Growth A Disciple Is...

[GodsGrace]

1. what does being a disciple mean?
2. What's the cost?
3. How do you know if you are a true disciple?


1. What Does Being A Disciple Mean?



God didn't give us His word to teach us something...
He gave us His word to become something.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Changes are not made to be a Christian
Changes are made because we are Christian.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The spirit filled life can be understood, experienced, and shared
by the earnest believer.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Didst Thou not die, that I might live,
No longer to myself but Thee?
Might body, soul, and spirit give
To Him who gave Himself for me?
Come then, my Master and my God,
Take the dear purchase of They blood.

---John Wesley



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A true discipler is a person who has a deep abiding love for the person of Christ, an unshakable faith and confidence in the Word of Christ, and is committed to Christ in obedience and service.



A disciple is:

o Totally committed to Jesus. This means that every activity and every thing in his life are surrendered to Christ's Lordship.
(Luke 14:26-27, 33)

o Diligently saturating his life with the Word of God through consistent bible intake
(John 8:31)

o Developing his devotional life by consistently having a daily quiet time and is growing in his prayer life
(Psalm 5:3, Mark 1.35)

o Demonstrating love by a servan-heart and loyalty characterized by his regular involvement in the fellowship of the local church.
(1 John 1:3, Hebrews 10:24-25)

o A person who demonstrates his desire to make Christ known to others by regularly sharing his personal testimony and the Gospel with increasing skill.
(John 15:8)

----from Dynamics of Discipling
--- Arts Publications

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Being a disciple means all of the above for us. It means following Christ, and for me personally, it has always meant sharing my belief with others. Not all want to hear it, but some do, and even when they don't ---- perhaps a small seed is planted.

2. What's The Cost?

The cost is simply stated:
We are to die to ourselves.

Romans 12:1 Present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is our spiritual service. This is how we worship.

This means that we render our life as a service to God. Perhaps we don't even change anything we do, but we'll understand that in doing everything for God, we will be happier doing it. And when we tire at times, God will always come to our aid and refresh us.

Come to me all ye who labor and I will give you rest...
Mathew 11:28-30

It means we are to change internally, as in the Beatitudes where Jesus teaches us how we are to comport ourselves.
Mathew 5:3-10

Also, Isaiah 35:8 We are to walk upon the Holy Highway where no evil hearted man may walk.

We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives IN us.
Galatians 2:20

We are to be "set apart" for service to God. To be His hands and feet.
1 Peter 1:15-16



3. How do you know if you are a true disciple?

The Holy Spirit will purify our heart.
Acts 15:8-9

God knows our heart and gives the Holy Spirit to those who desire Him.
Our hearts are purified by faith.
Also, see James 4:8b
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

This heart perfection restores God's moral nature in his affections - his love - and in his motives, or intent.
He desires to keep God's requirements.

The heart of every spirit filled Christian reflects the Love of God.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that we are His disciples --- that we love one another.

Mathew 22:37-40 We are to love God, ourselves and our neighbors.

John 14:15-18 The Holy Spirit dwells with us, we are not left comfortless at Jesus' ascension.

1 John 3:24 if we obey Him, we live In Him, and He in us.

1 John 5.6, 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the testimony of the Spirit in his heart.

And let's not forget:

Galatians 5:22-23

The FRUITS of the Spirit. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their sinful nature and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are within them.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

1. what does being a disciple mean?
2. What's the cost?
3. How do you know if you are a true disciple?


1. What Does Being A Disciple Mean?



God didn't give us His word to teach us something...
He gave us His word to become something.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Changes are not made to be a Christian
Changes are made because we are Christian.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The spirit filled life can be understood, experienced, and shared
by the earnest believer.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Didst Thou not die, that I might live,
No longer to myself but Thee?
Might body, soul, and spirit give
To Him who gave Himself for me?
Come then, my Master and my God,
Take the dear purchase of They blood.

---John Wesley



vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv



A true discipler is a person who has a deep abiding love for the person of Christ, an unshakable faith and confidence in the Word of Christ, and is committed to Christ in obedience and service.



