Are You A Disciple of Christ?

This morning, I woke up thinking about what it really means to be a disciple of Christ. Lately, I have been hearing the Lord say that many call themselves by His name, but are not His disciples. This is a disturbing thought...He knows the name of everyone who is doing this. So...we must ask ourselves, am I really a disciple of Christ? Or....are you just posing as one so the world will think you are righteous? I have heard many people say that we are all at different places in our walks with Christ, and this is undoubtably true. But....God gave us clear descriptions of what makes up a disciple of His.

First, this person must be a child of God, born of God, and not of flesh and blood.

John 1:11-13 (NASB):

"He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born , not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

If you have not accepted the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross for to redeem you from your sinfulness, and give you eternal life....you are not a disciple of Christ. If you have, accepting Him is the FIRST step (but not the only one).

Romans 10:6-11 (NASB):

"But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: 'DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN (that is to bring Christ down), or WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS (that is to bring Christ up from the dead).' But what does it say? 'THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART' -- that is the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

But should following Christ stop with this initial confession of the mouth and belief in the heart of the word of faith God has given us? This is where many Christians seem to get stuck. It is like a sprinter in track/field who never gets out of the starting blocks. Does simply believing and confessing make one a disciple of Christ? I will show scripture that illustrates that being a disciple of Christ takes much more than simply confession and belief in his Word. It requires a great love for Him through obedience to His Word, study of His Word, and constant search for truth in Him. It takes sacrifice, dedication, and a continual desire to go deeper into Him. Believing on Him and confessing that Jesus is Lord is simply the beginning of a long journey of sanctification which leads to perfection in Christ's image.

But don't take my Word for it, let's look at the scriptures together:

Luke 14:26-27 (NASB):

"In anyone comes after Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."

This is a pretty heavy scripture, but it is a clear dividing line between His disciples, and those who believe they can go in grace without having to follow Christ's teachings. I am learning how to gently and wisely confront those sisters/brothers in Christ who have not yet chosen to make Jesus their Lord, and not just their Savior. It hurts my heart, and I believe it hurts the heart of God when He sees those children who want His salvation, but are not willing to give up anything to follow Him and demonstrate their love for Him through obedience.

Working through this last scripture....many would get confused right off the bat and say this is a contradiction to other scriptures in the Old Testament and especially against the commandment that we are not to hate our brother. This is not what I believe God is talking about. The point He is making is that He must be the most important person in your life. He must be far more important to you, and you should love Him more than any of your relatives. You should even be willing to give up your own life in His name becuase of your desire to be His disciple. Now, how many of you reading have crossed that bridge of surrendering your family back to God, and surrendering your life, even unto death, to God? How many have spoken with truth in their hearts and told God "There is nothing more important than You, not even my own husband, wife, children, mother, father, brother, sister....I will follow you Christ, even if everyone else abandons me and hates me for your name's sake?" Even furthermore, how many of you can honestly say that you have made an agreement with God that you are willing to die at any moment for His name? Now we are treading in places of the Word where people do not want to go. They want to live in the comforts of their home, family, career, and their life....and are not willing to walk with Christ any longer if He would require them to leave it all for him. It is all a matter of where your heart stands with Christ and His commandments for your life. To be a disciple, you must be willing to incur the cost of following Him.

This is not something to be taken lightly, but it is worth the reward if you choose to follow Him.

Mark 10:28-30 (NASB):

"Peter began to say to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You.' Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is none who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life."

So, why would someone choose to follow Christ, despite the obvious reason that it is the way to eternal life. I can tell you why I have chosen to forsake the ways of this world, and to seek with my whole heart after Christ. I do this because of my gratitude for what He has done for me, which has created in me a great love for Him. I obey Him out of love, not fear in the sense of being afraid....but fear in the sense of reverance and awe for what He has done for me....and others around me. I constantly witness Him being good in my life, and the lives of others....and it makes me want to know Him more. I have realized that the way to be closer to God is to follow His commandments and seek Him in prayer, constantly turning away from the world and turning toward Him.

Proverbs 8:17 (NASB):

"I love those who love Me, and those who diligently seek Me will find Me."

Proverbs 8:35-36 (NASB):

"For he who finds Me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord. But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death."

John 14:20-23 (NASB):

"In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, 'Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."

There is an intimacy between Christ and his disciple. This intimacy comes from a studying God's Word, hearing His voice in prayer, seeing Him meet our needs daily, and obeying His every command, both written and the daily direction He gives us. We have to put His commands above all else, thus making Him our Lord (Master, Teacher). If a person is going to church once a week, and not picking up a Bible any time in between, or praying three times a year at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas....a person is probably not a disciple of Christ. This is a daily walk with the living God. If you are not a disciple, you cannot expect to receive the blessings and rewards of discipleship. The Bible tells to constantly search the scriptures....this is constant Bible study, not just every once in a while (or God forbid, never at all).

2 Timothy 2:15-16 (NASB):

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid wordly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness..."

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (NASB):

"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up."

Finally, God gives us a stern warning against those who call themselves His, and continue to do evil in his sight.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB):

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you (emphasis added); DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS."

So today, I encourage you to once again examine yourselves, as I am doing as well.....seek God in determining whether you ARE indeed a disciple of Christ, who will one day be approved and unashamed before God. The other option is falling away from God and putting Christ to open shame.

Hebrews 6:1-8 (NASB):

"Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

So, to call yourself a disciple of Christ, and having done all the things in this scripture....and then to live in sinfulness and fall away is to crucify the Son of God and put him to open shame.

This idea of whether we are disciples of Christ is VERY important. There are too many people in today's world that are claiming to know God, but the question is.... DOES GOD KNOW YOU? AND DOES HE COUNT YOU AMONG HIS DISCIPLES?

This message has been in my heart since I committed my life to Christ last year, and told God he could have everything I was. I gave my whole life to Christ, and I continue to surrender everything I can to Christ and the will of God. However, I STILL must constantly ask myself I if I should be calling myself His disciple. God has a high standard for those who follow Him, but then again....He is worth everything we could ever do to worship Him.

Desiring to be His disciple,

Sarah