Disciple versus Christian: What we are
When we talk about the people who have God’s favor a lot of times we use the word “Christians”. When asked about ourselves, we might say, “I am a Christian”. But the term “Christian” has become rather vague today. A recent Gallup poll said that 75% of Americans identify themselves as a Christian. It’s a word applied to about anyone who professes some belief in Jesus whether that faith is central and transformational in their life or is just a peripheral belief to them that has little affect on their life.
Perhaps a better word to describe what God wants people to be and those who have His favor is “disciple”. You find this word a lot more in the NT. The word “Christian” is only used three times. But the word “disciple” is used almost 270 times. Both terms describe the same people. Acts 11:26 says “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch”.
In Matthew 28:18, Jesus told His disciples to “Go and make disciples of all the nations“. God wants disciples of Jesus Christ. “Disciple” brings to my mind a clearer picture of what God wants us to be than the word “Christian” does.
A disciple means a learner and follower of another, a student and adherent of another. Another word that comes pretty close to the meaning is “apprentice”. In ancient Greece, when somebody was learning to play the flute from a flute player, they were called a disciple of that flute player. A person who was being trained by a doctor to be a physician was called a disciple of that doctor. Luke 6:40 says, “A pupil [or disciple; it’s the word in the Greek for disciple] is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher“. So a disciple of Jesus is an apprentice, a trainee, of Jesus. It is someone who studies Jesus, listens to Jesus, learns from Jesus, strives to gain His perspective and understanding of things, to develop His character, to emulate His conduct, to adopt His prayer life, to practice His treatment of people. It is one who is on purpose in the process of becoming like Jesus.
We’ve talked recently about different aspects of being a disciple of Jesus, like learning to be selfless servant, trusting God, being kind and honest and so forth. In lesson I’d like to focus on something at the very center of the heart of Jesus, His main focus and concern, what He was all about. Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost“. At the very center of the heart of our Savior was the salvation of souls. That’s what He was all about. He did not come to cure all sickness. He did not come to alleviate poverty in the world. He did not come to relieve people of their emotional or physical problems. He did a lot of that. He did help and serve people, but the reason Jesus came and the purpose of all He did was to reconcile people to their Maker, to bring man and God together in friendship that they might be with one another for eternity. His quest was a quest for souls. If we’re disciples of Jesus, if we are in training to become like Him, then we are becoming less focused on and concerned with the temporary things of this world and more focused on and concerned with the salvation of souls.
In Matthew 28:18-20 just before Jesus ascended to heaven He said to His disciples, “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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. In other words, Jesus told those disciples, “I want you to be about making more disciples. Baptize those who want to be disciples into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And teach those disciples to do all that I’ve commanded you. Teach them to love one another as I love them. Teach to be keep their hands and eyes on their own spouse. Teach them to treat others the way they want to be treated, and so forth.” And I think it would include what Jesus just commanded them, “Teach them to also be about making more disciples”. The Lord promises to always be with His disciples in this work, “even to the end of the age.” “The end of the age” in Matthew refers to the end of this world. That’s how long the Lord wants His disciples making more disciples and how long He will be with them in the effort. Well, the world has not ended yet. So as disciples of Jesus this is our mandate, to make more of ourselves.
Now, we’re not all preachers. We’re not all missionaries. Let’s just admit that. We’re not all ready right now to sit down with somebody and take them through a systematic convincing presentation of the gospel. We’re not all evangelists, because, Romans 12:6, “we have gifts differing according to the grace given to us”. But though we are not all evangelists we can all be evangelistic. We can be conscious of souls, alert to opportunities to influence others positively for the Lord. We can be part of the process of making more disciples, even if we are not the one that actually sits down and teaches them the gospel.
Let’s talk about some very simple evangelistic habits that Jesus taught His disciples to have that we can all have. First…
Be evangelistic in your prayers.
What do you pray about every day? Many would say, “Well, I pray about my wife. I pray about my kids. I pray about my finances. I pray for the sick to get better. I pray about safety for people traveling”. Those are all good things to pray about. But how often do you pray for open hearts to the gospel and opportunities for the gospel to reach them? Do you pray for the lost souls that you know? Do you pray like the song, “Lead me to some soul today. Teach me Lord just what to say. Friends of mine are lost in sin, and cannot find their way”.
