A Closer Walk With God
Are You A Disciple Of Jesus?
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
The above statement was made by Jesus to His apostles shortly before He ascended to heaven - Mt 28:18-20. Commonly called "The Great Commission," notice the main thought of Jesus' command... "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...". To "make disciples," therefore, is the GOAL of evangelizing the world for Christ. Are you a disciple of Jesus? More than likely you believe in Jesus... You might even be one to attend church services regularly. -- But is that what it means to be His disciple?
The purpose in this study is to make clear what is involved in being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. To begin, let's define the word "disciple"... The word "disciple" literally means a learner. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, it denotes "one who follows another's teaching". But a disciple was not only a learner, he was also an adherent. For this reason disciples were spoken of as imitators of their teachers.
The goal in being a disciple is stated by Jesus himself: to be like the teacher - Lk 6:40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher." To be Christ's disciple, then, is to strive to be like Him! According to the apostle Paul, this coincides with God's goal in the redemption of mankind, that they be conformed to the image of His Son - Ro 8:29 "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Do you have a strong desire to follow Jesus and become like Him? Unless you do, it cannot be said that you are truly His disciple!
There are also some "identifying marks" of discipleship given by Jesus which can help us to further identify ourselves as a true disciple of Jesus... A disciple is "one who abides in Jesus' words - Jn 8:31 "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,". This would imply being a diligent student of the teachings of Christ. It also requires one to be a "doer" of the Word - Mt 7:21-27 '"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."'; Ja 1:21-25 "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." In view of this, a true disciple would not fail to study the Bible diligently. A true disciple would not willingly refrain from opportunities to study with others (for example, Bible classes, church services, gospel meetings).
A disciple is also "one who loves the brethren" - Jn 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."' With a love patterned after the love of Jesus ("as I have loved you"). With a love that is visible to the world ("by this all will know"). Therefore, a true disciple would make every effort to get to know his brethren. A true disciple take advantage of occasions to encourage and grow closer to them (for example, attending services on Sunday and Wednesday nights, taking advantage of as many opportunities as possible to be together). Remember, a disciple is one who wants to become like his teacher. Was Jesus willing to sacrifice time and effort for His brethren? Of course, and so will we... IF we are truly HIS disciples!
A disciple is "one who bears much fruit" - Jn 15:8 "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." Notice the word "much" (also found in verse 5). Jesus is not talking about an occasional good deed, but a lifestyle which prompts people to glorify God! - Mt 5:16 ""I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Joh 15:2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. This is so important, that failure to bear much fruit will result in being severed from Christ - Jn 15:1-2 '"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." How can one be a disciple if he or she is cut off from Christ? The point should be clear: to be a disciple of Jesus Christ means more that just a casual church member. It requires commitment, especially in regards to: the teachings of Christ; the love of brethren; bearing fruit to the glory of God.
The kind of commitment involved is seen further when we consider the "high cost" of discipleship demanded by Jesus in Lk 14:25-33... The high cost of being a disciple is that Jesus must come first - Lk 14:26 '"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Before anyone else, including members of our own family - Mt 10:34-37 '"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Even before one's own self - Lk 9:23-25 "And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
We must be willing to suffer for Christ - Lk 14:27 "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Trying to live godly lives in an ungodly world, we may find that following Christ sometimes involves ridicule and persecution - 2 Ti 3:12 "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,". Even if we are blessed to escape such things, we must still be willing to expend time and effort in promoting the cause of Christ in positive ways.
Put simply, we must forsake all to follow Christ - Lk 14:33 "So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." In other words, Jesus must be King and Lord of our lives. Nothing can take precedent over Him and His Will for us. This kind of "high cost" of discipleship demanded by Jesus caused many people to turn away from following Him. But Jesus wasn't trying to attract large crowds, He wanted disciples! Being a disciple has a price we must pay. In the next part of this lesson we will examine what that price is.
