Discipleship Versus Evangelism - CD
Here is a radical statement: The Lord never told us to make converts; He called us to make disciples. It is not true that some people are called just to get their sins forgiven and others to become disciples. Being a disciple is God's plan for every Christian. Every member of the body of Christ should be a walking billboard for Jesus.
Detail
Here is a radical statement: The Lord never told us to make converts; He called us to make disciples. It is not true that some people are called just to get their sins forgiven and others to become disciples. Being a disciple is God's plan for every Christian. There are only three instances in all the New Testament where the believers are called Christians. The name that is attached to those who truly believed in Jesus, mentioned 569 times in the New Testament, is "disciple" or "disciples." The Lord intended for us to produce disciples.
One of the main reasons so many Christians aren't living victorious lives is that becoming a disciple was never their goal. They believed on Jesus so their sins would be forgiven. That's it. They are just hoping to hold on and squeak into heaven.
Every member of the body of Christ should be a walking billboard for Jesus. They should be able to reproduce their faith and not just hire others to do it for them.
Consider this: If an individual led 1,000 people each year into the born-again experience, but didn't disciple them, then at the end of 16-and-a-half years, there would be 16,500 Christians through their efforts. If that same person only led one person to the Lord every six months, but then discipled them toward maturity so they could make other disciples, at the end of 16-and-a-half years, there would be more than 6.9 billion people who were believers. That's more than the population of the entire world!
One of the main reasons so many Christians aren't living victorious lives is that becoming a disciple was never their goal. They believed on Jesus so their sins would be forgiven. That's it. They are just hoping to hold on and squeak into heaven.
Every member of the body of Christ should be a walking billboard for Jesus. They should be able to reproduce their faith and not just hire others to do it for them.
Consider this: If an individual led 1,000 people each year into the born-again experience, but didn't disciple them, then at the end of 16-and-a-half years, there would be 16,500 Christians through their efforts. If that same person only led one person to the Lord every six months, but then discipled them toward maturity so they could make other disciples, at the end of 16-and-a-half years, there would be more than 6.9 billion people who were believers. That's more than the population of the entire world!
