Book Report: Disciple by Juan Carlos Ortiz (Report by M. Lee) > 제자학교

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In the book Disciple by Juan Carlos Ortiz, I admire Ortiz’s desire to know God more and his efforts to learn and put them into practice. There is a lot I don’t agree with but he does make some good and helpful points. He starts out by pointing out how crucial it is for us to recognize Jesus as our Lord who has “maximum authority” over us and our lives. We are to center our lives on Christ rather than ourselves. He talks about the “Fifth Gospel” which man has created to cater to our wants and needs. He talks about how we center even our praise songs and prayers on ourselves rather than Jesus. But what we need to recognize is that we are dead as slaves to sin and alive as slaves of righteousness. We are to seek what God desires for our lives and live accordingly. We no longer dictate how we live but Christ does in all areas of our lives. This is definitely a life long process of dying to self and surrendering to the Holy Spirit.

Ortiz also emphasizes, not just the importance of love but what love is in the life of a believer. He says love “is not a one of the virtues of the Christian life–love is the Christian life.” He says love is the “oxygen” to our life as a believer. Scripture does say God is love and we are to love Him and others. Oriz says that love is the proof of our salvation. I agree as it is one of the fruit of the Spirit. It is also a command that we love God and one another. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His only Son and Christ died for us. It is and should be part of the life of a believer.

Ortiz goes on to emphasize the need for growth as a believer. We cannot depend on spiritual milk forever but must grow and move onto solid spiritual food and mature. Then mature Christians can help other young believers grow in their faith which would make the church a healthier body of Christ. He talks about how important discipleship is within the church. It’s not only important to learn what the Bible says but to live it out by learning from one another and teaching each other by doing life together.