May 2009

What does it take to make a disciple of Jesus? Since that is our purpose as Christians and as a church, what does it mean? So think abut this with me. Do you think it is possible to be a Christian and not have our lives transformed? Ministry is not just giving a few Bible verses to help people feel better or to make their lives a little better. Don’t we want people to get the entire message of the gospel so that not only is their eternal destiny changed but there is a transformation change in life now?

Some surveys say that those who call themselves Christians are not much different at all in world view or in sins committed. When I grew up it was, "Don’t ever drink or chew or go out with girls who do." But someone could be angry or mean and still call themselves a good Christian. That does not seem right.

I am not sure the Apostle Paul or John Wesley or Jonathan Edwards would recognize the gospel message and pray a prayer and have conversion. Salvation is not something we can do. It is a work only God can do. His Spirit alone causes the new birth and causes someone to be "born again from above." It is a process of awakening and understanding spiritually that comes only through the Holy Spirit.

So we ask, "How has Christianity made me different?" Most religious
people are good people, good natured and good hearted. But inside they live apart from the truth. If Christ is the truth, and he is, (John 14:6) and Christ comes to live in us, that would make something different about the kind of person we are and not just measure a little higher on the goodness scale.

Sometimes we try to make disciples from the outside in. We see a behavior that needs changing and we give some information, and then hope that the change will reach the inside. That is the opposite of the way God works. The living God comes to live inside us and our lives are radically transformed.

Do I see God working inside me so it shows on the outside? Do I see an increasing love for God instead of a rebellion? Does the world see a growing hatred of sin because it dishonors our holy Heavenly Father? Are we becoming more givers than takers, more those who love than lust, and show more compassion toward those in need and not hide from them? Has the gospel transformed me? Have I been changed from a convert to a disciple of Jesus?