Discipleship Notes

A series of short discipleship notes for young Christians.

16 – Developing conscience

By / Discipleship Notes / 6 minutes of reading

Conscience is a human faculty that judges our actions and thoughts by the highest standard we know, and it is built into everyone’s inner being (Romans 2:15). When we violate our conscience, it condemns us, causing feelings of shame, regret, anxiety, disgrace, and fear.  When we follow conscience, it commends us, bringing joy, peace, self-respect, well-being and gladness.

Conscience can be informed by culture, tradition, social attitudes, family, and biblical truth.  All these sources may, or may not, agree with God’s holy standards.  For example, in Romans 14:14 Paul says, …I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself.  But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

This is not because God says it is unclean, but because his misinformed conscience tells him it is unclean (see also 1 Corinthians 8:4-7). Because conscience can be directed by the world’s views, it is critical to have a conscience that is informed by the truth of God’s Word. Error, tradition, human wisdom, philosophy, and wrong moral influences can corrupt and hinder conscience (Colossians 2:6-8, 20-23).

How well conscience works is determined by the amount of truth we take in and by the degree to which we keep our conscience undamaged by sin (1 Timothy 3:9). If we are not careful, our conscience can become so insensitive that we become ruled by hypocrisy and blinded to sin’s ugliness (1 Timothy 4:1-2; Titus 1:15).  This happens when sin constantly dominates our lives.

Some facts about conscience:

  • Jeremiah 17:1 Conscience REMEMBERS exactly what we have done and records it in our heart.
  • Romans 2:15  Conscience ACCUSSES us when we are guilty and DEFENDS us when we are innocent.
  • 2 Corinthians 1:12 Conscience is a WITNESS, testifying either for us or against us.
  • 1 John 3:19-21 Conscience is a JUDGE, condemning or affirming us.
  • 1 Samuel 24:5 Conscience is the MEMORY, inflicting grief when our guilt is discovered.

The world has desensitised its conscience (Romans 2:14-15; Psalms 36:1-2).  However, as believers in Jesus Christ, when our conscience triggers sorrow for a wrong we have done, the correct response to this guilt is repentance and a seeking forgiveness. Expose wrong for what it really is – SIN (Ephesians 5:11).

Many people are like those in 2 Corinthians 7:10, whose sorrow is worldly and superficial. Worldly sorrow does not lead to repentance, rather, it leads to denial and justification of wrong behaviour. Therefore, their conscience is never cleansed (Proverbs 28:13; Mark 2:17).

Some deny conscience and seek treatment for the guilt they feel rather than repenting of their sin.  Instead of confession, repentance, reconciliation, and forgiveness, they turn to denial, self-justification, blame shifting, self-forgiveness, anything that may silence their conscience.

The world does not allow the word ‘sin’ to enter into its thinking.  Instead, it replaces ‘sin’ with words like ‘error’, ‘mistake’, ‘superstition’ and ‘delusion’. Guilty people sometimes speak of themselves as victims or addicts to justify their wrong behaviour. Rebellious attitudes are not medical or psychological disorders, they are sin. Excusing sin away as a disease fails to deal with the seriousness of what conscience is warning of. 

God’s response:
1 Samuel 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…
1 John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives.
Romans 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one.

Sin’s Effect on an Unbelievers Conscience
The world is full of people who deny God’s existence and their own sinfulness. If people can’t or won’t see the depravity of their sin, they will not be able to apply God’s remedy for sin (Psalm 14:1; 19:1-6; Mark 2:17; Romans 1:20-22). 

Romans 1:18-32 explains how God’s judgement works in the lives of people who refuse to listen to the truth which God has put within their hearts and conscience. God’s judgment develops in three worsening steps. The damage a person does against his or her own conscience is God’s immediate judgement within them.

In :23-24, God gives them over to sexually immoral relationships.
In :25-27, because they continue in sexual sin instead of living in God’s truth, God may give them over to shameful lusts and sexual sin with people of the same sex. 

Finally, in :28-32, God gives them over to a totally depraved mind. They are now totally controlled and filled with the sin they love so much. God’s judgement is at work within them and they do not realise it.

Cleansing the Conscience
When we believe in God, and the work He has done through Jesus Christ on the cross, we are accepting His salvation. Consequently, our hearts are ‘sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience’ towards Him (Hebrews 10:19-22).  The sprinkling spoken of here is the spiritual cleansing by the blood of Christ, that is, His death in our place (Hebrews 9:14).

The Old Testament animal sacrifices could not take away a worshipper’s guilty conscience (Hebrews 9:9-10, 10:1-4). The sacrifices were designed to remind the people of their sinfulness and to feed conscience the knowledge needed to work correctly (Romans 3:19-20).

