| “I am here today to declare to you that God is a fully devoted follower of you, and will be till you die.” | Unsplash @stevenlasry First, it was “evangelism” and “follow up.” Then the two were melded into discipleship. We’ve been a bunch of legalists ever since.
Fact: the word discipleship never occurs in the Bible. We have disciples as a noun, and making disciples as a verb, but never discipleship as a title for a theological category or process.
Fact: neither the word disciple nor any of its cognates ever occur in the epistles.
Fact: the underlying Greek word, mathetes (math-AY-tace), means a learner or pupil in the academy. It emphasizes the instructional aspect of spiritual growth.
Discipleship has come to mean so many things, it now means nothing, except, perhaps, for the nebulous machinery for pumping out good, self-sacrificing “Christ-followers.” The same could probably be said for a dozen other words in the Christian vocabulary, but this one has a particularly strong influence. It has usurped the role as the main thing the church does. In so doing, it has toppled salvation and enthroned an undefined sanctification as the ruling power.
I would argue that the emphasis on discipleship has murdered evangelism. Before this emphasis, churches trained their people in evangelism. We all knew “The Romans Road.” Most of us went through Evangelism Explosion. We carried around the Four Spiritual Laws and handed out tracts.
Regardless of the fruit, at least our hearts were in the right place.
Now, all of that is dead.
Evangelists, like the late Billy Graham, and Luis Palau, now carry the months-long burden of building “discipleship” programs in local churches before they can come and preach the gospel. No wonder the age of the evangelist, at least in America, has waned. We’re piling “discipleship” on the evangelist’s shoulders, and the result has been the near extinction of the evangelist as a species. Can you even name an evangelist of national scope today?
At least the devil is happy.
I frequently preach the gospel and see people saved. When I celebrate this moment on social media, I can bet real money that well-meaning Christians will immediately jump in with skeptical comments. They are skeptical because, as they say, until a person is “disciples” so they can demonstrate genuine “life-change” which is the only “proof” of salvation.
Shut up.
A birth has just happened. Can’t we celebrate the moment? A baby is born! Can’t we revel in the greatest miracle of all for even one minute before we start talking about nutrition and college savings plans and all that?
They’re afraid the gospel doesn’t work. They’re skeptical. Unless there’s “life-change” they weren’t really saved, they think.
Again, shut up, in Christian love.
On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand people were saved. The church celebrated. How? By recording the moment in Scripture – including a numerical count – and by immediately baptizing these new converts. No life-change in sight. Just a profession of faith alone in Christ alone, and it’s time for the ordinance of baptism. Read More |
