Is there a difference between believers and disciples?
Is being a disciple of Jesus the same as being a Christian?
In this video, I'll answer those questions and talk about five qualities of a true disciple of Jesus.
But first, let's talk about what a disciple is.
Many people believe that there is a difference between being a believer and a disciple.
That being a Christian and being a disciple of Jesus are two different categories.
But that is not what the Bible teaches.
You see, Jesus told his disciples to go out and make disciples just like them.
He didn't present them with different categories that people could pick and choose from
according to whether they had faith or not.
People who believed their message would become disciples
and if they did not, it was evidence that they did not believe.
In the book of Acts, for example, we see that it was the disciples who were called Christians.
So, it's clear that disciples and Christians are the same thing.
There is no such thing as a Christian who is not a disciple.
We are all called to be disciples of Jesus.
So, if you're not interested in being a disciple of Jesus, it's because you're neither a Christian nor a believer.
In case you didn't see it, there is a video that mentions five signs to identify false teachers and prophets.
Religious conmen teach people what they want to hear
instead of teaching the discipleship that Jesus established for his followers.
So it's no surprise that these scam artists are so popular.
Everyone is looking for a way that they can claim all the spiritual benefits that Jesus promised to his disciples
without having to actually fulfill the requirements for discipleship.
Very few people in the world actually want to become disciples of Jesus
and so any church that teaches what Jesus taught on the subject
would suddenly find themselves without paying customers.
So what are the characteristics of a true Christian?
Well, there are many, but here I'll be sharing five fundamental qualities for anyone
who would claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
If you want to be a true disciple, then pay attention to all of these points.
1) Obedience to the Teachings of Jesus
Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations
"teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you to do."
You see, a Christian is one who follows Christ, and submits to Jesus as Lord of their life.
That's why it's written that whoever says that they know Jesus and does not obey him, is a liar.
Jesus himself asks, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and do not obey me?"
and he says, "If someone loves me, they will obey my teachings
"and my father will love them, and we will come to them and make dwelling with them.
"Whoever does not love me, does not obey my teachings.
"The words that you hear are not mine, but the Father's who sent me."
So, anyone who claims to be a Christian but does not live according to the teachings of Jesus
is just fooling themselves.
But obeying the teachings of Jesus is not a one-off thing.
It's not like the salvation by works that the one saved always saved people promote
where they believe that they are saved
just because they said a little prayer inviting Jesus into their heart sometime in the past.
No, a true disciple of Jesus is not a Christian for just one day or a season.
Instead, they continue to grow in obedience to the teachings of Jesus every day.
In the parable of the sower, the disciples are represented by the seed that fell on fertile ground
those who, with an honest and a good heart, obey the teachings of Jesus, and bear fruit with perseverance.
Have you ever heard the teaching, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free"?
It comes from John chapter 8 verse 32.
Most people have heard it because it has been preached in thousands of churches around the world.
But have you ever heard what the condition was for that promise?
Most people have not, because the churches are not actually interested in living out the conditions.
So they never actually preach the previous verse...but here it is
"If you abide in my teachings, you are truly my disciples.
"You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
Therefore, if we do not abide in his teachings, we are not truly his disciples
and we will not know the truth, nor will we be set free, no matter how loudly we may say otherwise.
Whoever transgresses and does not remain in the teachings of Christ, does not have God
and is not a disciple of Jesus.
It's that clear.
2) Forsaking Everything you Own
Since Jesus' disciples obey his teachings
they also obey his commandment to sell everything they own and give to the poor.
In fact, Jesus clearly said that anyone who does not forsake all his possessions cannot be his disciple.
It's not a mystery figuring out why the early Christians sold their possessions
gave to the needy, and shared everything they had with each other.
They were simply disciples who were putting into practice what Jesus had clearly taught.
However, since the issue of forsaking your possessions is not a popular topic
you will rarely hear it being preached in the pulpits of the religious system.
Worse still, they will consciously argue against it, looking for any excuses or proof texts they can find.
But when you want to know what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus, who are you going to believe?
Jesus, or the religious leaders who justify their disobedience?
3) Death to Self
Whoever does not hate their own life, whoever does not take up their cross
whoever loves their family more than Jesus, whoever wants to save their life in this world
cannot be a disciple of Jesus.
