The Necessity of Discipleship

Jude 2-3
"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

There is definitely a great truth to be found in this passage of Scripture. Jude is writing a letter to churches full of people in which He led to the Lord. He had given all diligence to win them to Christ, but now he has a new mission for these newly saved converts. He has the responsibility of disciplining them in the Word. God wants him to take these little babies, and nurture them to grow in their knowledge of the things of God, so that they can be as fruitful as possible for His good work. This, no doubt, is a tremendous responsibility, and it is one that we have today.

Looking back on the short time that I've had a relationship with Christ, I can think of a bounty of people who came to my acquaintance that were babes in the faith. Where are they now? Sure, a few of them are still in regular fellowship, but what happened to the rest? I realize that a person can be deceived into thinking that they are truly saved, and yet haven't been a true convert. But, I'd hope that at least some of them hadn't just said "the prayer". Sadly, they came and went.

What would they be like today if there was a strong Christian, who had a knowledge of the Word of God, that took the time to disciple them. I come from a church that has one of the greatest discipleship programs in the country, and we still can't account for some people. We have home Bible studies, one-on-one discipleship programs, a superb Bible institute, and even a school for pastors to teach them how to have a more discipleship-minded church! My church has been blessed so greatly in this area, and yet there are still individuals who are there one day, and gone the next.

You see, having all of those wonderful things are great, and need to be done, but true discipleship starts at on a one-to-one basis. You, as a mature Christian, taking a newly born baby under your wing, and showing them the things of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able."

In this passage, Paul is speaking to carnal Christians, those you haven't grown up. He tells them that they are living as babes in Christ, drinking spiritual milk, when they could be mature, adult Christians able to sustain themselves with meat. There is a great truth in this passage for disciplers: You always start a new convert with milk. They are unable to digest the spiritual "meat" that is thrown at them many times. Begin with the basics, the inerrancy of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and Christ's premillennial second coming. Those are basic principals that every Christian needs to stand on. You also need to stress daily Bible reading, prayer, good Christian fellowship, evangelism, water baptism, tithing, faith, and spiritual warfare. (Ray Comfort has written a great discipleship book that I use with new converts called "Save Yourself Some Pain" you can buy some HERE or get the online version for free by clicking HERE.)

Once they have grown in "milk" they are able to move onto the "meat". You can now start to explain deeper things. You'll watch as they come to you with questions from their Bible reading. Slowly, they'll learn to sustain themselves. The individual is now a fully devoted, mature follower of Jesus Christ!

It is an amazing process to watch in action. Be like Jude, and reach out to those who are new in the faith. God will use you as an amazing tool in their lives.

(Just a thought: We are going to be studying exactly what Jude taught these new converts. As you read the posts over the next few weeks, be thinking of how you can communicate these truths to the baby that you are holding in your hands.)