Introduction to Discipleship 101

 

Christians who have been discipled is becoming a thing of the past.  In fact the term "Christian" itself is used very loosely in our society.  When you ask a person if they're a Christian, they'll more than likely say yes if they're not Jewish or Muslim or an atheist or involved in some other religion.  It's become more of a label of "I'm not a Muslim or a Jew, so I must be a Christian".  However the word "Christian" really means being a follower of Christ, adhering to His teachings and allowing Him to change you from the inside out.

Christ came to earth to not only be an example to us on how to live, but more importantly to show us the Father, the one and only true God.  He also came to die upon the cross in order to take mankind's sins upon himself and destroy the works of the devil.  And while he was here on earth, doing his ministry, he gathered up people who would follow him and he called them his "disciples".

Matthew 28:18,19, commonly known as "The Great Commission", says, "Then Jesus came to them and said 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations...".  As a Christian, we are not here on this earth merely to enjoy our new life in Christ, and to spread the Gospel, but we also supposed to be discipling others so that they can grow.  But how can we disciple another if we, our self, have never really been discipled? 

My personal belief is that while the modern-day church may be doing its job in bringing people to Christ, that's where it seems to stop.  I've seen many a church's street ministry go out to the highways and byways, talk to people about accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, pray with them and invite them to church,  or even just tell them to now go find a church of their choosing.  And even if they do go to church, discipleship is often overlooked.  You may get  a rousing sermon from the pastor every week ,  sing some good hymns/songs, but still receive little in the way of  true discipleship.  My objective in the forthcoming months will be to help you learn how to become a disciple of Christ, so you can, in turn, go out and disciple others.  We will start off with the basics, the very foundation of what it means to be a Christian, and we will branch out from there.