Now, under the New Covenant, through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He cleanses our conscience through His forgiveness of our sin (Colossians 1:21-22; 1 Peter 2:24).

Not only do we get our sins forgiven, but we are implanted (imputed) with Jesus’ righteousness when we believe (Romans 4:22-24; Philippians 3:9). Because of this, God declares us not guilty and receives us as righteous (Romans 8:33-34). This is our new position in Christ: washed, innocent, and righteous.

As Christians, we need to make our behaviour match our position in Christ. It is important to keep our conscience clean in our daily living.  This does NOT mean we should try to overcome our feelings of guilt by denial of our sin. Rather, we should deal with the sin that causes our guilty conscience. 

When believers sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ the Righteous One (1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 7:23-25). This does not mean that Christians can continue in sin while keeping a clear conscience (Romans 6:1-2, 15-18; Psalm 32:1-5). Do not delay in clearing your guilty conscience (Act 24:16). Sin must be dealt with quickly, otherwise your conscience will become hardened (Hebrews 3:13) as denial of sin dulls the conscience. It leads to us falling under the slavery of sin more and more, until the conscience becomes desensitised and corrupt.

Examine yourself regularly. Hold no grudges against others, as this also affects your relationship with God (Matthew 6:14-15, 5:23-24). Full reconciliation and restitution with the person you have wronged must happen (Numbers 5:6-7; Proverbs 6:30-31; Luke 19:8; Philemon :18-19).

Only God’s Word can rightly educate our conscience. Scripture is God’s training truth in life (1 John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Cultivate your conscience according to God’s Word, He will be glorified, and you will enjoy His blessing of peace. 

 

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15 – Dealing with temptation

By / Discipleship Notes / 6 minutes of reading

It does not take long for the battle against temptation and sin to begin in a new believer in Jesus Christ. Things that previously did not bother you will now become a problem as the Spirit of God heightens your awareness and intensifies your conscience. Sinful habits from your past life will now cause great pain if you do not work at removing them from your life.

As believers, we need to understand how to deal effectively with temptation and sin if we are ever going to become a mature Christlike Christian.

Temptation is the initial urge a person feels to commit sin. In itself, temptation is not sin and does NOT come from God.  However, if not dealt with correctly, temptation can quickly become sin with devastating consequences. James 1:13-15 says, when tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that there is no temptation that is peculiar to us alone, and that God always provides a way of escape so that we can stand firm without sinning during the temptation.

Some consequences of sin

  • It grieves God Genesis 6:5-7
  • It brings guilt Psalm 32:5
  • It brings separation from God Isaiah 59:1-2
  • It brings judgement Romans 2:5
  • It enslaves Romans 6:17
  • It causes spiritual death Ephesians 2:1
  • It brings lack of hope Ephesians 2:12
  • It corrupts Titus 1:15
  • It condemns James 5:12

Sources of temptation
The Bible teaches that temptation to sin comes from 3 sources:
SATAN is shown in Scripture as a source of temptation to sin (Matthew 4:3-11; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Peter 5:8).

THE FLESH is a source of temptation. That is, our mortal (physical) bodies, along with the inherent principle/compulsion for sin that is built into every human. You could say that the flesh is simply our ‘humanness’. The flesh is that part of our beings that instinctively gravitates down to the lowest level of sin available at the time.

Sin wants to dominate us through our appetites and habits.  Our natural desires and instincts are not all bad, but they can become excessive if sin can take control, turning desires into lusts that are dominated by sin (Romans 6:12-13; James 1:14-15).

THE WORLD is a source of temptation that involves the often-subtle attempts to conform a Christian to the attitudes and atmosphere of his environment (Romans 12:2). Such as seeking security in possessions or accomplishments; viewing life as liveable apart from a relationship with God, along with other ideas that come from a fallen humanistic society (Titus 2:12; 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 4:4; Luke 12:15).

Conditions for victory over temptation
Be Alert. Many Christians are defeated because they are not alert to the possibility of temptation, feeling immune to being tempted or they think that the temptation will be easy to overcome. We can fall into a false sense of security and self-confidence if we trust our own strength (1 Corinthians 16:13-14; 1 Peter 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

Be Filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit. A Christian can never defeat temptation in their own strength, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. This means living according to the principles of Scripture (Matthew 4:4; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 5:18; Philippians 4:13).

Know Biblical Escapes. The Bible’s method of escape is to have Scripture memorised so that you can use it when facing temptation (Psalm 119:11).  Matthew 4:1-11 shows how Jesus used Scripture to escape from satanic attacks.

