When Jesus started talking about the cost of discipleship, many decided that they didn’t want to be Christians. Read John 6. Being a disciple means being a student or learner. Being a disciple of Jesus means being controlled by Jesus. There is a crisis in Christianity today. Jesus said His disciples are to be taught “to obey everything I have commanded” (Matthew 28:20) and many professing Christians reject that responsibility.
How many Christians do you know who are actively involved in a discipling process? Acts 2:42 says the early disciples “devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching”. A profession of your faith in Jesus Christ is the front end of the Christian experience, not the final end. Discipleship will enable you to apply the Word of God in your life and live a victorious Christian life. Christian ethics and morality, a Christian lifestyle, Christian family life; all of this is the fruit of Christian discipleship.
The real purpose of the Christian life is to reproduce but only a discipled life knows how to reproduce. Anyone can open the Bible and discover the truth but the definite application of the truth is a guided experience! This is hard work! Each Christian must realize the seriousness of the need for spiritual growth. The Bible never says or implies that there is a blessing in being ignorant.
Would you like a key verse for a discipling emphasis in your life and Church? Try 2 Timothy 2:2 “and the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
The Kingdom of God will grow with this kind of spiritual multiplication. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV) This is a word from Paul. To win this struggle will demand disciplined followers not just emotional believers. Are you up to it?
“Lord God, save me from spiritual laziness. Help me to commit to
the spiritual discipline needed to grow in the things of the Spirit. Amen”
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