What is a disciple?.

Image via WikipediaWhat is a disciple? It is used 262 times in the New Testament. Lexicons tell us that it means "one who shares a close and intimate relationship with a person." "The disciple is one who at Jesus' call follows after Him. He must observe the will of God and even binding upon himself unreservedly to the person of Jesus, go as far as death and the gift of his life out of love," In John 8;31, Jesus said, "If you continue in My Word, then you're My real disciple." John 15:8, Jesus says, "My true disciples bear fruit." Disciple are people who believe the gospel, people who have turned from their sin to embrace the forgiveness of God, people who have had a transformed life so that they are motivated to obey what the Lord has commanded them.Puritan William Perkins wrote these words, "The true Christian is of this disposition of mind that if there were no conscience to accuse, no devil to terrify, no judge to arraign or condemn, no hell to torment, yet he would be humbled and brought to his knees for his sins because he has offended a loving merciful and long suffering God," Sometimes we love very imperfectly and disobey, but the pattern of life is obedience and love for the Lord. And even when we fail to love Him, we feel the guilt, we fail to obey Him, we feel the guilt because we do belong to Him. We have that intimate relationship which God has in His grace given to us.The heart of discipleship, beloved, is a commitment to Jesus Christ. That means that you're willing to publicly identified with Him no matter what that cost. That means you're willing to face a hostile world boldly to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and master. All of us have times of failure, but it's not our purpose, it's not our desire to keep our relationship to Christ hidden, it's our desire to pronounce it, to proclaim it. He gives us a heart to love Him, a heart to want to proclaim Him, a heart to want to announce that we belong to Him.Are you a disciple who has repented (changed your life), made Jesus Lord of your life and love him with your whole heart, mind, soul, and spirit. If not Why?




If not, How can you?