When Jesus gave a model prayer to His disciples, do you remember how that prayer began? “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven”. Those seem to be evangelistic requests. “Hallowed be Your name”; that means may people revere You and treat You as holy, may people come to realize that You indeed are and your power and wisdom, love and righteousness are incomparable and unfathomable. May people see, Lord, your goodness and greatness that they’ve not seen. That’s what you’re praying for when you say, “Hallowed be Your name”, that people will think great thoughts about God and be in awe of God and humble before God. “Your kingdom come”: the kingdom of God prophesied about in the OT, is the kingdom of the Messiah. And the citizens of that kingdom are those who let King Jesus rule their lives. When people set Christ on the throne of their hearts and submit to Him as their Lord, the kingdom has come there, the kingdom has been extended to include that person. So I think praying “your kingdom come” is praying that the rule of the King Jesus will come into the hearts and lives of people. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”: that’s what happens when people hallow His name and submit to the Lordship of Jesus; they do the will of God on earth as His holy angels do in heaven. Jesus told us to be praying about these things.
Matthew 9:36-38 says, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful [there are all these souls that can saved like a field full of ripe wheat that can be gathered into the barn before it spoils], but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’“. He’s saying pray for more workers for souls. Pray for more evangelistically active people. Pray that God will help you be more soul focused and effective at drawing souls to Him.
Listen to a couple of the apostle Paul’s prayer requests while he was in prison in Rome. Ephesians 6:19-20, “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.“. Colossians 4:3-4, “Pray… for us… that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”. Isn’t that amazing! He’s in prison and his prayer request is not that he be released from prison. He’s not too concerned about his earthly ease and comfort. He’s asking, “Please pray that I have an opportunity to preach the gospel to more lost people. And pray that I will preach it boldly; that I won’t water down the message or not speak certain things people need to hear because I’m afraid that people may not like it and mistreat me because of it. And pray that I will make the message clear, that those who hear me will undoubtedly understand it”. Who do you know who can effectively teach the gospel to people? Pray for them that God opens doors for them to teach more people and that they will teach the truth boldly and clearly.
The Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul thought the prayers of God’s children were about the most powerful thing in the world; they move the God of heaven and earth to action. They taught us to be evangelistic in our prayers. We can all do that, can’t we? Let’s trust the promises of God that He hears and is moved by His children.
Second…
Be always alert for the opportunities that God brings you to influence souls for Him.
Many of us are always on the lookout for certain things. We’re a bit like the dog in the Pixar movie “Up”. Doug the dog has a collar that enables him to speak in human language. He meets some new people says, “Hi. I have just met you and I love you,” and he’s talking away, explaining his collar. Then all of the sudden he goes, “Squirrel!” Well, there was no squirrel, but there was something that sort of sounded like one. Doug is clearly so passionate about catching squirrels that he never not on the alert for them.
Some ladies are that way to bargains. Even when they’re not shopping, big yellow or red signs that say “Sale” or “Half Off” catch their attention. On the computer they can’t help but check certain emails or certain sites for any deals going on they wouldn’t want to miss. Some of you who like to hunt, especially this time of year, are that way with wild game. Driving around the outskirts of town you’re constantly looking out the sides of the car through the woods. You may suddenly hit the brakes, “Deer!” And back the vehicle up, “Is it a buck?” My mom growing up was always alert to neat looking rocks. We’d do a lot of hiking and she would occasionally stop suddenly along the trial and pick up a rock and put it in dad’s backpack to take home.
Jesus taught His disciples to be that way toward opportunities that God brings them to influence souls for the kingdom.
You’ve probably figured out by now that the Lord does not work according to our schedules. God is working to open doors and hearts for us, but He doesn’t (at least in my experience) look at our schedule and say, “Okay, I see you don’t have anything going on Tuesday or Wednesday evening, so I’ll present some opportunities on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings”. More often I think God brings us opportunities when we have something else on the schedule and on our mind. He may bring us opportunities when we’re standing on the sidelines next to other parents watching our kids play ball. He may bring us opportunities at the health club with someone when we just came there to exercise. Or with the barber when we just came there to get our hair cut.
Jesus was trying to teach this to His disciples in occasion recorded in John 4. Jesus had been visiting with this Samaritan woman at a well and His disciples were coming back from the village with lunch. The woman Jesus had been talking to ran by them to tell people in town about this fascinating man she’d just met. By the way, she wasn’t an evangelist but she did a great evangelistic work by simply saying to her neighbors, “Come see this man that told me all this stuff that I’ve done in my life. Could He be the promised one?” Because of her invitation, people started pouring out of the village to come, see and hear Jesus. But the disciples were focused on lunch. They were looking at their fish and bread. Jesus wasn’t focused on lunch at the moment. They were saying, “Come on, Jesus, let’s eat. We brought lunch”. Jesus said to them (John 4:35) “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ [You think harvest work is still four months away.] Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest“. He was saying, “Take your eyes off your lunch and look at the opportunity that God has given us. Lunch will have to wait. Taking advantage of this opportunity is far more important”.
