My Journey of faith Part 12
The Disciple-maker Understands Their Need for Change
Born Italian and raised in Brooklyn, New York, becoming hard of hearing and a hard head was natural. If it were not for my rebirth in Jesus Christ, God would only know what kind of person I would have become by now.
My brother gave me a T-shirt that says, Irritating the world, one person at a time. Many people who have come to know me would agree with that.
However, there is a twist in the story. When salvation is authentic, coming to Christ changes who we are on the inside. The bold, self-assured, know-it-all becomes progressively humble, teachable, and a servant of Jesus Christ. The twist is found in discipleship as the world loses its grip, and the believer begins to move in an anti-worldly way. Pride is no longer the reason for irritating others; the teachings of Christ annoy, infuriate, and exasperate non-believing individuals.
The Disciple-maker Follows Jesus
"As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him" Mark 2:14. By God's grace, Matthew saw the error of his ways, left the power, prestige, and wealth, and followed Christ. He was not perfect, but he was following.
As I have written before, deep down inside me, I knew something was wrong in the Church since the 1970's. Many things did not align with scripture, but it has taken much to walk away from human loyalties, a firm foundation of traditions, and the pressures that institutions and people place on us when we walk away.
When I walked away from a seeker-sensitive church that I knew in my heart was grieving the Holy Spirit of God, I did not have a defiled conscience. Walking away from a church that is not so blatantly disobedient is much more complicated.
The Disciple-maker Does not Sit in the Judgment Seat
When you look around you, as I have done in numerous churches over decades, beholding others following Christ, you pause and wait. When you observe Peter, who said to Jesus in Luke 18:28, "Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You," Peter then received a promise from Christ. Seeing others do the same, you stop and praise God.
However, not judging others does not alleviate a guilty conscience caused by a lukewarm environment that is infectious to your behavior. Some will say your behavior is not the fault of others. Is there no such thing as a stumbling block? Paul said, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals" 1 Corinthians 15:33.
Furthermore, how are we to take Jesus' warning in Matthew 10:38, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me"? In Luke's Gospel, 9:23, another element is added to the requirement to follow Christ: "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
I was beginning to feel in the early two-thousands that a severe change was needed if I were to have a clear conscience by discipling others. The words of the Apostle Paul were pressing down upon me, and I was beginning to see clearly that his feelings were never meant to be for him alone but for all that the grace of God has blessed. "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the Gospel..." Romans 1:14-15.
The Disciple-maker Comes to See the Big Picture
In 2006, my wife and I decided to start attending a Church that, at that time, had approval from another Church that was very helpful to me and helped me out of the confusion that was still upsetting my passage into more effective ministry. During my stay for the next fourteen years, I began to adopt the responsibility of the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ."
One evening during a church fellowship, I came alongside a brother floundering a little in his faith and asked him to partner with me in teaching other men to live for Christ. He had a solid foundation and good Christian parents, and my plan was to instruct others with him so that he could grow to make disciples and even become an example for others in the group. He was excellent as a teacher and became an outstanding example until he moved to another Church, where he became an elder and effective leader.
The big picture is this: Christianity is not a spectator sport. It's not 50,000 fans cheering on 20 men running the field. Christianity is meant to be full participation for all because all benefit equally for eternity by the same sacrificial death and resurrected life from the author and perfector of our faith.
The Disciple-maker Proclaims Christ's Teachings as is
I have come to understand that the Gospel is not easy. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. People only enter God's kingdom because nothing is impossible for God. The last statement means that for men, it is impossible. What does that mean? For people to be adequately discipled, they must receive the unthinkable to them.
What is the unthinkable for much of what we call Christianity in America? I will tell you. You choose this day whom you will serve. Therefore, many believe in a Gospel that makes lost sinners capable of choosing. Sinners are not recognized as so evil they would never choose Christ. Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children..." Many believers misunderstand Matthew 7:11. Evil, the depth of our depravity as sinners, has been lost. God is seen as if He loves everyone to the extent that His justice will never take place.
Many today believe that people in hell are suffering from God's absence, not His angry presence. God is never absent, either in heaven or hell. Only God's grace, love, glory, and mercy are fully present in heaven. God's indignation, anger, fury, and wrath are His only attributes present in eternal hell.
If you believe in the ability of evil people to choose Christ unaided by God, who cause people to be born again, consider carefully the response to Jesus' preaching. "And He (Jesus) was saying, "For this reason, I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:65-66; emphasis added).
Anyone who continues to believe it is their choice that saves them is in danger of being a false convert to Christ. Please understand that Jesus never said, "Just believe!" He did say consistently in the Gospels, as in John 12:24-26, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." The death of which Jesus speaks is a rejection the world, which includes its philosophies and ideologies. The good disciple-maker is an example of Christ's love, forgiveness, and teachings.
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