Status Updates From The Last Reformation: Back ...

“Take the next six months to make disciples. Your only focus and goal must be to make disciples of Jesus. Do whatever you can to see Christians grow in their life with God and to see new people come to faith and grow in their faith. When this is your goal, it will automatically direct you in what you need to do next."

It is true that newborn babies need their parents. It is also true that spiritually newborn people need parents, too. However, we forget that we are not the ones who gave birth to them. God has given birth to them, and He will certainly take care of them! He is their Father and has not left them fatherless. He has given them the Holy Spirit.

If we dare to put our culture behind us, forget what we usually do, and begin doing what Jesus and the first Christians did, we will see a fellowship rise where people are freely living as disciples of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives.

God has not, however, called us to be “professional” Christians living a “professional” church life. We are called to go out and make disciples of all nations every day, disciples who are living the life each day. God has not called us to serve Him only in some small areas of our lives, leaving the rest alone.

I truly believe in unity, but a unity that is built on Jesus Christ, not on a church system or structure. There was not any membership in the first assemblies either. When one repented and was baptized, they were baptized into the body of Christ. They belonged to Christ and not any particular church or organization. Therefore, they could easily have meetings with others who also belonged to Christ.

“Christianity started out in Israel as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.”

We cannot judge the condition of a church by looking at the finances or the number of people, the church buildings, or the activities. The only way we can judge a church is by checking whether the people who go to that church are truly becoming disciples and followers of Jesus. Are they the ones who deny self, take up their cross, and follow Him? Do they obey the commandments that Jesus gave?

Jesus did not die “just” to forgive us of our sins but also to break the power of sin, so that, in faith, we can live the holy life to which God has called us. In addition, we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit, among other things, in order to be able to live as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ and see the church grow.