Gospel of Mark Bible Part 54: Principles of Discipleship [Bible Study]

Rev. Bruce A. Shields
55 minutes ago
5 min read

Bible Studies based on sermons from The House of Faith Church by Rev. Bruce A. Shields

Bible Study Title: Salted with Fire: Discipleship without Pride

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

Mark 9:38–50

INTRODUCTION

This passage confronts the heart of discipleship. The disciples struggled with pride, rivalry, and misunderstanding. Jesus answers them with five sobering truths: unity in His name, the value of small acts, the danger of harming young believers, the severity of eternal judgment, and the refining work of divine fire.

Before moving into application, it is worth noting that verses 44 and 46 repeat the line found in verse 48. In the earliest and most reliable manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, the refrain appears only once in verse 48. Later scribes likely repeated it for emphasis, echoing Isaiah 66:24. No doctrine is altered. The warning of eternal punishment stands clearly and unsoftened.

BIBLE READING

Read Mark 9:38–50 slowly and prayerfully.

KEY TRUTHS AND PERSONAL EXAMINATION

I. He Who Is Not Against Us Is For Us

Mark 9:40 “For he who is not against us is for us.”

John objected to a man casting out demons because he did not follow their group. The issue was not doctrine. It was control. Pride had crept in.

Jesus corrects them. The man acted in Christ’s name. That was enough.

Cross references:

John 17:21–23

1 Corinthians 1:10–13

Ephesians 4:3–6

Personal Reflection

• Do I confuse loyalty to Christ with loyalty to a personality, ministry, or structure?

• Am I tempted to measure faithfulness by whether someone aligns with me?

• Is pride disguising itself as discernment?

Unity does not mean doctrinal compromise. It means Christ is the Head. There is one body.

II. Even a Cup of Water Given in His Name

Mark 9:41“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”

No act done in Christ’s name is overlooked.

Further light:

Matthew 10:42

3 John 1:5–8

The kingdom is not built only through preaching and platforms. Sometimes it advances through quiet generosity. A meal. A note. Financial support. Prayer offered in secret.

Personal Reflection

• Do I undervalue small acts of service?

• When I support faithful workers, do I see myself as a fellow laborer in the truth?

• Have I withheld help when I could have given it?

Christ notices both what we do and what we refuse to do.

Heaven & Hell: In the Old and New Testament by Rev. Bruce A. Shields of The House of Faith Church

III. Do Not Cause a Little One to Stumble

Mark 9:42*“And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”*

The language is not softened. A millstone was massive. Death by drowning under such weight would be horrific.

Yet Jesus says it would be better than facing divine judgment for spiritually harming a believer.

The “little ones” are not merely children. In context, they include those of low standing, new believers, the spiritually immature. Those finding their footing.

Matthew expands this warning:

Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Personal Reflection

• Is my conduct strengthening weaker believers, or confusing them?

• Do my private compromises undermine my public confession?

• Am I careless with my influence?

We are examples whether we intend to be or not. The question is not whether we are influencing others. The question is how.

John gives the safeguard:

1 John 5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do His commandments.”

Love for God expressed in obedience protects the little ones.

IV. Radical Action to Avoid Gehenna

Jesus moves from warning about harming others to warning about harming oneself.

Mark 9:43 “And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.”

Mark 9:47–48 “And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

Jesus references Isaiah 66:24, where the unquenchable fire and undying worm depict ongoing judgment.

Gehenna is not metaphorical regret. It is real, conscious punishment.

These commands are hyperbolic in form, but deadly serious in intent. Sin must be cut off decisively.

Supporting warnings throughout the New Testament confirm the possibility of falling away:

Hebrews 3:12 “See to it, brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

Hebrews 10:26–27 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME

THE ADVERSARIES.”

2 Peter 2:20 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”

Jesus does not warn unbelievers here. He warns disciples.

Personal Reflection

• Is there anything I am tolerating that Christ commands me to remove?

• Have I excused sin under the guise of grace?

• What relationship, habit, or ambition is drawing my affection away from Christ?

Radical obedience may feel like loss. In truth, it is preservation.

V. Salted With Fire

Mark 9:49–50 “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Salt preserves. Fire refines.

For the faithful, fire is purifying trial. For the unrepentant, fire becomes condemnation.

James explains the refining work:

James 1:2–4 “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Paul adds:

Romans 5:3–5 “we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Fire reveals what we truly love. It either seasons us or exposes us.

Personal Reflection

• Am I resisting God’s refining work, or submitting to it?

• When trials come, do I grow bitter or deeper?

• Is there peace among the believers around me, or am I sowing friction through pride?

CLOSING SUMMARY

From this passage, five pillars of discipleship emerge:

Loyalty to Christ must rise above loyalty to factions.
Small acts done in His name carry eternal weight.
Harming weaker believers invites severe judgment.
Sin must be cut off decisively to avoid eternal Gehenna.
Divine fire refines the obedient and condemns the unrepentant.

The path of following Jesus requires humility, vigilance, and endurance. It requires that we love Him more than reputation, comfort, or approval.

If we keep salt within ourselves, remaining in Him through obedient faith, the result will be peace. Where there is no peace among believers, pride is usually close at hand.

ENDNOTES