A disciple is:

o Totally committed to Jesus. This means that every activity and every thing in his life are surrendered to Christ's Lordship.
(Luke 14:26-27, 33)

o Diligently saturating his life with the Word of God through consistent bible intake
(John 8:31)

o Developing his devotional life by consistently having a daily quiet time and is growing in his prayer life
(Psalm 5:3, Mark 1.35)

o Demonstrating love by a servan-heart and loyalty characterized by his regular involvement in the fellowship of the local church.
(1 John 1:3, Hebrews 10:24-25)

o A person who demonstrates his desire to make Christ known to others by regularly sharing his personal testimony and the Gospel with increasing skill.
(John 15:8)

----from Dynamics of Discipling
--- Arts Publications

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv



Being a disciple means all of the above for us. It means following Christ, and for me personally, it has always meant sharing my belief with others. Not all want to hear it, but some do, and even when they don't ---- perhaps a small seed is planted.

2. What's The Cost?

The cost is simply stated:
We are to die to ourselves.

Romans 12:1 Present yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is our spiritual service. This is how we worship.

This means that we render our life as a service to God. Perhaps we don't even change anything we do, but we'll understand that in doing everything for God, we will be happier doing it. And when we tire at times, God will always come to our aid and refresh us.

Come to me all ye who labor and I will give you rest...
Mathew 11:28-30

It means we are to change internally, as in the Beatitudes where Jesus teaches us how we are to comport ourselves.
Mathew 5:3-10

Also, Isaiah 35:8 We are to walk upon the Holy Highway where no evil hearted man may walk.

We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives IN us.
Galatians 2:20

We are to be "set apart" for service to God. To be His hands and feet.
1 Peter 1:15-16



3. How do you know if you are a true disciple?

The Holy Spirit will purify our heart.
Acts 15:8-9

God knows our heart and gives the Holy Spirit to those who desire Him.
Our hearts are purified by faith.
Also, see James 4:8b
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

This heart perfection restores God's moral nature in his affections - his love - and in his motives, or intent.
He desires to keep God's requirements.

The heart of every spirit filled Christian reflects the Love of God.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that we are His disciples --- that we love one another.

Mathew 22:37-40 We are to love God, ourselves and our neighbors.

John 14:15-18 The Holy Spirit dwells with us, we are not left comfortless at Jesus' ascension.

1 John 3:24 if we obey Him, we live In Him, and He in us.

1 John 5.6, 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the testimony of the Spirit in his heart.

And let's not forget:

Galatians 5:22-23

The FRUITS of the Spirit. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their sinful nature and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are within them.

Very beautifully said.
Thank you.

 

[AirDancer]

Excellent presented ....and wisely placed in Foundation of Faith, where this information helps to strengthen us, wondering !

 

[Jim Parker]

1. what does being a disciple mean?
2. What's the cost?
3. How do you know if you are a true disciple?

I recommend The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Be prepared.

iakov the fool

 

[GodsGrace]

I recommend The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Be prepared.

iakov the fool

Will check it out.
Not sure I could get it here.
Amazon maybe.

 

[GodsGrace]

I recommend The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Be prepared.

iakov the fool

Be prepared??
Does he demand more than Jesus??
Does he speak about how to be a member of the Kingdom of God/heaven?

 

[Jim Parker]

Be prepared??
Does he demand more than Jesus??
Does he speak about how to be a member of the Kingdom of God/heaven?

He just lays it all out in no uncertain terms.

 

[GodsGrace]

He just lays it all out in no uncertain terms.

That's what Jesus did.
Except some refuse to believe it.
"Cheap Grace" as you've called it.

What is cheap grace?
God did everything for us, but we doubt we have to do anything for Him.

What is a disciple anyway except one who follows the leader and learns from him?
Jesus called the persons following Him "disciples" which means that He expects us to ACT like disciples.

Jesus did not REQUEST what He spoke of, He DEMANDED it.
And posting verses to hyper grace believers is pretty useless...

Those who try to live as Jesus would want are called "sinless perfectionists".
What a mess...

 

[Nathan]

Do you think disciples follow and learn because they have to - or because they want to?

Seems to me Jesus never wanted someone to follow Him because they had to, but always wanted them to follow Him because they wanted to.

 

[Cygnus]

A disciple is:

o Totally committed to Jesus. This means that every activity and every thing in his life are surrendered to Christ's Lordship.
(Luke 14:26-27, 33)

I think every one of us fails the first criteria. Totally means 100%.
I think committed to Jesus and working towards surrendering all to Jesus would be a better description of a disciple.

We all sin. When we do we show were not totally committed to Jesus.
I did read where you softened your a disciple is statement with ....."What is a disciple anyway except one who follows the leader and learns from him"?

 

[GodsGrace]

Do you think disciples follow and learn because they have to - or because they want to?

