A CALL TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

THIAGO M. SILVA

C.S. LEWIS INSTITUTE CITY DIRECTOR – LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA
PASTOR, BETHEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA

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Introduction

n the film The Matrix, Neo is offered a choice: take the blue pill and remain in comfortable illusion, or take the red pill and awaken to reality as it truly is. This moment has become an enduring cultural metaphor for the search for truth in a world filled with deception. Yet the dilemma it presents is not new. Every generation faces the question: What is real? What is good? What is worth loving?

In today’s world, these questions have become more pressing than ever. Truth is treated as subjective, morality is reshaped by personal preference, and beauty is often trivialized or distorted. As a result, many Christians struggle to articulate and embody their faith in a culture that views it as either irrelevant or oppressive. Discipleship—the lifelong journey of following Christ—must be more than just knowing theological concepts or adhering to moral rules. It must form the whole person—mind, heart, and imagination—so that believers not only are equipped to withstand cultural pressures, but also can witness compellingly to a fragmented world.

While Saint Augustine of Hippo and C.S. Lewis had birth dates separated by more than 1500 years, both understood the dangers of a disordered soul and a society adrift. Living in the final days of the Roman Empire, Augustine saw firsthand what happens when a civilization loses its foundation. Lewis, writing in the aftermath of two world wars, confronted a rising secularism that sought to replace divine meaning with human self-determination. Both men discovered that Christianity offers not just a belief system but a vision of reality that restores the unity of truth, goodness, and beauty. They knew that discipleship was not merely about accumulating knowledge or following ethical codes but about being drawn into the fullness of life in Christ.

For discipleship to flourish in our own post-Christian world, it must recover this integrated vision. Truth forms the mind to recognize reality as God has revealed it. Goodness shapes the heart to love what is right and just. Beauty captivates the imagination and draws the soul toward worship. Without truth, discipleship is shallow. Without goodness, it is hypocritical. Without beauty, it is lifeless. But when all three are present, faith becomes compelling, resilient, and deeply satisfying. Augustine and Lewis point us toward a discipleship that does not merely survive cultural decay but flourishes in the midst of it.

Truth: Discipleship of the Mind in an Age of Relativism

Truth is one of the most contested ideas in the modern world. In a society where relativism reigns, truth is often presented as something subjective, something shaped by individual experience rather than objective reality. The dominant cultural narrative suggests that each person has their own truth, and that claiming an absolute standard is oppressive or outdated. In this context, Christian discipleship must be deeply concerned with the formation of the mind. Without a firm foundation in truth, believers will be swept away by the tide of cultural relativism, unable to discern what is real from what is merely fashionable.

Bible consistently emphasizes the importance of truth in the life of a disciple. The apostle Paul urges believers not to conform to the world’s patterns but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). This transformation is not superficial but involves a complete reorientation of thought and understanding, aligning one’s perception of reality with the wisdom of God. Jesus Himself declares that knowing the truth is what sets people free, linking true discipleship with an intimate knowledge of His teaching (John 8:31–32). If truth is as central to Christian life as the Scriptures affirm, then discipleship cannot be separated from a rigorous pursuit of truth.

Augustine of Hippo is a powerful example of someone who spent years searching for truth before finding it in God. His Confessions record his restless intellectual journey, his flirtation with various philosophies, and his ultimate realization that human wisdom alone could not satisfy his deepest questions. He famously declares, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” For Augustine, truth was not something he discovered through his own reasoning but something he was led into by divine grace. He later argued that all truth ultimately belongs to God, and that any pursuit of knowledge must be grounded in God’s revelation. In De Doctrina Christiana, he underscores the importance of interpreting and teaching Scripture rightly, seeing it as the highest form of truth that orders all other knowledge.

