Complimentary Story
March 2026“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2 NKJV).
The secret to effective discipleship is that you must be real. Apart from the work of Christ, you and I can never be something we are not. You can put on a good show for a while, but at some point, when people get close enough, the real you becomes visible. Truthfully, we already know this, and this is one of the reasons we do not see discipleship as much as we should.
Here is my challenge: I invite each and every one reading this to actively seek someone who can be a mentor in their life, and to also seek someone they can begin to disciple right now.
The pattern for discipleship is clear in verse two, but it really starts in verse one. If we seek to make disciples, we need to realize first that we started as a spiritual son to someone. Some wiser Christian has, at some point, poured into our lives, or that is what we should see. Sadly, I do not see that often enough. There is good news though — we can change that. We can resolve to be more intentional about building relationships and making disciples for Christ.
If you can look to someone in your walk with Christ who was a Paul to you that is an honor, you are blessed for that. If you did not have that relationship the good news is that we are all a son of God in Christ Jesus, and what better Father could any of us ask for? The other piece of good news is even if you did not have someone in your life who was a Paul to you, you can be that to someone else.
Before we leave verse one, a component in the pattern for discipleship is grace. Paul says to Timothy, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Whether we are talking about salvation, ministry, discipleship, or any other aspect of our faith, it all is built on the foundation of the grace of Jesus Christ. The key to successful relationships and discipleship is grace. You must give room for grace to operate at the leading of the Holy Spirit. We all must grow in grace. Grace is a mark of a genuine believer in Christ who is maturing in the faith.
We see in verse two that there is a pattern we should seek to be a part of in every stage of our walk with Christ. Paul tells Timothy, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV).
It is not enough for Timothy to take what he has heard from Paul in the presence of many witnesses and commit them to faithful men. Unfortunately, that is what we do a lot of in American Christianity. We take the things we have heard, and we commit them to men, sometimes faithful men and sometimes to men who are unfaithful. We have a responsibility to commit these things to faithful men who will be faithful to teach others also.
We have a responsibility to Christ, to the Gospel, and to each other as brothers in Christ to see that we pass the Truth down to those who will pass that Truth to others also. That is growth, that is discipleship. Taking the Truth of God’s Word, committing it to govern our own life, to speak of it in the presence of many witnesses and to commit it to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Sometimes the difference between a faithful man and a faithful man who will be able to teach others also is the effort we pour into that man’s life.
I simply am not willing to give someone the Gospel and walk away if I can help it. I genuinely believe we have created a lot of false converts because of that. This so drives my philosophy of ministry that I think we have it upside down in the American Church. Here is my philosophy of ministry — once you start making disciples, evangelism happens automatically in the periphery. You will be absolutely amazed at the evangelism that goes on in the lives of friends and family of those who you are discipling.
We have shown too much evangelism without any evidence of changed lives. People cannot deny real discipleship happening before their eyes because they see the life of someone they know changing for the better and there is no answer that explains it apart from a of work of Christ. It becomes undeniable. Who are you discipling?
Email:
AliveMinistriesUSA@gmail.com
