What Is a Disciple?
What is a Disciple?
Good question! In simple terms, a disciple is one who is a follower. When it comes to Christianity, a disciple is a follower of Christ. But that is rather ambiguous. There is more to it than just that. Let’s look at God’s Word.
In the gospels, we find people who are following Christ for His teaching, His food and His miracles. Yet, very few of them even believed He was the Messiah, the Christ - the anointed one from God. We can call them curious disciples.
There is a second group. We find them in John 2 where Jesus changed the water into wine. In John 2:11, the result is that those disciples put their faith in Him. These we can call convinced disciples. They were convinced that He was the Christ and they put their trust in Him as Savior.
In our churches today we have curious and convinced disciples. There are a lot of people very curious about Christ, the Church and religion. There are those also who have examined the evidence and realized that Christ is who He claimed to be. God. He is the Savior, and if a person is to receive eternal life, he must trust in Christ alone to forgive his sin and make him alive spiritually. Concerning the church, my observation has been that curious and convinced disciples are asking the question, what can I get?
This leads to the third group. They are committed disciples. These are the ones who have forsaken all for Christ. These are the ones who say, “What can I give?” They realize that they received the free gift of eternal life and then sacrificially live their lives as a thank you for all that the Lord has given them.
The problem is that there are very few committed disciples. The reason is everything has to be turned over to Christ. Our wills, our money, our goals, our desires, our lives. This is very difficult. Committed disciples are those who have not only trusted in Christ as Savior, but have also submitted to Him as Lord and Master of their life. This involves obedience and sacrifice. This involves submitting to Christ’s authority. This is a life submitting to His Word and obeying it - not for one’s salvation (that’s a free gift), but letting the Word of God rule and reign in one’s life.
This is tough, but God didn’t call us to easy things. Can we do this in our own strength? Absolutely not. We can, though, in His. This is what God is asking us to do. If we do, His name will go forward and we will be blessed. Where are you? Are you curious about Christ? Are you convinced He is the answer to eternal life? Are you committed to Him? That is a question I can’t answer for you, only you can!
Good question! In simple terms, a disciple is one who is a follower. When it comes to Christianity, a disciple is a follower of Christ. But that is rather ambiguous. There is more to it than just that. Let’s look at God’s Word.
In the gospels, we find people who are following Christ for His teaching, His food and His miracles. Yet, very few of them even believed He was the Messiah, the Christ - the anointed one from God. We can call them curious disciples.
There is a second group. We find them in John 2 where Jesus changed the water into wine. In John 2:11, the result is that those disciples put their faith in Him. These we can call convinced disciples. They were convinced that He was the Christ and they put their trust in Him as Savior.
In our churches today we have curious and convinced disciples. There are a lot of people very curious about Christ, the Church and religion. There are those also who have examined the evidence and realized that Christ is who He claimed to be. God. He is the Savior, and if a person is to receive eternal life, he must trust in Christ alone to forgive his sin and make him alive spiritually. Concerning the church, my observation has been that curious and convinced disciples are asking the question, what can I get?
This leads to the third group. They are committed disciples. These are the ones who have forsaken all for Christ. These are the ones who say, “What can I give?” They realize that they received the free gift of eternal life and then sacrificially live their lives as a thank you for all that the Lord has given them.
The problem is that there are very few committed disciples. The reason is everything has to be turned over to Christ. Our wills, our money, our goals, our desires, our lives. This is very difficult. Committed disciples are those who have not only trusted in Christ as Savior, but have also submitted to Him as Lord and Master of their life. This involves obedience and sacrifice. This involves submitting to Christ’s authority. This is a life submitting to His Word and obeying it - not for one’s salvation (that’s a free gift), but letting the Word of God rule and reign in one’s life.
This is tough, but God didn’t call us to easy things. Can we do this in our own strength? Absolutely not. We can, though, in His. This is what God is asking us to do. If we do, His name will go forward and we will be blessed. Where are you? Are you curious about Christ? Are you convinced He is the answer to eternal life? Are you committed to Him? That is a question I can’t answer for you, only you can!
Ken Muck
Interim Pastor at Sturgeon Bay Community Church
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