Welcome to my discipleship blog & Chapters 1-3

The first thirty, or so, chapters of this blog will be focused upon the basics of Christianity: receiving Christ as Savior, growing in the knowledge of Him, learning to pray, realizing who our enemy is, and how we can begin to grow in maturity and holiness.  This will be considered "Section One".

Once that groundwork has been laid, "Section Two" will look at the challenges one faces as they walk out their daily lives as Christians and shows us ways of becoming even more mature and holy.

I hope that you will also enjoy my other blogs, which can be found to the right of this blog under the heading "My Blog List".

 

Introduction:

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.

Chapter One:  The foundations of Christianity:

So, what is the foundation of being a disciple of Christ?  I believe it is that we know in our hearts that we are in right standing with God and that we can know if we are "saved" or "born again".  But what do these two terms mean?  Basically, they're words that describe the principle that as a new Christian we have been changed from a life in which we are slaves to sin, slaves to this world and our flesh, and have been freed in order to follow Christ as one of his disciples.

Romans 3:10-18 tells us that the natural condition of all people is to be separated from God, that we all have an in-born tendency, passed down from Adam's original sin in the Garden of Eden... a tendency towards evil and selfishness.  I once heard of an analogy comparing our slavery to sin to the institution of slavery.  When you are born into the slave market, in order to get out, you  must be purchased by someone who pays a fee or a price for you.  Becoming free from the slave market is impossible unless we are purchased by someone outside of the slave market.  The person who can, and wants to purchase us and free us, is Christ.  But he doesn't do it with money as would be done in today's slave markets.  Instead,  He paid for every one of us to become free by dying on the cross at Calvary.  The purchase price for paying for every person in the world...past, present and future...was so huge, so large an undertaking, that that was the only way it could be done.

Another analogy is the criminal who has been brought into court before the judge for not paying his debts and therefore was sent to debtor's prison.  The judge looks around the court room and asks if anyone will step forward and take the criminal's place,  pay his debt, and take on any sentence that will go along with his crime.  No one steps forward.  Then, unexpectedly, the judge gets down from his bench and says "I will step forward and take this criminal's place and pay for his crime, whatever the penalty."  The criminal is thus set free and the judge is now to pay the price.  It was the same way with Christ.  He is the judge who stepped down and took our place.  Christ is the only one able to pay for the crime, because as Hebrews 4:14-15 tells us He was without sin.     I Peter 3:18 says "He was able to take our place and pay the penalty--being righteous He had no debts of His own."

If you've ever wondered about heaven and how you can know whether you will go there when you die, the good news is that you can know.  I John 5:13 says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life".  When we talk about sin, you have to remember that just as in the analogy of the criminal not paying his debts, there are consequences for living a sinful life.  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".   John 14:6 goes on to say, "Jesus answered 'I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."

Many people would look at this and consider the Christian faith to be one of exclusion, to be a faith that says there are no other ways of getting into heaven, and you know what, they would be absolutely correct.  While it's not politically correct these days to say or believe this, it is Scriptural.

True Christianity is not a "one size fits all" faith.  It's not a "it doesn't matter what you believe or what God you believe in, we'll all get to heaven, just by different means" belief system.  The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  So, you see, there is only one way to get to heaven and that's by accepting Christ's sacrifice for your sins and becoming one of His followers.  Next time, we will look at how one accepts Christ's sacrifice, how one can have assurance they will go to heaven and how to start a new life in Christ.

Chapter Two:  Salvation:  God's gift to us:

The way to accept Christ's sacrifice and to be brought out of our slavery to sin,  is actually a very easy thing to do.  For some reason religion, in general, regardless of denomination or creed,  has often made it out to be a difficult thing to do.  Many people have the idea that they have to work hard to make sure they get into heaven, or have to donate enough money...the most severe case of a person's thinking they have to do something to get into heaven is self-flogging and self-punishment.  God did not intend ANY of these ways to be the way one gets into heaven...these are either self-imposed ideas we have put upon ourselves (If I'm good enough I'll get into heaven...thus we strive but are never sure if we've done enough), or are ideas that we have accepted from outside sources.

