Devotional: Sunday Night Thoughts: Discipleship...Reaching the Lost

Sunday Night's Thoughts:

We must disciple the lost...not try to convert the already saved.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” - Matthew 28:18–20

If we are baptized believers and followers of Jesus, WHY are we spending most of our energy trying to convert other Christians? Rather than “going out to the lost” whether in our neighborhood or around the world…we focus on converting the already saved to whatever fellowship or tribe to which we assemble with. Can we not realize how ridiculous that is and what a waste of our time and energy that is? Do we REALLY believe that when Jesus said to go make disciples and baptize them that He meant to convert the saved to our tribe and re-baptize them? The ONLY re-baptism in the Scriptures was when some believers were asked if they had the Holy Spirit and they said they weren’t even aware of the Holy Spirit. The reason was because they had only been baptized into the baptism of John the Baptist and had not been baptized into the Name of Jesus.

In Luke 6:46, Jesus asks, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” This verse, in context, is not specifically speaking of discipleship; however, it certainly applies. A disciple creates more disciples and we should never be able to say, “I’ve never shared the Gospel with someone.” Discipleship includes the work of sharing the Gospel (the Good News of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ) and baptizing those who respond in faith. We can waste our time proselytizing those who are already saved, try to persuade them to switch to our “religious” beliefs and to our way of living-out the life of a Christian OR we can reach-out to those we are called to reach, disciple, convert, and baptize.

The largest “religious” group today is growing by the millions and they are converting Christians….and they do not even believe that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior. All the while, we bicker and argue over things that, most of which, we have been given freedom in the Scriptures to do what edifies, uplifts and brings praise and honor to God. How many of us reach-out to the unchurched every week…every month…or even every year? We have become a complacent people and a people who wants everyone to gather and “practice acts of worship”….just like we do when it is outside the walls of the building that the lost are….waiting for us to come to them and offer them hope and a new beginning. We have failed God, Jesus, His Holy Spirit….and we have failed those who are lost in this world….and many of those are even within our own families.

While most groups are extremely vocal and shout for their rights, believers in Jesus have set back and kept silent. Now, look at the condition of our country. We must, with love and compassion for ALL people, make our presence known. How else can we reach the lost and hurting? The “religious” groups who do not believe in Jesus as our Savior also use guides other than the Canon of Scriptures. Some use portions of the Old Covenant and some use books given to them by their “prophets.” It is our duty to read, study, and learn what they believe in order to be able to converse with them and teach them. They know what they believe and why they believe what they do. Many “Christians” do not even read the Scriptures and base their faith on what others have told them and on the sermons they have heard. We must be knowledgeable of what the “Truth” is and why we believe it….we must be convicted ourselves before we can reach-out and teach the lost. God expects that of us and if we aren’t prepared to disciple the lost, we have failed Him. It might surprise some as to how much our faith coincides with that of those in other “religious” faiths. To disciple, we start where the lost person is in their knowledge and go from there.

Do not attempt to convert them to a denomination, but teach and show them Jesus. 

Convert them to Jesus! Amen!