C.S. Lewis, writing more than 1500 years later, faced a different but related challenge. Whereas Augustine wrestled with the competing claims of ancient philosophy and heretical movements, Lewis confronted the rise of modern skepticism and materialism. As an academic and former atheist, Lewis understood the temptation to dismiss Christianity as mere myth or superstition. However, he came to see that Christianity was not only intellectually credible; it also demanded a response. In his essay “Christian Apologetics,” published in God in the Dock, he famously argues that Christianity, “if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” ¹ His point is clear: faith cannot be treated as a personal preference or a mere source of comfort. If it is true, then it must shape everything.

A commitment to truth is essential for discipleship because it is the only defense against deception. Paul warns in his letters that false teachers will come, twisting the message of Christ and leading people astray (2 Timothy 4:3-4). The Great Commission itself includes the command to teach disciples to obey everything Christ has commanded, reinforcing the idea that following Jesus is not just about personal devotion but about learning and adhering to a body of revealed truth (Matthew 28:16–20). This emphasis on teaching is a safeguard against the kind of faith that is easily abandoned when challenged. In a world where misinformation spreads quickly and opinions are given the weight of facts, Christians must be equipped to discern between truth and falsehood. This requires not only an intellectual grasp of doctrine, but also the ability to apply biblical wisdom to contemporary issues.

Christians must develop a worldview shaped by truth rather than passively accepting the ideas of the culture around them. Loving God with all one’s mind (Matthew 22:37) requires thinking critically, examining assumptions, and being willing to challenge prevailing narratives. Faith and reason are not enemies but allies, and the renewal of the mind is essential for a flourishing Christian life.

Without a foundation in truth, discipleship becomes shallow and easily uprooted. Many who leave the faith do so not because they found Christianity intellectually lacking but because they were never taught to think deeply about it. A mind shaped by the truth of God’s Word is not easily swayed by cultural trends or personal doubts. Instead, it remains anchored in the reality of who God is and what He has revealed. In an age of relativism, discipleship must be a deliberate process of forming minds that love and seek truth, knowing that in Christ, truth is not an abstract concept but a person who leads us into life.

Goodness: Discipleship of Character in an Age of Moral Confusion

Goodness is an essential but often misunderstood element of Christian discipleship. In an age where morality is increasingly subjective and shifting, many people struggle to understand what it truly means to live a good life. The dominant cultural narrative suggests that goodness is a personal or social construct, something each individual or society defines according to its preferences. Without an objective moral standard, concepts such as justice, virtue, and righteousness lose their grounding, and goodness is reduced to mere sentimentality or pragmatism. Christian discipleship, however, insists that goodness is not merely about outward behavior but about the transformation of character according to the unchanging nature of God.

Scripture consistently presents goodness as an essential characteristic of God and a defining mark of His people. In Psalm 34:8, the psalmist invites believers to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (KJV), suggesting that goodness is not just a theoretical attribute of God but something to be experienced. Jesus, when approached by a rich young ruler who called Him “good teacher,” responded, “No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:18, NIV). This statement does not deny Jesus’s own goodness but rather affirms that all true goodness originates in God. To be good, in the biblical sense, is to reflect God’s character, which means discipleship must focus on forming people who not only know what is good but love and live according to it.

Augustine wrestled deeply with the nature of goodness, particularly in relation to the problem of evil. Like many before him, he sought to understand why evil exists in a world created by a good God. He ultimately concluded that evil is not a substance or force in itself but a corruption of the good. In Confessions, he writes, “All which is corrupted is deprived of good.” Evil, in Augustine’s understanding, is a parasite—it has no independent existence but is the distortion or absence of what is truly good. This insight is crucial for discipleship today. Many modern people assume that good and evil are equal and opposing forces, leading to moral ambiguity. Augustine reminds us that goodness is primary, real, and eternal, whereas evil is a perversion of what God originally made good. Recognizing this truth provides an anchor in times of moral and cultural confusion, allowing disciples to trust that goodness is not arbitrary but deeply rooted in the nature of God.

