We come to have a personal saving relationship with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And I’ll add, for God’s glory alone from beginning to end. God uses His people, though, like you and me, to help others enter into this personal relationship and mature in it. I was saved in 1973 while in my first year of college when a staff man named Mark of Campus Crusade for Christ (today Cru) shared the Four Law booklet with me. I remember clearly when I turned from my sin to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was forgiven the penalty of my sin and began to take baby steps in my new life in Christ. God’s Spirit convicted me of my sin and showed me that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no can come to the Father except through believing faith in Him (John 14:6). I was one-hundred percent convinced of this truth and knew I was now a real Christian. As a baby in Christ, however, I needed to be taught the Scriptures and helped to develop a new identify. For four years, while in college, I was discipled by staff men and fellow students involved with Cru. I discipled those I led to faith in Christ as well. For two of those years several of us guys lived together in what became known as the “Crusade men’s house”. I thank God for those formative years of one-on-one and small group Bible studies and prayer meetings while living life together because a firm foundation was laid in my life. By God’s grace, it is still solid today. 

 

What is my point? It is simply this. When we lead someone to faith in Christ we need to be prepared to disciple that person in the Scriptures and in their new life in Jesus. It would not be responsible to give birth to a baby Christian and then leave him/her just as a married couple should not abandon their newborn child. If we are not able to personally disciple someone we are then responsible to look for someone who can. It is my opinion that if someone who is a baby in Christ and left to fend for him/herself, then he/she is vulnerable to join a pseudo Christian group. That would be a tragic disservice to them because as spiritual parents we are responsible for those we lead to Christ which includes connecting them with a Christ-exulting Bible-teaching church. Growing in Christ and the Bible is a life-time process. God uses prepared people in this process so here are a couple questions: Who are we discipling? and Are we being discipled? Let us prayerfully think about this before we next share our faith with someone or our church has an evangelistic event. This is all about becoming mature in Christ.