That is the clear teaching of Christ.
Are we going to change the rules just because we don't like them
or are we going to obey them and discover the great blessing of following Jesus?
A disciple learns to crucify his own plans and desires, and surrender his will to God.
We seek to have the same mind that Christ had, who left everything and showed us the path of obedience.
Our goal is to stop being like ourselves, and start being like Christ a hundred percent
totally committed to doing God's will.
But we can't achieve this if we want to do it half-heartedly.
Jesus says, "He who loves his life will lose it
"and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
As long as we love our own way of life--the way of life that this present-day wicked system offers us
then we're only going to see Jesus' call to true repentance as bad news
rather than the hidden treasure for which someone joyfully sells everything they have to buy it.
Anyone who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands
for Jesus's sake and the gospel, will receive a hundredfold now in this time
houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
What an amazing promise!
God has something much better than all the things that we cling to now.
Isn't it time to forsake it all and truly trust him?
4) Working for God
When Jesus called his first disciples, they left everything and started working for God.
But we cannot work for God if we're busy working for material things
food, clothes, housing, toys, gadgets and all the things that money can buy.
We have to either serve God or serve money, but we will not be able to serve both.
It just won't work.
Jesus says so: we must love one and hate the other...be loyal to one and despise the other.
Ask yourself this: how much time do you spend working
or doing things for the purpose of making money and buying material things?
And how much time do you spend working for the purpose of building God's kingdom here on the earth
in obedience to Jesus?
Most people, you see, serve Mammon, and they think God is happy with the crumbs
usually a couple of hours on the weekend
maybe even a couple more hours on Wednesday night, if they think they're really committed.
Jesus says that he actually hates that. In fact, he says it makes him sick.
He would rather you be hot or cold instead of lukewarm.
But if you insist on being lukewarm in trying to serve God and money
then you become part of the vomit that is spewed out of the true body of Christ.
Jesus left us with a great mission: go and preach the gospel to every creature.
Preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name, making disciples of all nations
disciples that live according to the teachings of Jesus.
Don't fall for the counterfeit discipleship model of the religious system
that pretty much amounts to listening to sermons and reading the Bible
without ever getting around to actually obeying the teachings of Jesus.
True discipleship means giving your entire life over to serving Christ
and only those who are already living as disciples of Jesus can truly disciple others
with integrity and faithfulness.
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...very few.
You see, many are called, but few are chosen
because most people are simply not interested in Jesus' discipleship.
5) Loving One Another
Jesus prayed that his followers might be perfectly united
just as he was united with God, so that the world could believe that Jesus was God's son.
He said that everyone would know that we are his disciples if we love one another.
Unfortunately nowadays, people think that Christian love
means meeting with each other in a religious building once a week for a couple of hours
listening to a sermon, singing a couple of songs
and then everyone going back to their own individualistic, materialistic and selfish lives
the rest of the week.
But the love that Jesus taught was a radical love.
It's a love that calls on us to give our whole lives for God and for each other.
He says that the greatest love we can show is to give our lives for each other.
In his epistle, the apostle John says
"Hereby we perceive the love of God: because he laid down his life for us
"we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
You see, it's only when we're ready to give up everything for God
that we can truly lay down our lives every day for our brothers and sisters.
Listen to how the early church manifested this love
"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul
"neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own
"but they had all things common.
"And with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
"and great grace was upon them all.
"Neither was there any among them that lacked
"for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them
"and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the Apostles feet
"and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."
Only true disciples of Jesus are willing to live in this way
whereas lukewarm, self-satisfied church attenders
will continue to try to share the bare minimum of their lives and resources
even with those that they outwardly call brothers and sisters.
But what about you? What do you say?
Are you willing to leave everything in obedience to Christ and start working for God?
Are you willing to seek unity with others
who are sincerely putting the kingdom of God and His righteousness as their number one priority in life?
If so, we'd love to hear from you
because there's a growing movement of people who have chosen to be true disciples of Jesus
and who are joining up with others who sincerely want to follow Christ.
So let's serve Jesus together while there is still so much opportunity to do so.
Write to us at the address on screen
and we'll do our best to put you in touch with disciples near your area of the world.
We look forward to hearing from you.
God bless you.