Obey by Faith. Do as the Bible says whether you feel like it or not. Don’t rely on your feelings or motives.  Faithfully trust and obey God’s Word (Proverbs 3:5-7; 1 John 5:3).

Be Totally Committed: Half-hearted Christians can only make half-hearted attempts at resisting temptation. Be totally committed to Christ, to His Word, and to His Body the Church (Mark 12:30-31; Revelation 3:15; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:24-25).

How to avoid unnecessary temptation
Avoid wicked company – So often believers fall into temptation for the simple reason that they spend too much time with bad company. A lot of time spent with a worldly non-Christian friend will gradually cause problems if you aren’t making a consistent stand for the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:33).  Often a non-Christian will step back from a friendship once they realise that you are serious about living for the Lord.

Likewise, spending a lot of time with a worldly living person who claims to a Christian will wear you down to their level of godless thinking and behaviour.
Proverbs 4:14   Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.

The Lord wants His children to keep good company.  This will help you to grow stronger in Christ. However, this doesn’t mean that we should avoid unbelievers altogether, otherwise we would never have opportunities to witness or help those in need. Total separation would damage our testimony for Jesus.
Psalm 1:1   Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

This is NOT an excuse to isolate yourself from non-Christians. It is good and beneficial to have non-Christian friends. However, you should choose to be the greater influence with the higher values, living out the character and gospel of Jesus Christ. Never give in to sin or lower standards.

Keep your mind clean – One of the quickest ways to bring temptation upon yourself is to feed your mind on impure thoughts. What we look at, listen to, and think about has a direct connection with our vulnerability to sin.
Philippians 4:8   Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

Remove yourself from the place of temptation – Many times when tempted we stay in the place of temptation, often in our own strength. By moving we could easily get away from the temptation. Better still, try not to allow yourself to get into a place of known temptation (Psalm 1:1).

Consciously submit to God – this is your greatest act of resisting the devil. Also, instruct Satan to get away from you. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Matthew 4:10   Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”

Stand firm – Stubbornly, yet graciously, refuse to give in to temptation. Stand your ground.
1 Corinthians 15:58   Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

ASSIGNMENT:
Memorise conditions for victory, James 4:7 and Psalm 119:11.

NOTE:
Sin will take you further than you want to go; it will keep you there longer than you want to stay; and you will pay a higher price than you want to pay.

 

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14 – Strength to live for Jesus Christ

By / Discipleship Notes / 4 minutes of reading

After a person places faith in Jesus Christ, the immediate challenge for them is how to live an obedient and victorious Christian life. It soon becomes obvious to them that they cannot live the Christian life in their own strength. Some ask the question: ‘If I can’t live an obedient life in my own strength, is it even possible’?
 The answer is YES!  God has provided a way to live an obedient life which is pleasing to Him. This is done by living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is not an unintelligent force or mystical influence. He is knowable and has all the invisible qualities of personhood. He is the third equal member of the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The apostle Paul says that the Holy Spirit is ‘the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:17). Like God the Father and God the Son, the Holy Spirit is:

Eternal: No beginning and no end   (Hebrews 9:14)

Omnipresent: Present everywhere  (Psalm 139:7-8)

Omniscient:    All knowing                (I Corinthians 2:10)

Omnipotent:  All powerful                (Job 33:4; Luke 1:35)

What is our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit renews us through rebirth.
Titus 3:5 …He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit lives in the body of every believer.
1 Corinthians 6:19 …your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

The Holy Spirit is the Seal (security) of the believer.
Ephesians 1:13 …having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. (John 14:16).

The Holy Spirit intercedes for believers.
Romans 8:26 …we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers.
1 Corinthians 12:4, 11 There are different kinds of gifts …all these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as he determines.

The Holy Spirit teaches believers Jesus’ Word.
John 14:26 …the Holy Spirit …will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

What role does the Holy Spirit play in our lives?
The Holy Spirit wants to fill or control every believer.
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit.

How can we be filled by the Holy Spirit?
Being filled is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit in our inner attitudes and beliefs as well as our outer behaviour and speech.  We are to align our lives with the Bible, which the Holy Spirit wrote through godly men (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Colossians 3:16 instructs us to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Our obedience gives the God the Holy Spirit freedom to work through us. Being filled is a surrendered moment-by-moment state of mind and heart. Paul encouraged Timothy to live a godly life by being …an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity (1 Timothy 4:12). This is what a Spirit filled life looks like.

Evidence of a Spirit filled Christian is seen as they express the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). A Spirit filled Christian is easy to identify. Their life will be characterised by the virtues listed above. 

