Christians vs. Disciples

I've been reading a discipleship course and I stumbled upon the words, "There are many Christians but very few true disciples."

As I pondered that, I thought how it might be true to turn that around. For there are many who claim to be disciples of Jesus, but very few true Christians.

You see, there are many nowadays who claim to be Christians. Yet many of them are lost. They might be "religious" but they aren't saved.

Also, there are many who claim to be disciples of Jesus, but they aren't even Christians. (See groups like the Rosecrucians, Masons, etc.). They claim to want to follow Jesus and his teachings, but they deny his blood atonement, claming he was not God who became man, rather only a man who become a god. They follow him hoping they too can become gods.

So which is it? Should we be Christians or Disciples. Or should we be both?

I believe the answer is we should be true Christians and true disciples and the only way to be both is to be born again!

But this discipleship I'm reading says it's possible to be a Christian, i.e. born again, and not be a disciple of Jesus. That is, a person is saved, but not serving. That makes sense. For it certainly is possible to be a real Christian but not be a disciple, or one that is actively trying to live for God.

So if it's possible to be a true Christian without being a disciple, then it is also possible to be a disciple of Jesus and not be a true Christian, (i.e. not be saved/born again).

If this be true, then shouldn't we be worried when we hear "great evangelists" saying things like:

"Give your heart to God"

"Turn your life over to Jesus"

"Make your Commitment to Christ"

etc.

These are all modern terms which are often heard out of the mouths of preachers, evangelists, missionaries, pastors, soul winners, and Gospel tracts. And all of them have one thing in common. They leave out the BLOOD ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ. (God's only means of salvation).

It's like they are trying to make disciples without making Christians. It's like they are trying to get people to want to follow Jesus without instructing them how to trust Jesus as their personal Saviour.

I talked with a guy a while back about salvation and he told me the following, "I always thought becoming a Christian was, you know, like just making up your mind to follow Jesus. You just choose to follow him, you like become his disciple by following him and his teachings."

Is that salvation? I trow not!

Although it's great to follow Jesus and we should all strive to do so, you must first TRUST Jesus. You must accept by faith his sacrificial blood atonement in your place for your sins as sufficient to give you eternal life and forgive you of all your sins. For following Jesus without being born again is to make one a disciple without them even being a Christian.

You might say, "Well, brother Breaker, you are straining at gnats and grasping at straws. Do you have any Bible to back that up?" You bet I do. In John 6:66 we read:

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Here are men who followed Jesus as his disciples, yet they forsook him and walked away. Just as they chose to follow Jesus and become his disciple, they chose to reject Him and leave.

Does this sound like salvation to you? Of course not! According to the Bible, when a person is born again, it is an act of God, in which God regenerates the man and makes a new creature. Immediately the Holy Spirit enters and the person is a child of God. They cannot lose their salvation. They are eternally redeemed. And they cannot lose it if they tried. They are CHRISTIANS.

This is why it's important to see the difference between disciples and Christians. For it's possible to be a disciple of Christ, and not even be saved! Just as it's possible for a person to call themselves a "Christian" when they are not.

What we need are true Christians (who are born again) and true Disciples (who follow Jesus out of a pure heart because they are saved, not to be saved).

Are you a Christian? Are you a Disciple of Christ? Have you thought about the difference?

If you try to win souls, do you do it to make disciples or are you trying to make true Christians?