C.S. Lewis builds upon this idea in Mere Christianity, where he argues that our very sense of right and wrong points to a moral law that transcends human opinion. He writes, “It seems, then, we are forced to believe in a real Right and Wrong . . . not a matter of mere taste and opinion any more than the multiplication table.” ² For Lewis, the fact that people universally appeal to concepts of fairness and justice—even when they disagree on specific applications—suggests that morality is not merely a human invention, but something woven into the fabric of reality. This recognition is critical for Christian discipleship because it means that growing in goodness is not about conforming to cultural norms but about aligning one’s character with the eternal moral order established by God.

One of the greatest challenges to discipleship today is the belief that morality is self-defined. Many people, even within the church, assume that as long as they are sincere and follow their hearts, they are living rightly. However, Scripture warns that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV). Feelings and desires, while not inherently bad, must be shaped and purified by God’s truth. Left to themselves, human hearts naturally drift away from goodness rather than toward it. This is why discipleship must be more than behavior modification; it must involve the transformation of desires. As Paul writes in Galatians 5:22–23, true goodness is a fruit of the Spirit, meaning that it is cultivated by God’s work in a believer’s life rather than by mere self-effort.

To be a disciple is to undergo a moral and spiritual reorientation. The goal is not simply to do good things but to become the kind of person who naturally loves and practices goodness. This process, however, is not instantaneous. It involves training, discipline, and the renewal of the mind, as Paul urges in Romans 12:2. True discipleship must go beyond intellectual knowledge and engage the affections because people are not primarily shaped by what they think but by what they love and desire. In other words, Scripture teaches that goodness is not just about right actions but about having a heart that delights in righteousness.

Discipleship in an age of moral confusion must be deliberate about cultivating virtue. It requires immersing believers in the biblical story so that they see goodness not as a set of arbitrary rules but as the natural outworking of a life lived in communion with God. It also requires surrounding them with a community that models and reinforces godly character. The book of Proverbs repeatedly emphasizes that the people we surround ourselves with shape our moral development: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20, ESV). The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation, and growth in goodness happens in the context of a community that encourages holiness.

Another crucial aspect of discipleship in goodness is understanding the nature of repentance and grace. No one consistently lives up to God’s standard of goodness. Augustine himself, reflecting on his past sins, marveled at God’s patience and mercy. Lewis similarly acknowledges in The Problem of Pain that true goodness is not simply about moral performance but about being drawn into a deeper relationship with God. He writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ³ This reminds us that growth in goodness often comes through struggle, suffering, and the refining fire of God’s discipline.

Christian discipleship must be committed to forming people who do not merely conform to external moral standards but who are deeply transformed by God’s grace. This means teaching them not only the ethical teachings of Scripture, but also the power of the gospel, which both convicts and restores. Goodness is not simply about avoiding sin; it is about being remade in the image of Christ, who is the perfect embodiment of divine goodness. Jesus does not merely tell His followers to do good; He calls them to abide in Him so that His goodness flows through them. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5, NIV).

In an age where morality is confused and contested, Christian discipleship must recover a clear and compelling vision of goodness. This vision must be rooted in the unchanging character of God, shaped by the teaching of Scripture, and cultivated through the power of the Holy Spirit. Augustine and Lewis remind us that true goodness is not a set of rules but a way of being—a transformation that takes place when one’s heart is reordered to love what God loves. If the church is to be a beacon of light in a dark world, it must be filled with disciples who not only know what is good, but also embody it in every aspect of their lives.

Beauty: Discipleship of the Imagination in an Age of Aesthetic Decay

Beauty is often the most neglected aspect of discipleship, yet it plays a vital role in shaping the human soul. In an age of aesthetic decay, where much of contemporary culture either distorts beauty or dismisses it as subjective, the church must reclaim beauty as an essential component of spiritual formation. Beauty has the power to stir the soul, to shape our affections, and to direct our gaze toward God. If truth is what we know and goodness is how we live, then beauty is what draws us into worship. It is not incidental to the Christian life but central to how we perceive and experience God. Discipleship, therefore, must include the training of the imagination to recognize, love, and create beauty in ways that reflect the glory of God.

