A disciple or Believer?
(Luke 14:27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
After some read Jesus’ words about being a disciple, they say, “Well, I don’t want to be a disciple, just a good Christian (believer)”. But can a person be a believer and not a disciple? Jesus said, “He that hath ears, let him hear.” What does the Bible say about it?
The term “disciple” means, one who learns, so when Jesus calls to discipleship, He is calling one to learn of and from Him. In Mat 11:28-29, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The call to learn of and from Him is to those who are burdened and heavy laden – those who are seeking rest. The rest Jesus says He gives is for the soul – He says He gives rest and you also will find rest.
Too often people make “decisions” and not “commitments” to Christ. They say a little prayer and are asked to believe some things and then they are saved and safe forever – they can live anyway they want from then on and never fear anything anymore; they just await the return of the Lord or His summons for them to come home to heaven.
The call to discipleship is a call to be a Christian – there are not two levels of entry. When we come to Him we come with all our sin, shame and corrupted thinking and reasoning and begin a new life in Christ.
Jesus said “come and learn . . .”; so what are we to learn? He said to learn of Him – that can mean to learn of (about) Him or from Him. This learning is a life time adventure and a wonderful one for anyone who is sincerely seeking to serve the Lord. Isaiah says, “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Learning to do well or in other words, “live right” is not accomplished by passive living – it is accomplished by reading and studying the word, praying, worshipping and allowing God to change us. This takes an active role for us in life. It means being proactive about our spiritual life and the things of God. It is not staying at home and watching television preachers (now if someone is unable to physically attend services, God takes into account; but anyone serious about their spiritual life will not be satisfied with such passivity) or only listening to radio. Those unable to attend will do these things and more, because they are true believers, disciples.
Discipleship is learning to maintain good works -- “. . .also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.” Good works do not save us, but God has not forgiven us and made us His children so that we do bad works. Paul says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God’s will is that all Christians maintain good works in this life.
We are also to obey the word; Jesus said when we obey we prove that we are truly disciples – “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”
Sadly, today there is a lack of commitment among those who profess to be Christians. We see this in the divorce rates, church membership, work ethics and etc. The divorce rate among believers or professing believers is too high – some have estimated it to be as high as in the world and others show it to be lower. Either way it should not be among Christians. If there is a divorce among Christian couples, then one or both are in poor spiritual condition. The “no fault” divorce system today allows one erring spouse to divorce another without much say from the other – even if he or she refuses to sign off. Lack of commitment is seen in church membership where people commit to certain things, but fail to fulfill their vows. It is seen in work ethics – many today do not work with vigor or faithfulness and if they get disgruntled they quit without notice or leave under poor circumstances.
If a person is truly a Christian, they will show their commitment in all areas of their life, not just on Sundays or at church and to other Christians. The world will know if you are Christian.