When a believer has God’s Word richly dwelling in them, they are controlled by God’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit then produces His attitude and behavioural in them.

Sadly, the reverse is also true. When a Christian is not dwelling in God’s Word, not expressing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and not thankful, they are not under the control of the Holy Spirit.

How do I become a Spirit filled Christian?
1)   Confess sin to God and turn your back on sin in your living (1 John 1:9; 2 Timothy 2:20-21).
2)   Daily give your thinking to God (Romans 12:1-2).
3)   Hunger after a life of righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
4)   Obediently saturate yourself in the Word of God (Colossians 3:16).

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13 – Why am I now a Christian?

By / Discipleship Notes / 9 minutes of reading

As Christians, we need to understand why God gifted us with salvation? Understanding the purpose for our salvation will help motivate us to faithfully and obediently follow Jesus as Lord.

  • Was salvation simply so you could receive eternal life and carry on living the way you want?
  • Does salvation mean that God works all things for your enjoyment in this life?
  • Does being a Christian mean that you have to give up things that you really like?
  • Now that you have confessed to being a sinner, will God take all my problems away?
  • Does God have a purpose for me as a Christian?

These are common questions which are clearly answered in the Bible. However, the most important question in the above list, is the last one; does God have a purpose for me as a Christian?

The answer is YES! God has a definite purpose for you now that you are a Christian. Salvation is simply the beginning of an eternal adventure for Jesus Christ. In fact, God’s purpose for you existed long before you were even born.

God determined from eternity past for you to respond favourably to Him by you putting faith in his Son Jesus Christ. Consequently, you “believed in him [Jesus], were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” and became an expression of “the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). That has always been God’s unchanging purpose for your life in Christ.

Everything about you, your struggles, and your future problems, are now a living and public statement of “his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6). That means, everything that makes you the unique person that you are, is to be dedicated to speaking and living out the grace of Jesus Christ through your daily activities. Your purpose as a Christian is for God to get all the recognition, all the thanks, and all the glory for who He is and for what He is doing in your life.

Believers in Jesus Christ “are his [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Long before you showed any interest in Jesus, the Lord was busy arranging the good works He wanted you to be busy with following salvation.

The apostle Peter explained that believers in Jesus are “a people for his (God’s) own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Because we belong to Jesus, we commit our lives to telling others of how excellent Jesus is. We are to be careful not to allow ourselves to become distracted from this because we have made “it our aim to please him” in all areas of our lives (2 Corinthians 5:9).

If you have entrusted your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, there are three basic stages of life which God has planned for you in advance.

God planned your salvation
King David observed that the Lord “created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). You are not an accident. Even if your parents did not plan for your birth, God did. God was in control of your life from the very beginning within your mother’s womb.

David also said of God, “you hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). You see, David understood that it was God who invisibly moved his life into the right places and connected him to the people of God’s choice. Despite David’s wrong decisions at times, God did everything necessary to get David to where God wanted him.

Likewise, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God was working on your salvation long before you realised what was happening. You and I contributed nothing to our salvation. “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:5). Salvation was always outside of our grasp or control. Here we see God’s determined grace at work. God never gave up on us, even though there would have been many times when we would have previously rejected Him.

Because we sinners “were dead in the trespasses and sins” of our lives (Ephesians 2:1), we were not able to  believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. You see, dead people don’t think, they don’t realise that they are dead, because they are dead. They don’t desire to be alive because they are unable to reason their way out of being spiritually dead. So, God stepped in and made us alive in Jesus.

Jesus explained to His disciples, that “no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:65). “Did I not choose you?” He then told His disciples (John 6:70). You are a gift from God the Father to God the Son, chosen by God Himself.

God actioned this in our lives by giving us the required faith so that we could believe in Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this (faith) is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Because you and I were dead in sin, and dead people have no faith, God graciously gifted us with the faith that we needed in order for us to believe in the Lord Jesus.

God left nothing to chance when it came to getting us dead sinners to receive eternal life. In John 1:12-13, Jesus tells us that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

  • We received Jesus through believing in Jesus – that was our responsibility.
  • It was Jesus who entitled us, He gave us the right to be born again (John 3:3) into God’s family as God’s children.
  • Salvation was not the result of our human will, or of our human efforts.
  • It was Jesus who made it possible for God’s will to be done in our sinful lives which brought rebirth.

If you picture in your mind that it was God’s will and your belief working together, it will help you to grow in appreciation of the Lord. You were NOT helping God, but God made it possible for you to believe in His plan of your salvation. God engaged with you to produce the outcome He wanted, which was for you to believe and surrender to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. 