Scripture consistently presents beauty as a reflection of divine order and goodness. The psalmist declares, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4, NIV). Here, beauty is not a mere luxury or an abstract concept but something that captivates and transforms. The created world itself testifies to the beauty of its Maker: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1, NIV). Beauty, then, is not arbitrary; it is embedded in creation as a witness to the divine. It is something we encounter, something we recognize, and something that has the power to awaken in us a longing for God.

Augustine experienced this longing for beauty in a profound way. Before his conversion, he sought satisfaction in earthly pleasures, believing that beauty could be found in worldly things. After encountering Christ, however, he came to see that all true beauty comes from God. In Confessions, he writes, “Belatedly I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved thee! For see, Thou wast within and I was without, and I sought Thee out there.” Augustine realized that his pursuit of beauty had been misdirected—he had sought it in external things when, all along, it was meant to lead him to God. This recognition transformed his understanding of beauty. Rather than seeing it as something to be possessed, he came to see it as something that draws the soul upward, awakening a desire for the eternal.

C.S. Lewis echoed this theme in The Weight of Glory, where he describes how encounters with beauty stir in us a profound longing—not merely to see beauty but to be united with it. He writes, “We do not want merely to see beauty . . . We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” ⁴ For Lewis, beauty was not an end in itself but a signpost pointing to something greater. He believed that our longing for beauty was ultimately a longing for heaven, for the full and perfect beauty of God’s presence. This insight is crucial for discipleship. If beauty is a reflection of God’s nature, then cultivating an appreciation for beauty is not superficial but deeply spiritual. It trains the heart to recognize the goodness of God and to long for His kingdom.

The modern world, however, often distorts beauty. Much of contemporary art, music, and media celebrate the grotesque, the shocking, or the trivial, rejecting the idea that beauty has any objective meaning. Aesthetic relativism—like moral relativism— argues that beauty is simply a matter of personal preference, without deeper significance. This is a tragic misunderstanding. True beauty is not just about what pleases the senses; it is about what aligns with the nature and order of God’s creation. When beauty is abandoned, societies become disordered, and individuals become numb to the things that ought to inspire awe and wonder. This is why discipleship must include the cultivation of an imagination that seeks after what is truly beautiful. Therefore, Christian formation is not merely about acquiring knowledge but about shaping our loves and desires, because what captures our imagination shapes our identity. This is particularly true of beauty. When people are immersed in ugliness—whether in the form of shallow entertainment, degrading images, or chaotic surroundings—they lose their capacity to perceive and appreciate true beauty. Conversely, when they are exposed to what is truly beautiful, their hearts are drawn toward higher things. This is why churches should take seriously their responsibility to cultivate beauty in worship, in art, and in everyday life.

The church throughout history has understood the power of beauty in shaping discipleship. From the soaring cathedrals of medieval Europe to the sacred music of Bach, Christian communities have sought to create beauty that lifts the soul toward God. This is not about extravagance or mere aesthetics; it is about forming hearts that recognize and respond to God’s glory. Worship, at its best, is a union of truth, goodness, and beauty. It proclaims the truth of the gospel, calls people to holiness, and surrounds them with the beauty that stirs the soul to love God more deeply.

The Bible concludes with a vision of ultimate beauty. In Revelation, John describes the New Jerusalem, a city radiant with the glory of God. The beauty of this city is not merely physical but symbolic of the full restoration of creation. In this vision, beauty is inseparable from truth and goodness—it is the consummation of God’s work of redemption. When discipleship neglects beauty, it truncates the Christian vision of the world. It risks creating a faith that is intellectually sound and morally upright but spiritually dull. However, when beauty is embraced as an essential aspect of discipleship, it awakens a deeper longing for God and a fuller participation in His kingdom.

