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Jesus died for our sins. God is holy and we are not! That is the
major difference between us and God. God has a wonderful plan
for our life - it is spending eternity with Him because our sins
are forgiven when we depend on Jesus as our Savior. We are sinners
and He is not. We are deceitful, dishonest, and fickle. God is
not. He is holy. After a person depends/trusts in Jesus for the
forgiveness of their sins, the next step is an act of obedience
- baptism.
Discipleship To Maturity. The heart of discipleship is teaching. Some churches and Christians
miss this point. Some Christians consider the Sunday morning sermon
to be enough Bible study for the week. Recently, I heard about
some church leaders who wanted their young adults to stop reading
and studying their Bible so much and spend most of their time
having fun. They missed the point. Being a Christian is not belonging
to a Christian social club. It is about knowing Jesus like we
know our friend. It is about longing for His Word because that
is how we know Him.
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. . like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that
by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted
the kindness of the Lord. (NASB) 1 Peter 2:2-3 |
The Holy Spirit wants us to long for God. We find Him in the Word
of God. Growth in the knowledge of God through His Word is a mark
of a growing Christian. A mature Christian is not measured by
chronological age but by their victory over sin, love and knowing
"Him who has been from the beginning" (1 John 2:12-14; 4:21).
Conclusion: Witnessing is a subset of evangelism and evangelism is a subset
of discipleship. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us mature
as Christians. Shall we ask Him to help us long to know God and
not be satisfied with the externals of spirituality such as "fellowship,"
"Christian music," "Christian objects," or "church." True Christian
maturity is to "know Him who was from the beginning" (1 John 2:12-14).
That requires us to search for Him in scripture and mediate on
Him!
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