Disciple and Christian are related but not synonymous. The Greek term for “disciple” in the New Testament is mathetes, which means more than just “student” or “learner.”
A disciple is a “follower,” someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct. The Pharisees prided themselves in being disciples of Moses (John 9:28), but they were not because they were proud and and mean, but Moses was humble and kindhearted.
Jesus’ followers were called “disciples” long before they were ever called “Christians.” Their discipleship began with Jesus’ call and required them to exercise their will to follow Him (Matthew 9:9).
What is the best known command for believers to gently, to respectfully, and to tactfully evangelize with the truth?
Yep, it’s found in Matthew 28:18-20.
There is another good Bible command to make disciples (v. 19) of those who choose to turn and trust in Christ.. and that’s because evangelism leads to disciples.
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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..’” Matthew 28:18-19 nkjv
God doesn’t merely want you to come forward to and for His Son, but to go forward with His Son. He does care about your dreams, but His plans for you are better than your own plans for yourself.
For real? Yep, God is still making disciples today. Of all nations!
Are you Christ’s disciple yet?
What’s that all about? Good or bad? It about living like a believer in Jesus and helping others to stabilize and grow spiritually. You can be involved in this, believer!
Do you have the disciplines of a disciple?
Sure, God has a part to play and each and everyone of us believers do as well. We don’t want to try to do his part. We simply want to prayerfully follow Christ and do our part in this. Remember, we don’t save anyone (we make none born again like He can do). And we can’t make anyone grow in grace or mature either, but God can if they want His help. How do we do our part to make disciples? Fish4souls.org
We are to speak out of our love for Jesus.
What is cheap grace? And what is sound Christian discipleship?
What does it mean to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28)?
What is the difference between a real Christian and a real disciple?
What is heavy shepherding? It’s weird. Why be controlling of others? No need for that.
What does it mean that Christ’s disciples are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16)? Is it about walkin’ it and talkin’ it.. in that order? (Got questions, thanks).
Living as a born again Christian disciple involves these five things for your personal spiritual growth:
1. Putting Jesus first in all things, seeking Him with your whole heart (Mark 8:34-38). Half ain't so good. The disciple of Christ needs to be set apart from the world. Our focus should be on our Lord and pleasing Him in every area of our lives. We must put off self-centeredness and put on Christ-centeredness.2. Following Jesus where He leads you -- following his Bible teachings as He empowers (John 8:31-32). We must be obedient children and doers of the Word. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God (1 Samuel 28:18), and Jesus is the perfect example of obedience as He lived a life on earth of complete obedience to the Father even to the point of death (Philippians 2:6-8).
3. Faithful fruitfulness (John 15:5-8). If you're faithful, God will make you fruitful. We abide in the vine and then never have to strain to produce fruit. Our job is not producing fruit. Our job is to abide in Christ, and if we do, the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit, and this fruit is the result of our obedience. As we become more obedient to the Lord and learn to walk in His ways, our lives will change. The biggest change will take place in our hearts, and the overflow of this will be new conduct (thoughts, words and actions) representative of that change. The change we seek is done from the inside out, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t something we can conjure up on our own.
4. Sincere love for other disciples (and showing love for the lost as well. See John 13:34-35). We are told that love of other believers is the evidence of our being a member of God’s family (1 John 3:10). Love is defined and elaborated on in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. These verses show us that love is not an emotion; it is action. We must be doing something and involved in the process. Furthermore, we are told to think more highly of others than of ourselves and to look out for their interests (Philippians 2:3-4). The next verse in Philippians (verse 5) really sums up what we are to do when it comes to everything in life: "our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." What a perfect example He is to us for everything we are to do in our Christian walk.
5. Evangelism - winning lost people to Jesus and then making disciples of other believers as they are open to this (Matthew 28:18-20). There is a way for all. We are to share our faith and tell nonbelievers about the wonderful changes Jesus Christ has made in our lives. No matter what our maturity level in the Christian life, we have something to offer. Too often, we believe the lie from Satan that we don’t really know enough or haven't been a Christian long enough to make a difference. Not true! Some of the most enthusiastic representatives of the Christian life are new believers who have just discovered the awesome love of God. They may not know a lot of Bible verses or the "accepted" way of saying things, but they have experienced the love of the living God, and that is exactly what we are to share.
