The 21 Laws of Discipleship

1. Transformed by the renewing of your mind.

2. Transformed by training.

3. Transformed by worship.

4. Transformed in community.

5. Transformed by habit.

6. Transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

7. Transformed by imitating a godly example.

8. Transformed by trying really hard. (Yes, discipleship does include trying really, really hard.)

9. Transformed by faith.

10. Transformed by speaking the truth. We are changed more by what we say than by what we hear.

11. Transformed by pain.

12. Transformed by the gospel.

13. Transformed by service.

14. Transformed by finding and using the way of escape.

15. Transformed by going all-in.

16. Transformed by time.

17. Transformed by prayer.

18. Transformed by understanding and using the principle of replacement.

19. Transformed by confessing sin.

20. Transformed by living life in the kingdom.

21. Transformed by sovereign grace.

One of the principles we will look at is the idea that we are transformed by speaking the truth. We are changed more by what we say than by what we hear. When we hear a sermon on gratitude, we resolve to try really hard to be more grateful. This never works. When we speak twenty things we are grateful for every day for three months—and it becomes a habit—we don’t have to try at all to be grateful. We couldn’t keep from being grateful. Speaking words of gratitude and making it a habit changed us. This must be done while relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. It really helps if you have a community of people to support you and a person who sets an example for you.

This is why there is both a reading portion of this book and a small group discussion portion (sold separately). You can get the gist by reading the book portion, but if you want to really internalize these truths, go through the small group portion with a handful of friends. It could be with an existing small group or Sunday School class, or it could be a group of friends that you invite for this purpose.

If you want to go deeper, do a study of each of these laws. Spend a semester going through Charles Stanley’s book on the The Spirit Filled Life. Spend a semester each going through Craig Groeschel’s book Winning the War in Your Mind and The Power to Change; Mastering the Habits that Matter Most. Keep studying. You never graduate from the school of discipleship. (By the way, I have written study guides for each of these books and more. They are available at www.MyBibleStudyLessons.com )

Even if you have never led a small group, you can lead a small group. Each lesson consists of about 20 ready-to-use questions that you can use in your group. There are likely more questions than you need or can use. My questions may spark a question of your own—all the better.

You might take turns leading the group. Hopefully, you will discover one or two or three people in the group who are really good at leading and really like leading. This is evidence of a spiritual gift. Allow them to lead.

Answers are provided in the form of quotes from well-known authors.

Once you lay hold of these principles—all these principles—your life will be unrecognizable, in the same way that a caterpillar and a butterfly don’t look anything like each other. In addition, you will have a toolbox to troubleshoot anything that might go wrong in your Christian life. If you struggle with worry, for instance, you can go through these twenty-one laws and see which of them needs to be applied to the issue of worry.

• Perhaps you need to design a training plan to help you not to worry.

• Perhaps you need to memorize and meditate on a dozen key verses on worry so that your mind is transformed.

• Perhaps you need to develop the habit of personal worship.

• Perhaps you need to lean on a community. Learn how they have dealt with worry. We are profoundly influenced by the people in our inner circle. If your friends worry, you are more likely to worry. Take your friends with you or get new friends.

Working through the twenty-one laws will yield far greater success than simply trying really hard not to worry. That seldom works.

Let the transformation begin.

Josh Hunt, The 21 Laws of Discipleship (Good Questions, 2024).

Check out our Bible Study on the 21 Laws of Discipleship by Josh Hunt

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