WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

The word that is most commonly used in the New Testament to describe the followers of Christ is “disciple.” (Acts 1:15; 6:1, 2, 7; 9:1, 19, 25, as examples). That being the case, it is certainly wise for us to know what the word means. A “disciple” is a learner and follower. That is what we are. We are learners and we are followers of Jesus. Disciples of Christ are those who listen to his teaching and follow his example.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). Here Jesus takes people from where they are to where they need to be. They had believed on him, but he made sure that they knew what commitment to him requires. It is not enough to mentally accept the facts of Christianity. We must surrender our lives to God. We must give him everything that we have.

To be his disciple is to “continue in” His word. This has to do with faithful endurance. There are no promises made to the “believer” who does not continue as a disciple of Christ. There is much that is said in the New Testament about the security of the believer. And there is nothing that brings joy to the heart of the faithful believer than to know that Christ has promised us that we will never fall and that no one will ever snatch us from His hand. We must be careful to observe, however, that every promise concerning security and the eternal safety of the soul is made to and concerns only believers. There is no security for anyone who is not a disciple. In the Bible they are one and the same. A believer is a disciple and a disciple is a believer.

Dewayne