In fact, Scripture tells us that we cannot do anything to be good enough to get into heaven.  It is impossible because we have been born with sin in our hearts and it is only Christ that can pay for our sins.  Many scoff at the idea that they won't get into heaven because they believe they have been good  and therefore that should account for something.  However, Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through (your) faith--and this is not from yourselves (not as a result of anything you have done).  It is the gift (a present) of God  - not by works, so that no one can boast."  Scripture is telling us here that it is a gift from God...but that's where many get stuck.  It's hard to believe that we simply have to reach out and accept this great gift from God, when we feel in our hearts or have been told that there is something that we have to do.  But there isn't...it's simply accepting this gift from God.

For example, during certain times of the year we give gifts to one another.  It may be Christmas, someone's birthday, or another special occasion.  At that time, you usually do not question being given the gift,  you simply accept it and say thank you.  It's the same way with salvation.  It is a gift, a present, if you will, from God because He loves you and wants to be in your life.  What makes this gift, this present, so valuable is how much it cost God.  Do you give your loved ones cheap gifts or do you try to give them the best that your finances will allow?  God paid the highest cost for His gift to us, and that cost was Jesus dying on the cross.  Christ had to die on the cross in order to pay for the sins of humanity.

 

So, reach out and accept this gift from God.  There's nothing you need to do.  You don't need to wait until you're "good enough" because none of us are good enough nor ever will be.  Even the most trustworthy, honest, and giving person isn't ever going to be good enough.  Regardless of our deeds, we still can't overcome the sin that was passed down to us from Adam due to his disobedience to God.  I know it doesn't seem fair that one man's disobedience is passed on to every one of us, but it just is.  Think of  Adam as being the first person on everyone's family tree, if that will make it easier for you to understand.  Because of his actions in the Garden of Eden where he disobeyed God, everyone's entire family tree has been tarnished with sin and has to pay the penalty, and that penalty is being separated from God.

And, because we are all born into this world as sinners, our natural tendencies lean towards selfishness.  Selfishness is putting our own happiness first and seeking our own good because it is to our benefit. Granted most of us have never committed horrible acts of  murder or robbed a bank, but the predisposition to do those terrible acts are within all of us.  God knows that each one of us has the capacity, and often the desire, to sin.  For example, the Bible says that while you may not have ever actually committed adultery, "...anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Mathew. 5:28).  The realization of our need for God's forgiveness by repenting of our sins is key to walking with  God.  He sees our repentance as absolutely necessary for His being able to apply what Jesus did on the cross to our lives.  We need to have a broken heart over how we have lived, otherwise we can never truly appreciate the beauty of the Gospel, the glory of the cross, and the ultimate sacrifice Christ paid for us.   Whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not, we are all sinners in need of help, and it's this sinful state that we are in that is at the root of our being separated from God.  

But we don't need to be separated from  God any longer.  We can be made righteous through Jesus' sacrifice.  Hebrews 9:28 says, "...so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time.  Not to bear sin (as He did the first time He was here on earth), but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."  Acts 3:19 tells us how we accept this gift from God.  It says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshment may come from the Lord."  Repenting means to make a change from living a sinful life to living a holy life for God.  

 Romans 3:22 tells us that "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."  It is ONLY your faith in Jesus that will get you into heaven.  God is the only one that has the power to forgive us of our sins.  Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood (Jesus' sacrifice on the cross), the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace...".  The Old Testament tells us that people were required to sacrifice animals in order to receive God's forgiveness for their sins, but when Jesus came to earth in the form of a man (as is accounted for in the New Testament), He did away with that necessary ritual once and for all.  He did this by becoming the sacrifice himself... the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind, past, present and future.  Scripture tells us that Jesus willingly paid the price for all.