Think of the Zaccheus story in Luke 19. Jesus was passing through Jericho. He was going from point A to point B through Jericho. Zaccheus was not on the schedule. Jesus did not come to Jericho to find Zaccheus. But as Jesus was walking along with all these people around Him, Zaccheus caught His attention. It appears Jesus somehow knew a little about him because He called him by name. He was a short, rich tax collector; most of his kind were dishonest and cheated people in that day. That’s how tax collectors got rich, by charging people more than what they actually owed in taxes and keeping the extra for themselves. Most everybody in town hated the guy. So chances are, this was a man who was fully aware He was a sinner and in need of a lot of grace. Jesus knew these kind of people tend to be more receptive to His message than those who think they’re already righteous and fine with God. This guy appears to have really had a desire to know Jesus, to know God, and to have God in His life because he climbed up in a tree so he could get a look at Jesus. So Jesus stopped and said, “Zacchues… Yeah, you up there in the tree. Come on down. I’m going home with you today”. Well, the community couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t believe it, because Jesus was a spiritual leader, a teacher of God, and yet He picked one of the people with the worst reputations in town to spend time with. So they began to grumble about it. But that one act of kindness by Jesus, that gesture of love, was all it took for Zaccheus to change his life. As they walked to Zaccheus’ house, Zaccheus said, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I will give back four times as much”. And Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house…”. That’s when Jesus said, explaining why He did that, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost“. Jesus was on the lookout for lost people that had open hearts and could be saved.
When there are people around us, at the gym, at work, sitting by us on an airplane, who are reading a Bible or who ask questions about God or spiritual matters or who express some interest in spiritual matters or they’re saying they feel like something is missing in their life or that all is hopeless… those should be “Squirrel!” moments for us, where our focus turns from whatever we’re doing to “What can I do, what can I say at this moment to draw them to help them see the Lord, to help them understand the Lord, or to get them in contact with someone or a resource that can help them?”
Take every opportunity for good deeds.
Jesus modeled this for them: Acts 10:38 summarizing the earthly ministry of Jesus, Peter said, “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him“.
In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ” In other words, as a light you’re supposed to be shinning, you supposed to be emitting the understanding and faith and character God has developed in you. “16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Acts 2:46-47 describing the newborn church, “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved“. Notice a couple of things there. One, these people were joyful. They were glad to be Christians. They had smiles on their faces and attitudes and friendliness that looked like they actually believed they had God’s favor and eternal life. That attracts people. And notice it says they had favor with all the people. I don’t think that was an accident. I think these Christians were looking for ways to help and serve and be a blessing in the lives of other people. They were doing good things for other people on purpose. And because they were always doing good things for other people, other people who didn’t know the Lord liked them and respected them. And because they liked them and respected them, they wanted to be around them and doors were opened for the word.
That’s who we must be. We must lift our eyes from our lunch, from our work, from our errands, from our personal concerns and see the ways we can bless the lives of those around us.
Confess your faith in Jesus before men.
Luke 12:4-9, “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. [Consider the worst they could do to you, He’s saying. Well, they could kill you. Big deal. These bodies are going to die soon away. And they can’t touch our spirits or our resurrected bodies.] But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. [Realize that God’s watching over you. He sees all that happens to you. He’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Don’t be afraid of what people might think of you or say about you or do to you.] And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God“. We know this passage is not really about what somebody is supposed to do before they’re baptized (though it’s often used that way). Jesus is not talking here about a step we take and we’re done with it. He is talking about a way of life, a habit of life. He’s talking about being unashamed of Him as we go about life interacting with people. He’s talking about not hiding our faith and loyalty to Him when we’re among unbelievers. He’s talking about always being very open about our commitment to Him. That way when we’ve been doing good things for people, people know to whom to give the credit. Our good deeds probably are not going to help people come closer to the Lord unless people know that it’s the Lord who has taught and motivated us to do those things.
