Evangelism, Witnessing & Discipleship In The Body Of Christ.
The Key Difference Between Witnessing & Evangelism.
Witnessing is telling others what Jesus has done for me. Evangelizing is telling others what Jesus can do for them as you present the gospel to them. We should note two things. First, that we will be witnesses to Christ and His kingdom is not in doubt. Today's passage records Jesus' final words to His followers before His ascension, and He says, matter-of-factly, that those who serve Him will be His witnesses. We will either be good witnesses or poor witnesses, but we will certainly be witnesses. It is inherent to being a Christian.
Second, knowing the distinction between witnessing and evangelism keeps us from confusing the two. Giving our testimony of how God saved us and is blessing us is a good thing, but it is not evangelism. Living in holiness witnesses to the work of Christ's Spirit, but it is not evangelism. Evangelism takes place only when we share the message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and then call people to trust in Him alone.
What Is Christian Discipleship?
Discipleship is a journey of intentional decisions leading to maturity in your relationship with Jesus so that you become more like Him in your attitudes, focus and ultimately behavior. It requires a commitment from the potential disciple and the disciple-makers. It’s not something that happens by accident or overnight, and it can’t be completed in a six-week class. This is a lifelong commitment to follow God with your whole self and to both learn from and eventually teach others about how to follow Him.
Being #bible #bibleverse #believe #christ #cross #easter #faith #god a Christian disciple involves personal growth characterized by the following:
1. Putting Jesus first in all things (Mark 8:34-38). The disciple of Christ needs to be set apart from the world. Our focus should be on our Lord and how to please Him in every area of our lives. We must put off self-centeredness and put on Christ-centeredness.
2. Following Jesus’ teachings (John 8:31-32). We must be obedient children and doers of the Word (James 1:22). Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God (1 Samuel 28:18). Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:21). Jesus is also the perfect example of obedience as He lived a life on earth of complete obedience to the Father even to the point of death (Philippians 2:6-8).
3. Bearing fruit (John 15:5-8). Christian disciples should live fruitful lives, displaying the fruit of the Spirit, good works, and “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). Technically, producing fruit is not our job; our job is to abide in Christ, and the fruit will come (John 15:1-8). God’s goal is that we produce “much fruit” (verse 8), as Christ uses us to bring about blessed change in a broken, fallen world.
4. Loving other disciples (John 13:34-35). Love of other believers is an evidence of our being a member of God’s family (1 John 3:10). Love is described in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. These verses show us that love is not an emotion; it is action. In order to love, we must be doing something and involved in the process. One way to show love is to think more highly of others than of ourselves and to look out for their interests (Philippians 2:3-4). Another way to show love is to be patient and not take offense at every provocation (1 Peter 4:8).
5. Making disciples of others (Matthew 28:18-20). Disciples multiply. One of the last things Jesus said to His disciples before His ascension was the command to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). This involves evangelism-sharing the gospel and urging people to repent and believe in Christ-but it also involves discipleship. Christians should be actively engaged in training people who will in turn train others. That’s the pattern we see in Jesus’ ministry: He trained eleven men who spent the rest of their lives as disciple-makers, training others to also become disciple-makers, and so on. We see this pattern also in 2 Timothy 2:2.
Other Passages Of Scriptures:
John 13:34-35
1 Corinthians 11:26
Colossians 4:2-6
2 Timothy 4:2-5
Romans 10:10-17
1 Peter 3:15