Revelation 3:20 tells us that God is eagerly waiting for us to reach out and ask to become part of His family...to get us out from under the curse of being in Adam's family tree and being accepted into Jesus' family tree.  It says, "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock (I'm knocking on the door of your heart).  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door (by accepting the gift of eternal life from God), I will come in and eat with him and he with me (Jesus will accept you into his family tree and you will become a son/daughter of God).  Once you do this you will be forever changed.  Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone (your sinful past has been forgiven), the new has come (you are now a part of God's family and no longer under the power of sin or Satan).  Romans 10:9,10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

There's no special prayer you have to pray.  You don't have to go to a church to do this.  You can simply do it wherever you are, even if it's sitting in front of your computer reading this.  Just close your eyes and ask God to forgive you for how you've lived your life, that you accept what Jesus did on the cross by paying for your sins with his sacrifice, and that you want Jesus to come and live in your heart and show you how to live for Him.  It's that simple...God's greatest gift is being offered to you, will you accept it?

Next time, we'll look at what has happened in your life now that you have become cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The angels in heaven are all rejoicing now that you are part of God's family.  You are now a son or daughter of the most high, Almighty God! 

Chapter Three:  What's happened to me?

Now that you've made the biggest decision of your life, you're probably wondering what does it really mean?  What has happened to me?  For some, they "feel" as if there's been a change in them...they feel different, as if a big burden has been lifted from their shoulders...others begin to realize that their outlook on life, their likes/dislikes, the things they want to do or the people they want to hang around begin to change.  For others, however, they don't "feel" anything has changed, and this can make it difficult to believe and accept that a change has really happened.  But please don't go by how you feel.  Scripture tells us in Ephesians 2: 8, 9 that, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith..."  It doesn't say because you "feel" different that you have been saved, but because of your faith.  Not all of us are emotional-type people, so you may not have the same experience that another has when he/she decides to follow Jesus.  Just accept that if you sincerely meant it when you repented and do want to follow Christ, that you are now a son/daughter of God!  The feelings may come later...or may not come at all...depending upon your individual personality type.  Besides, God doesn't want us to be hung up on our feelings...He requires us to walk by faith.

What is faith?  Faith is believing, with strong conviction about something.  It's standing firm in what you think, regardless of what others around you may say or do.  It's a firm belief in something in which there may be no tangible proof...it's complete trust or devotion to God.  Faith is the exact opposite of doubt.  Hebrews 11:6 states, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

So, regardless of how one feels, the same thing has happened in all of us who have become disciples of Christ.  We all have been changed on the inside, and now we will begin to grow in our knowledge of the things of God and in our relationship with Him.  

But first, let me help you understand a little better about what has actually happened to you now that you are part of God's family.  By accepting Christ, some things have happened behind the scenes, so to speak, of which you may not entirely be aware of, or even completely understand.  After reading through my previous writings, you do now know the necessity of why Jesus had to die for our sins and of your need to receive him doing this for  you...what you may not know is that the  term for this is "atonement".  I talked earlier about Jesus becoming the blood sacrifice for all of us, which took the place of the Old Testament's requirement of blood being shed as a need to  pay for one's sins, and that is what atonement is all about.  Jesus atoned for your sins.

The second thing that has happened is called "regeneration".  This means that we have now been given spiritual renewal.  God has brought us into a new life by breathing new life into us, as we had been "dead in (our) transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

The third thing that has happened to us is "justification".  This means that we have received God's full pardon.  He has taken away our guilt and cancelled the penalty for our sins...this is the basis of us being forgiven.  Acts 13:38-39 tells us that, "Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses".  Romans 4:25 goes on to tell us that, "He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."  It describes God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice.

The fourth thing is "righteousness".  This means that because of what Jesus did in paying for our sins that we are declared without guilt or sin in God's eyes.  When He looks at us, He doesn't see what we've done in our lives, but He sees what Jesus did on our behalf, by standing in for us and taking on our punishment.  It is because of Jesus alone that we are considered righteous (in good standing) before God.

Another wonderful thing that has happened to us is that we are now "sanctified".  This means that we have been set apart for His divine purpose.  In the Old Testament, the only way people could sanctify themselves was by certain customs or rituals which would make them stand out to others (and they hoped, to God) as being different and belonging solely to God.  John 17:16 tells us that, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world".  Sanctification is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born of God.  Sanctification also refers to the way we live our lives, in that we become obedient to the Word of God in our life, and through this others will see that we are separated from the world and its ways.

So, as you can see, many miraculous things happened to you when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.  Isn't it truly wonderful!  Next time, we will talk about the new "you", now that you are a believer, because you are now a changed person.