Seems to me Jesus never wanted someone to follow Him because they had to, but always wanted them to follow Him because they wanted to.

Hi Nathan,

What I think is that we have to WANT to be a disciple.
God is not forcing us to believe in Him or to be a disciple.
Right?

But once we make up our mind to be one, then we MUST follow and learn from Him.

It's like if someone wants to be a doctor. They have an internship. They're the "disciple" of a very experienced doctor from whom they can learn. The reason they're following Him is to learn from Him.

Do you not agree?

 

[GodsGrace]

I think every one of us fails the first criteria. Totally means 100%.
I think committed to Jesus and working towards surrendering all to Jesus would be a better description of a disciple.

We all sin. When we do we show were not totally committed to Jesus.
I did read where you softened your a disciple is statement with ....."What is a disciple anyway except one who follows the leader and learns from him"?

Hi Cygnus,

You're answering to this part of the O.P.:
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A disciple is:

o Totally committed to Jesus. This means that every activity and every thing in his life are surrendered to Christ's Lordship.
(Luke 14:26-27, 33)
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

My O.P. in red is directly from a book.
The rest in black is from me.

I believe what you're referring to is the statement that everything in our life must be surrendered to Christ's Lordship.

So I looked up surrendered:
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sur·ren·der
(sə-rĕn′dər)
v. sur·ren·dered, sur·ren·der·ing, sur·ren·ders
v.tr.
1. To relinquish possession or control of (something) to another because of demand or compulsion: surrendered the city to the enemy. See Synonyms at relinquish.
2. To give up in favor of another, especially voluntarily: surrendered her chair to her grandmother.
3. To give up or abandon: surrender all hope.
4. To give over or resign (oneself) to something, as to an emotion: surrendered himself to grief.
5. Law To effectuate a surrender of.
v.intr.
To submit to the power of another, especially after resisting; give up.
n.
1. The act or an instance of surrendering: The general demanded the unconditional surrender of the fort.
2. Law The yielding of the possession of an estate to a party with a reversion or remainder interest in the estate, or of a lease to a landlord, prior to the term's expiration.

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To surrender, to give up voluntarily.

I think what we're doing is surrendering our LIFE.
Not necessarily each and every decision we make on a daily basis.
This would refer back to Romans 12:1 to present ourselves a living sacrifice.

I agree with you that we will sin although we can say, I think, that it will be much less when we know Jesus, if not for any other reason, than that we hate to sadden Him --- so we do our best.

Luke 14:26-27, 33 to which the bulleted statement from the book refers, is Jesus saying how we are to hate everything, even our family.
Of course, He doesn't mean the emotion of hating. He means that we are to put Him first, we are to surrender our life to Him.

I see sinning as something totally different.
We will sin even though we are devoted and commited to Him.
We will not be glorified until AFTER death!

 

[Cygnus]

Not necessarily each and every decision we make on a daily basis.

I understand....I just didn't like the word totally in the first "A disciple is" bullet.
judging from your quote above it seems to me you might also take issue with it. Now don't get me wrong, I wish I could totally give it all up...but, until I'm fully sanctified I think I'll have a problem doing so.

 

[GodsGrace]

I understand....I just didn't like the word totally in the first "A disciple is" bullet.
judging from your quote above it seems to me you might also take issue with it. Now don't get me wrong, I wish I could totally give it all up...but, until I'm fully sanctified I think I'll have a problem doing so.

This was interesting.

Maybe "totally commited" means that we can't have a foot in this world and one in the next.
Or maybe that we must totally be walking toward God and not wavering between God and the enemy?

I think we agree. I don't think God wants us to give anything "totally all up". I think He just doesn't want us to put anything before Him. In a worshipping kind of way. Not that we cannot enjoy our life here and clap and cheer for our favorite band !
"I have come that you might have life and a life more abundant".

What makes it more abundant?
That we're aware of the enemy. This alone makes us live a better life. NOT A PERFECT ONE!

 

[Cygnus]

This was interesting.

Maybe "totally commited" means that we can't have a foot in this world and one in the next.
Or maybe that we must totally be walking toward God and not wavering between God and the enemy?

I think we agree. I don't think God wants us to give anything "totally all up". I think He just doesn't want us to put anything before Him. In a worshipping kind of way. Not that we cannot enjoy our life here and clap and cheer for our favorite band !
"I have come that you might have life and a life more abundant".

