Pre-Conversion Discipleship
I read a book recently about reaching people for Christ who have little or no understanding of Christianity and the Bible. The author made what I thought was an excellent point. He said that believers need to teach the non-believers discipleship by what we do and what we say. In other words, we need to show them and tell them what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I think that is an excellent way to look at the witnessing process.
I have been taught to share a relatively simple presentation of the gospel that is an outline of the problem of sin and what Jesus did to redeem us, as well as what we need to do to receive that redemption. However, little is said about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, when He is Lord of our lives. That is a huge omission, since people must confess Him as Lord to be forgiven. How can they be serious about that confession without knowing what a disciple believes and does? I am not sure they can make an informed commitment at that point.
Therefore, I am trying to change my thinking about this. I do not want to shy away from talking to non-believers about the difficult aspects of being a Christian. I want them to know up front, so they can decide to fully devote themselves to Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, first they must see it in my actions. If they don't see it, I am not sure they will really know that what I am saying is real. I must show and tell them about discipleship from the beginning.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Timothy 3-5.
I have been taught to share a relatively simple presentation of the gospel that is an outline of the problem of sin and what Jesus did to redeem us, as well as what we need to do to receive that redemption. However, little is said about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, when He is Lord of our lives. That is a huge omission, since people must confess Him as Lord to be forgiven. How can they be serious about that confession without knowing what a disciple believes and does? I am not sure they can make an informed commitment at that point.
Therefore, I am trying to change my thinking about this. I do not want to shy away from talking to non-believers about the difficult aspects of being a Christian. I want them to know up front, so they can decide to fully devote themselves to Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, first they must see it in my actions. If they don't see it, I am not sure they will really know that what I am saying is real. I must show and tell them about discipleship from the beginning.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Timothy 3-5.