" in our effort to rationalize or justify our behavior, we are no longer living a blameless life. Fully devoted followers of Jesus do not live a life of disclaimers. Paul challenged the Christians in Ephesus not to allow even a "hint of immorality be spoken of them" (Eph 5:3). How often have our lives displayed more than a hint?

In these two passages, Jesus describes those who follow Him:

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27).

Following Christ requires dying to our agenda and comfort. As Bonhoeffer suggests, when Jesus calls us, He bids us come and die.

Finally, Jesus says, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).

A fully devoted follower of Christ surrenders everything to Christ. As we pray the Lord's Prayer and we get to, "Thy Kingdom come," we must first pray, "My kingdom, go!" We cannot be fully devoted until we have fully surrendered our agenda, our life, our rights and our expectations.

The dimensions of discipleship, the path and pace of discipleship, and the marks of discipleship provide a solid foundation on which we can discuss methodology. Without that foundation, our discipleship endeavor will be susceptible to fads and formulas that may provide immediate but unsustainable growth.

For further reading:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal

Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy