BELIEVERS AND DISCIPLES 1

-
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”
John 8:31 KJV
There is this common notion amidst Christians that believers and disciples are different names for the same people. For those who seem to somewhat note a difference, they may not have entirely fulfilled the conditions for being a disciple.
There are two calls every man that want to inherit eternal life must answer. We can see this Matthew 11:28-29
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.   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.”
We will easily see here in this passage that the Lord promised two rests for the different calls.
The first call is to come to Him by believing in the gospel of His death and resurrection unto a saving from sin, Satan and the world. Jesus gives rest from the heavy burden of sins and endless labours of living under such burdens. O! What a sweet rest this is. What great joy that floods the heart at such coming unto Jesus. For all that come to Him, he will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37). The first call is actually a prerequisite for the second
The second is the call to take the yoke He offers. It is a call into a binding relationship with the Master for the purpose of learning to become like Him. Without heeding this call, one cannot find the second promised rest. I can only but imagine how sweet such a rest will be as I read such account of his life in Mark 4:37-38
“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus! You do well doing so but know that even the devils also believe and  tremble (James 2:19). Though believing is most crucial to our profession, the Lord’s intent does not just end there with us believing. He is not satisfied with a bunch of believers. His call even in the great commission was to raise disciples, and not just believers.
“Jesus drew near and said to them,...,Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples:....
Matthew 28:18‭-‬20 GNB
Taking a good look at our text for consideration, Jesus expressly made it clear to the Jews that have come to believe on him that a critical matter yet lies ahead for any one of them to claim to be a disciple of his. The matter of continuing​ in his word. There is a clear distinction between being believers and being a disciples. Being a believer is like making up your mind to go on a journey while being a disciple is embarking on that journey. Which one are you?
Are you a disciple indeed?
Perhaps some are led to think that being a believer is just as good enough requirement for one to meet to be able to stand on that Day. Do not be deceived. Being a disciple is not optional for any serious minded Christian who hope to stand on that Day. Let me ask again, Are you a disciple?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Darkness apprehended it not…

-
And the light appears in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not . (John 1:5 DARBY) I will go more with the Darby's translations of this verse in bringing home the reality of this scriptures to us.  The light appears in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.  To apprehend means to take hold of or to seize. It means to take hold of with the understanding, i.e. to conceive in the mind. The word "apprehend" clearly expresses a key behavior of darkness. Have you ever wondered why whatever you place in front of a little baby, he/she would always want to take hold of it even if that object could hurt him/her. It is innate in man to always apprehend his immediate environment. Apprehension was a result of the fall of man. When God created man, he was never created to apprehend by inquisition but by intuition . Let us look at the first assignment Man performed before the fall. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every...
Read more

A SEAMLESS OPERATION

-
Image
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. Ezek 36:26 (ASV) It will be easy enough to comprehend and believe that aspect of God giving us a new spirit, since we are usually oblivious to the existence of our spirit. So when we ask for a new spirit even at conversion, we are told to believe that God has done it. Indeed, He has! But before that promise of a new spirit is; A new heart... will I give you... How will this happen? When does this take place? The easy way out of these questions is to assume that the heart referred to here may have to be the ‘spiritual heart.’ “It just got to be spiritual...“ one would say. Well, think again... As if to knock out any inclination of such thought lines, the passage further stresses the substance of the heart; ...and I will take away (remove) the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. Friends, ...
Read more

All Have Gone Astray

-
Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way;... God's declaration is clear. He said 'ALL' (meaning everybody) have gone in the wrong direction. He knows we have all gone in the wrong direction, but the biggest issue is whether we have realised that we are heading in the wrong direction. A thousand people will have a thousand ways they are heading because EVERYONE has turned to their own way, which means 1000 wrong ways. We may have hundreds of logical reasons to prove that the way we are heading is right, but have you ever wondered what brought God to this conclusion?  Consider Proverbs 14::12: "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." I implore you my dear friends, to take time to really consider your ways, whether it be the Way. God bless you all.  
Read more