1. What is discipleship? 

a. Discipleship is the process of transforming the human nature into the Divine nature it was intended to be, through consistent Divine-human encounters we can connect with God in prayer and scripture. 

2. What is the difference between following Jesus and imitating Jesus? 

a. Akoulotheo is the Greek word which can be translated as either follow or imitate. Curious crowds follow Jesus, seeking self-serving satisfaction. Disciples train to imitate the Divine nature of Jesus and are willing to share in His sufferings.

3. I was baptized as a baby. Is that sufficient for training as a disciple? 

a. The act of immersion under water (known as baptism because the Greek word is ‘baptisma’) is a spiritual event. A collection of Bible verses describes this event as a spiritual death and resurrection, a spiritual cleansing of sin, and finally the method to receiving the spirit-fruit seed. Once out of the water, discipleship begins of producing that spirit-fruit through the twenty commands found in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. A baby is unable to fulfill or understand any of the above. 

4. What happened to the Ten Commandments if the Twenty Commands (also known as the Sermon on the Mount) took its place? 

a. Jesus did not abolish the Ten Commandments; they were absorbed into the new covenant of the Twenty Commands found in Matthew, chapters five through seven, aka, Sermon on the Mount. For example, one of the Ten Commandments is do not kill; one of the Twenty Commands, value your enemy, absorbed "do not kill," as killing is still not permitted. 

5. When is baptism necessary?

a. New Testament writer, Luke, used the Greek imperative when he wrote, “change your mind and be immersed.” Water immersion is necessary in the process of being forgiven by Jesus and accepting His sacrifice as payment for sin. Changing the mind comes first, the process of learning and adapting to Jesus’ New Covenant of His Twenty Commands:

 Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore, be departed, train disciples in every nation, immersing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the spirit set apart and teaching them to keep strict everything I commanded you.

A steady diet of keeping strict the Twenty Commands will change the mind.