There’s lots of casual ways you can confess your faith before people. If someone is sharing with you a problem in their life or struggle they’re having, you can say, “I will keep you in my prayers”. In conversation with friends you can occasionally mention something that made an impact on you from sermon or from your own study. When you make plans with people, you can say, “Lord willing, I’ll be there” or “Lord willing, we’ll do that”. When you talk about good things that have happened in your life you can say, “The Lord has blessed me with this or that”. When someone asks you how you’re doing, you can say, “You know, the Lord is good to me despite myself”. You can bow your head before you eat in the break room or cafeteria, like you normally do at home. You can have a Bible at your work place or in your car when you give people rides (and don’t hide it).
Be a people pleaser.
You might say “What? A people pleaser? I don’t want to be a people pleaser! I want to be a God pleaser.” I don’t mean please people to the point of hiding your faith in Christ or compromising what you know is right. Jesus often offended the Scribes and Pharisees and the Jewish leaders by doing the right thing. He offended them when He pointed out their hypocrisy, and false teaching for their own good and the good of those who listen to the Scribes and Pharisees. But Jesus taught His disciples to try not to be offensive to anyone over matters that aren’t crucial. Rather try to please them, conform to their preferences, in matters of where we’re free to choose.
Matthew 17:24, “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?’” [It was this tax that was commanded in the Law of Moses to support the work at the temple.] “He [Peter] said, ‘Yes’ [Yeah, He pays the tax.] And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are exempt.’” Jesus is explaining that as the Son of God He’s actually exempt from having to pay the tax. The command to give this tax doesn’t apply to Him. v27, “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” So Jesus pays the tax even though He’s not obligated to do so, and He wanted Peter to understand why. It so that we do not offend. When you offend people, you lose credibility and influence with them.
I Corinthians 9:19-22, “19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew [when he is with jews, he conforms to their preferences. He doesn’t eat a pork chop in front of them.] , so that I might win Jews; … 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. [He will conform to the customs and culture of the Gentiles too, as long as it’s nothing sinful.] 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak [they may have conscience issues with matters, not knowing what’s really right and wrong in the matter. He’s not going to make them uncomfortable by doing things they’re not sure are right.]; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some[so he can be closer with them, have more influence with them]”.
I Corinthians 10:32-33, “31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.”.
II Corinthians 6:3, “3 giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited”.
II Corinthians 8:21, “for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” Don’t ruffle feathers over unimportant things. Be concerned about what people think of you and conduct yourself in ways they will perceive as honorable and respectable.
There are many things we may want to do or not want to do for which there is no explicit commandment from God in the Scriptures. That doesn’t mean we should just do as want in the matter. We need to consider what other people will think about our actions, how it will affect our credibility and influence. If people you’re going to be interacting with like you to dress a certain way, dress that way. If people in your neighborhood would rather that you not let your yard be overrun with weeds and junk and trash and be an eyesore in the neighborhood, then maintain your credibility and influence with your neighbors by maintaining your yard even if you don’t care about how it looks. We could even apply this to personal hygiene. There’s no scripture that says “Thou shall comb your hair and shower if you smell and not look like you just rolled out of bed.” If you’re just staying home by yourself that’s probably to neglect your hygiene a bit. But if you’re going to be interacting with people who know you’re a Christian then it’s in the best interest of their souls that you look respectable.
Another matter to which this applies – social media. There are a lot of Christians doing a lot of damage to their relationships with other people and to their influence and to the name of Christ by arguing for their political opinions and making inflammatory statements and harsh judgments of those who hold a different opinion. I know some good Christian people who voted for Trump and some good Christian people who voted for Hilary. Those who voted for Trump did not vote for him because they hate foreigners and don’t care for the poor and think it’s okay to be arrogant and call people names like Trump. That’s not why they voted for him. And those who voted for Hiliary did not vote for her because they approve of abortion and want to support criminals and people who are unwilling to work. That’s not why they voted for her. To accuse people of those things on social media does nothing but discredit you and your faith to them. It’s more important that we maintain influence with people, persuade them of the gospel of Christ and maintain unity in the body of Christ, than that we make people feel foolish for their opinions.
So… Remember at the very center of the mind and heart of Jesus was the salvation of souls, and disciples of Jesus are those who are ever more becoming like Him. We are called to be evangelistic as He was. And we can all be so without being evangelists. These evangelistic habits we can all have: Pray persistently for the progress of the gospel and the salvation of souls. Be always alert for the opportunities God brings you to influence souls for Him. Take every opportunity for good deeds. Be confessing your faith before unbelievers. And try to dress, talk and act in ways that the people around you find pleasing and honorable.
-James Williams