What makes it more abundant?
That we're aware of the enemy. This alone makes us live a better life. NOT A PERFECT ONE!

I think there is a grey area. Sometimes we have our foot strongly planted in this world. Depends upon our issue.
To me a disciple is someone who is following Jesus....often failing but none the yet...following Jesus.

 

[Jim Parker]

That's what Jesus did.
Except some refuse to believe it.
"Cheap Grace" as you've called it.

What is cheap grace?
God did everything for us, but we doubt we have to do anything for Him.

What is a disciple anyway except one who follows the leader and learns from him?
Jesus called the persons following Him "disciples" which means that He expects us to ACT like disciples.

Jesus did not REQUEST what He spoke of, He DEMANDED it.
And posting verses to hyper grace believers is pretty useless...

Those who try to live as Jesus would want are called "sinless perfectionists".
What a mess...

That's some of what Bonhoeffer said....
It's a good read.

iakov the fool

 

[GodsGrace]

I think there is a grey area. Sometimes we have our foot strongly planted in this world. Depends upon our issue.
To me a disciple is someone who is following Jesus....often failing but none the yet...following Jesus.

Of course we're going to fail.

But I guess it would be important to know what you mean by having our feet in this world.
There are two kingdoms.
The kingdom of this world.
The kingdom of God...that Jesus described.
If we're born again, were members of the kingdom of God.
John 3

Although we're in this world, we're not really a part of it.

 

[Nathan]

Hi Nathan,

What I think is that we have to WANT to be a disciple.
God is not forcing us to believe in Him or to be a disciple.
Right?

But once we make up our mind to be one, then we MUST follow and learn from Him.

It's like if someone wants to be a doctor. They have an internship. They're the "disciple" of a very experienced doctor from whom they can learn. The reason they're following Him is to learn from Him.

Do you not agree?

When I look at the 'original' disciples I see that they didn't feel like they had to follow Him, but they did because they wanted to. Then we see others that followed for a time, but turned away when things didn't seem right.

Jesus didn't try to talk them into following Him - He didn't even try to reason with them. He let people come, and go, without doing anything other than proclaiming truth.

When I read about discipleship, as described by Jesus, it just always seems to be a natural response to someone believing in Him.

I just wonder how much harm has been done over the centuries by trying to twist peoples arms to follow Christ.

NT writers told us we would know people's true beliefs by what they did, and now it seems we try to convince people to act a certain way in order to be a good disciple.

I think fruit is a natural product of a tree. Putting good fruit on a bad tree doesn't make it a good tree. If it's not naturally producing good fruit there is a reason for it.

 

[GodsGrace]

When I look at the 'original' disciples I see that they didn't feel like they had to follow Him, but they did because they wanted to. Then we see others that followed for a time, but turned away when things didn't seem right.

Jesus didn't try to talk them into following Him - He didn't even try to reason with them. He let people come, and go, without doing anything other than proclaiming truth.

When I read about discipleship, as described by Jesus, it just always seems to be a natural response to someone believing in Him.

I just wonder how much harm has been done over the centuries by trying to twist peoples arms to follow Christ.

NT writers told us we would know people's true beliefs by what they did, and now it seems we try to convince people to act a certain way in order to be a good disciple.

I think fruit is a natural product of a tree. Putting good fruit on a bad tree doesn't make it a good tree. If it's not naturally producing good fruit there is a reason for it.

Agreed.
Especially your 4th paragraph...

 

[GodsGrace]

When I look at the 'original' disciples I see that they didn't feel like they had to follow Him, but they did because they wanted to. Then we see others that followed for a time, but turned away when things didn't seem right.

Jesus didn't try to talk them into following Him - He didn't even try to reason with them. He let people come, and go, without doing anything other than proclaiming truth.

When I read about discipleship, as described by Jesus, it just always seems to be a natural response to someone believing in Him.

I just wonder how much harm has been done over the centuries by trying to twist peoples arms to follow Christ.

NT writers told us we would know people's true beliefs by what they did, and now it seems we try to convince people to act a certain way in order to be a good disciple.

I think fruit is a natural product of a tree. Putting good fruit on a bad tree doesn't make it a good tree. If it's not naturally producing good fruit there is a reason for it.

P.S.
Regarding your 5th paragraph...
Jesus has to convince you to act a certain way...
Not another person.
As is apparent on these threads, WE cannot convince anyone of anything...
Jesus must convince persons of what they are to do or how they are to act.
I believe a disciple will know how because he knows Jesus' wishes.