A Christian Is... A Disciple Series

HoHum:

Brian Jones tells the story of one elderly gentleman who came forward and was baptized. This older gentleman lived alone. After one service Brian and his family invited this elderly man out to eat. Turns out that this elderly man was soon going on vacation to Florida. The man was excited about going to the beaches in Florida. Brian used to live in Florida so began to ask the man which beaches he would visit. The man said that he was going to visit beaches where the clothing was optional. Finally, Brian asked, “Hey, are you a nudist?” This man said, “Well, yes I am.” And then he got his wallet and pulled a card that said, “National Association of Recreational Nudists.” This man attended the church for 3 years and was even baptized and saw nothing wrong with being a nudist. Good at baptizing them but poor at teaching them to observe

WBTU:

The word “Christian” is only used 3 times in the NT.

While the name Christian is alluded to throughout the NT, many other words used to describe the people who became followers of Jesus. Over the next several weeks we will discuss these other words that add so much meaning to “Christian.”

Anyone can attend church but everyone who attends church is not a disciple of Jesus. Ask this question: Am I just a person who attends church or am I genuinely a disciple of Christ?

The word “disciple” is the most common term used to describe Christians. This word is used over 250 times in the NT to describe Christians.

Simple question: What is a disciple?

Literally the word disciple means a student. In Greek and Roman society this described a follower of a certain philosopher. People became disciples of these philosophers so they could learn from and about them in order to become like them. Disciples of Christ are people who want to learn from Jesus and to learn about Him so that they can become like Jesus.

““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”” Matthew 11:28-30, NIV.

If we are going to learn from Jesus and learn about Jesus we need to be students of the Bible. Early on in my Christian walk got involved in Bible Bowl program. The bulletin has a reading through the NT in a year plan. Goes through the end of September but introduce new one 2016.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NIV.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:31, 32, NIV. What does it mean “to hold” to Jesus’ teachings? Literally it means to follow His teachings and to live the way He tells us to live.

Great Omission of Great Commission- teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you- Matthew 28:19

Thesis: Some commandments true disciples obey

For instances:

A disciple of Jesus will repent

“In past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ” Acts 17:30

The word repent simply means to turn around. It was a military term that described a soldier marching in one direction and then doing an about-face. And when it’s used in a spiritual sense, it means to change our minds. Repent is a good description of what happens when we come to Christ for salvation. We no longer reject Christ, but now we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. We do a spiritual about-face, which in turn changes everything.

And not only do we change our minds about Christ, but we change our minds about sin. God hates sin and so should we. We change our minds about the sin in our lives and we do an about face from sin and we turn toward God and his ways. At first we repent and receive Jesus Christ. However, throughout our Christian lives we continue to change our minds about certain sins and do an about face and turn toward God and his ways.

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38, NIV. Because of our repentance, a willingness to turn away from sin and toward Jesus Christ and his ways, we are baptized, immersed in water.