To use a human illustration, imagine two steel gears spinning. If we move those two gears towards each other until they touch, there would be lots of noise, sparks, and broken pieces flying off as they crashed. That’s what God’s will and our disbelief would have been like if God did not arrange everything that was needed for both to work together in harmony.

Now, imagine those same two steel gears being meshed together in synchronisation before they begin to spin. The outcome is obvious. They work together in perfect harmony while rotating in opposite directions. No crashing, no noise, just harmony as they engage.

This illustrates God’s ingenious mind. He brings His control into sinful mankind by enabling sinners to intelligently express faith through their individual characters as they willingly believe in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. They do this without realising that they are believing in conjunction with God’s sovereignty, even though they cannot see it at the time. Later, they look back, and see how it was that God was at work in their lives all along, and they were simply following His lead.

God planned your life for usefulness
As mentioned earlier in Ephesians 2:10, Paul explained that “we are his [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” The Lord intends us to walk with Him through each and every day of our lives as willing and obedient participants, expressing the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22), doing good works as opportunity permits.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). We plan our lives, sometimes other people attempt to alter our plans, and even unexpected circumstances may change our plans. But it is God who determines and adjusts the outcome and the long-term results of our plans in order to fulfil His will.

The apostle Paul even acknowledged God’s purpose in the painful times of his life (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4). No circumstance in your life is wasted by God as He connects His purposes with the events of your life for His glory. He has calculated all the possibilities. He has even calculated for your mistakes and failings. Plus, He has calculated for other people’s bad behaviour towards you. He has done this for the purpose of keeping His plans for your life on track.

In God’s kindness, He has connected you with Christian friends who will be able to assist you to grow in your Christian life. Together, with fellow believers, you will be a strength to each other as you walk the life of faith together, worshipping and serving the Lord together.

God planned your heavenly home
Romans 8:30 tells us that “those whom he [God] predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” God’s intention is to get you to heaven. No matter what happens in life, the believer has the hope of heaven and God is committed to getting you there.

The believer’s heavenly destination is as certain as their salvation was. It is God alone “who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…” (Jude 1:24).

There will be difficult times in life when you will struggle but remember that Jesus Christ is the one who gives you the strength to continue to the end of this earthly walk. His purpose is to introduce you into heaven one day with great joy as God’s child who has been cleansed and prepared by Jesus Himself.

Jesus explained it this way to His disciples, “this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40). No-one can take Jesus’ gift of eternal life from you. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). Christian, you are safe in Jesus Christ! Both God the Father and God the Son have a firm grip on you. For you “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are determined to use all their power to get every believer into their heavenly presence. Nothing can change that.

Conclusion
We have thought about some big things in this lesson. We trust God’s Word completely, and we ask that the Lord grow our understanding of how these truths work in our lives, “so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Why am I now a Christian?

The answer is, to bring God pleasure and glory!

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12 – Discipleship is practical

By / Discipleship Notes / 2 minutes of reading

Philemon had one key quality which helps us to be flexible within biblical boundaries. It also helps prevent discipleship becoming dry or boring. Paul’s gratitude for Philemon was due to the way Philemon treated believers. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you (Philemon 1:7). Philemon was a “refresher.” Below are some practical ways that help keep discipleship fresh, and disciples refreshed.

  • Do not allow discipleship to become a painful burden. Be gentle, pleasant, and loving. Smile often.
  • Meet regularly. Be flexible. Change locations and change times. Invite others to visit or join. Do different things in different ways at different times.
  • Be soft-hearted – ALWAYS. Be patient and forgiving.
  • Read and talk about Scripture together.
  • Talk about their daily lives, families, friendships, activities, feelings, temptations, struggles etc.
  • Rejoice in their victories. Share in their joys and pains. Laugh and weep together.
  • Pray together about each other’s lives.
  • Do ministry activities together sometimes.
  • Meet their family and friends, be in their lives.
  • Encourage them to persevere in growing in Christ.
  • Share and learn from each other’s failures.
  • Assist them to disciple others.
  • Assist with tasks in life which they need help with.
  • Have discipleship holidays. Everyone needs a rest sometimes. Have a break, then start again.

Things to resist:

  • Never be demanding or legalistic.
  • Do not form your own traditions.
  • Never be emotionally cold, distant, or harsh.
  • Do not make impossible demands of them.
  • Never be unloving or unforgiving. Show grace.
  • Do not try to do all this at once, 😊 it takes time.

Prayerfully prepare yourself for doing discipleship, asking God to make you effective like Philemon was. These are just some of the practical ways in which Christ’s character flows through us into those we disciple. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart (2Co 4:1). Persevere!

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