Discipleship – Page 5 – Grace Evangelical Society

How Do You Know If You Are Spiritually Mature?

February 1, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - community, Discipleship, spiritual maturity

How do you know if you are spiritually mature? Assurance of eternal salvation comes from believing Jesus’ promise of everlasting life (John 3:16). But knowing if you are spiritual mature is a different issue. It is not something you can easily decide for yourself, and maybe you shouldn’t decide for yourself. Instead, that seems to

Saved by Grace, Devoted to Good Works (Titus 3:1-8)

January 28, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship, good works, Grace, Titus

If the new birth depends on believing, not working, then where do good works fit into the Christian life? I think Paul’s letter to Titus summarizes the “grace” attitude to good works. Consider this passage: Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak

The New Testament Understanding of Following Jesus

January 22, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Discipleship, evangelism, Following Jesus, imitating Jesus

A friend sent me some comments and asks my thoughts: Interested in your opinion. I am trying to craft a reasonable response to the “follow Jesus to be saved” concept.  I noticed something: the only times people are told to follow Christ is when He is present and able to be literally followed. The terminology abruptly stops

Catching and Cleaning Fish

January 7, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship, illustrations

I’m always on the look-out for simple illustrations of Biblical truths that most people can easily understand. Here’s one— I listened to an evangelist tell the story of how people in his home church grew upset when he started leading people to Christ, and the church began to grow. Some of the old-timers didn’t like

You Must Grow Up (Ephesians 4:11-24), Part 1

November 27, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship, Ephesians, Local Church, spiritual disciples, spiritual theology, spirituality

Those of us who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s will remember one of the most famous jingles in retail history: I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid; they got a million toys at Toys R us that I can play with We have idolized childhood, haven’t we? How often

Five Reasons You Cannot Be a Lone Ranger Disciple

November 25, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship

Question: Am I truly being a disciple if I’m doing it alone? Answer: That’s a good question, especially for today, when social media has become a substitute for flesh and blood relationships with real people. There are extreme circumstances where you have no choice but to be alone. I’m thinking about someone who comes to

Grace at Walmart

February 26, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Discipleship, family, Grace, parenting

When grocery shopping, my wife and I would often cave to the kids’ demands that we buy them cheap little toys and goodies. “Can I have a dollar?” “Can you buy me this, please, please, please?” “Can I have two quarters for candy?” We realized it had become a problem when the kids started throwing

Are You Discipling Your Family? (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

February 14, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Church, Deuteronomy, Discipleship, kids

My kids are getting to the age where they can ask serious questions about the faith. Recently, we attended the funeral for Abby’s grandfather, Roy Whisler. It was a good funeral. Jesus was front and center. Roy’s nephew officiated, and Abby’s brother gave a eulogy. They both made it clear that Roy believed in Jesus.

Did Jesus Support the Ecumenical Movement? (Mark 9:40)

July 9, 2019 by Kenneth Yates in Blog - against the Lord, Discipleship, Ecumenicalism, rewards

When I was an army chaplain, there were many who pushed for ecumenical understanding. This meant that doctrinal differences should not keep us from working and ministering together. We should not let denominational differences keep us from doing the work of the Lord. Sometimes Mark 9:40 was used to support this notion. Jesus is talking

A Disciple of Christ Is Different Than a Believer in Christ

August 27, 2018 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Discipleship, Local Church Discipleship, Small Group Discipleship, Unbelieving Disciples

I get lots of emails. Lots of questions. A parent emailed me with concern about their daughter. The youth pastor’s wife has begun to disciple the daughter one on one. The problem is that the youth pastor and his wife teach that unless you are in one-on-one discipleship, you are not a disciple of Christ.