Is Discipleship Lost?

Reproduction is a fundamental of Christianity. Astonishingly, one of the weakest expressions of modern Christian faith lies in the arena of Discipleship. Why have we abandoned it?

A strain of Pagan Greek thought crept into the church where spiritual things are good, while ordinary earthly life is evil or inferior. Dispensationalism doubled down on this infection. Escape from tribulation is the main thing. No. Things are secular or holy only in the handling of them. Take every thought captive to Christ. The Scriptures declare that the Holy Spirit comes alongside to help us DO. We must do greater things that Christ.

Rather, with the deprecation of ordinary earthly life in Christ, we abandoned the church militant and with it almost the entire Discipleship principle. Modern evangelism gets people saved. Then what? The coming demographic winter imposed on the West by environmentalist propaganda has likewise affected Christianity. Sin caused both evils.

The church once practiced Discipleship—requiring Good Seed, and good soil—applied to every area of life. We trained family faith, ethic, character, and wisdom. Likewise, vocation and civil stewardship. Christians knew that the sciences and arts could be powerful instruments of influence for the Gospel and tools for the Great Commission.

Instead, today we see ministries and businesses age-out and fail because we cannot reproduce ourselves. We don’t expect much from evangelism. We falsely see evangelism as the work of clergy and institutional church. Rather, Scripture tells us that the church prepares the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Thank God, we see Him stirring the body of Christ out of its stupor. I urge every Christian to invest as heavily as possible in the lively, historic Biblical faith, acquire the needed tools for applying to it every area of life, and then rise up and build. We must reproduce to thrive, even to survive. Seek first the kingdom.