Discipleship in an age of aesthetic decay must reclaim beauty as a means of drawing people toward Christ. This means cultivating environments that reflect divine beauty, encouraging the creation and appreciation of art that glorifies God, and training believers to recognize the ways in which beauty points beyond itself to the Creator. Augustine and Lewis remind us that beauty is not incidental to the Christian life—it is a means by which God speaks to the soul. If discipleship is to be holistic, it must include not only the pursuit of truth and the practice of goodness but also the cultivation of a love for beauty. Such a pursuit will lead us to worship the One who is Beauty itself.

Practical Implications for Christian Discipleship That Is True, Good, and Beautiful

Recovering a vision of truth, goodness, and beauty in discipleship is not merely an intellectual exercise or a philosophical ideal. It has real and pressing implications for how Christians live, learn, and witness in the world. In an age where faith is often reduced to personal spirituality, where moral formation is neglected, and where beauty is either distorted or ignored, discipleship must be holistic—shaping minds, hearts, and imaginations to reflect the reality of God.

First, discipleship must be anchored in truth. Christians must develop a deep commitment to learning and teaching the truth revealed in Scripture. This means engaging with sound theology, studying God’s Word with intellectual rigor, and embracing the historic faith of the church. It also means training disciples to think critically, equipping them to discern truth from falsehood in a world saturated with misinformation and ambiguity. Pastors and teachers must emphasize the importance of doctrinal clarity and biblical literacy, recognizing that faith is not strengthened by ignorance but by knowledge of God and His ways. Apologetics, church history, and engagement with contemporary issues must be part of discipleship efforts, not as mere academic exercises but as vital components of forming believers who can stand firm in their faith.

Second, discipleship must cultivate moral virtue and the love of goodness. Christian formation is not just about knowing the right things but about becoming the kind of people who naturally desire and live out what is good. This requires a return to spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, fasting, service, and acts of justice, which shape the heart to love righteousness. It also necessitates the formation of Christian community, where believers can encourage and hold one another accountable in their pursuit of holiness. Augustine and Lewis both recognized that goodness is not an isolated endeavor, but something developed through imitation, mentorship, and shared life. Churches must be places where goodness is modeled—not as moral legalism but as an invitation into a fuller, richer way of being human.

Third, discipleship must reclaim beauty as essential to spiritual formation. In many evangelical settings, beauty has been neglected, reduced to an afterthought in worship, art, and daily life. Yet beauty has the power to stir the soul and draw people toward God in ways that arguments alone cannot. Worship should be not only theologically sound, but also aesthetically rich, incorporating music and liturgy that reflect the grandeur and majesty of God. Christian discipleship should encourage believers to seek beauty in creation, to cultivate an appreciation for literature, music, and the arts, and to create works that reflect divine beauty. This is not about empty emotionalism or superficial decoration but about shaping affections and imaginations toward what is true and good.

Discipleship that embraces truth, goodness, and beauty also transforms Christian witness. In a skeptical age, many reject Christianity not because they have examined it carefully and found it wanting, but because they have never encountered a faith that is intellectually compelling, morally compelling, and aesthetically compelling. A church that proclaims truth with clarity, embodies goodness with integrity, and displays beauty in its worship and life together will be far more persuasive than one that relies on argumentation alone. The gospel itself is true, good, and beautiful—our discipleship must reflect that reality. Ultimately, to follow Christ is to be shaped by truth that liberates, goodness that sanctifies, and beauty that awakens the soul to the glory of God. A discipleship that lacks any of these elements is incomplete. But when truth forms the mind, goodness forms the heart, and beauty forms the imagination, Christians will not only survive in a post-Christian world; they will also thrive as luminous witnesses of Christ. The task before the church is great, but the calling is clear: to make disciples whose lives are true, good, and beautiful—because they reflect the One who is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Himself.

NOTES

¹  C.S. Lewis, “Christian Apologetics,” in God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 101.
²  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; repr., New York: Touchstone, 1996), 20.
³  C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (1940; repr., San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 91.
⁴  C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (1949; repr., New York: HarperOne, 2001), 42.