John 8:31
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (John 8:31)
Here the Lord Jesus is speaking to new believers. But notice that He does not yet call them His disciples. According to Him, they will be His disciples if they hold to His teaching. To “hold” means to remain, to go on being in the same condition or position in which you now stand—forever, to the very end.
On the basis of these words of Christ, and from experience as well, we could say that there are two kinds of people in the church. The one kind are only “believers,” or even people baptized in water (“the baptized”), while the others are “disciples.” Those who have only believed, or have only been baptized, but are not disciples, miss out on an astonishing amount of God’s blessings and do very little for the fulfilling of God’s purposes on the earth. But disciples live the abundant life of God and shape this world by helping to advance God’s kingdom on the earth.
In the parable of the sower we also see that there are people who at the start of their faith are very excited, but who then allow Satan to steal the Word from their hearts. In Mark 4:16–19 it says:
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:16–19)
A person can be baptized and yet never become a disciple of Christ. God, however, desires that once we have received the gospel we should become disciples of Christ. A disciple is someone who is a diligent follower of Jesus Christ. The disciple thinks constantly about the Word, and he is devoted to what he believes.
From this definition you can surely see that in God’s kingdom there are far more baptized people than there are disciples.
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE
I don’t know whether you have heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. One day the hare said to the tortoise, “Would you like to race?” “Why not?” the tortoise replied. They marked out a course, a start and a finish, and got ready for the contest. The judge fired his pistol and the two of them set off. Of course their starts were quite different. The hare shot forward like a bullet and began to race ahead at a furious speed. The tortoise set off too, but you know how tortoises move… After a while the hare looked back, and the tortoise was nowhere to be seen. Before long, however, he spotted a tree with lovely shade, and, delighted with himself and with his own speed, he said, “Why not rest for a while under this tree? It looks as though the tortoise will need months to catch up with me…” So he nibbled some fresh grass under the tree and stretched out for a nap. But before he knew it, his nap grew into a deep sleep. After some time the tortoise passed by him and, with unshakable persistence, kept on toward the finish. Just before the tortoise reached the end of the course, the hare woke up and, not knowing how long he had slept, dashed for the finish. But the moment he caught sight of it, he also saw the tortoise triumphantly cross it.
In this story the hare represents the baptized person, and the tortoise represents the disciple. The hare is self-confident and quick, but his pride plays a nasty trick on him and he is put to shame. Unlike him, the tortoise may not be as fast, but she is persistent and does not give up simply because she sees that she is losing. She never stops and never strays from her course. Her consistency helps her win the race and defeat the hare.
Why did the hare lose the race? Why do those who are only baptized, but not disciples, fail? Because of the far-too-high opinion they hold of themselves. We must never think that we “stand” and are unshakable, for in 1 Corinthians 10:12 the apostle Paul says:
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)
When they go to church and listen to the sermon, the baptized who are not disciples say to themselves, “Oh, I’ve heard this before…” They set themselves against the pastor and begin to imagine that they know everything about the Bible and the faith. In this way they stop receiving the instruction and correction of the one who is meant to disciple them and to help them grow in their Christian life. Such baptized people never reach the finish. They never become disciples because of this know-it-all attitude they carry. And when the devil uses some of his strategies and tricks against them, they fall and feel crushed. Unable to climb out of their crisis because they do not know the Word and are spiritually undeveloped, they wonder how all the trouble they have gotten tangled in ever happened to them.
In our story the hare lost because he thought he knew more and could do more than he actually knew and could, while the tortoise won because she was consistent and never stopped, nor did she turn aside from her goal.
If you want to live a victorious life and to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, never stop studying God’s Word. When you read, do not give up. Be consistent! Do not stop in the middle of the Bible! Do you remember what Jesus said (John 8:31)?
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (John 8:31)
PERSEVERANCE
How, in the time of the early church, did the baptized become disciples? We find the answer in Acts 2:41–42:
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:41–42)
Notice, these people did more than merely be baptized. What did they do? They “devoted themselves.” To persevere means to go on firmly and faithfully with the undertaking you have begun. To be steadfast means to be committed to what you have begun, to stay involved in the undertaking you have taken up. I think this is a good way to describe the disciples of Jesus Christ. They were devoted to staying involved in their faith and in fellowship with their Lord.
Many people do exactly the opposite. They are like the waves of the sea. Instability and inconstancy are among the marks of people who are still only “believers,” but not “disciples.” They constantly change their position depending on the circumstances of life, and they do not hold to the teaching of Christ.
But perseverance is a very good thing. I remember that many years ago I was talking with a brother from the church in Burgas, who is now with the Lord. He knew foreign languages and would interpret in the church whenever we had guests. I asked him how he had learned them, because languages are so difficult for me. He looked at me with a smile and told me with complete confidence, “Don’t worry, you will learn whatever language you want.” I asked him how he could be so sure of that. He calmly answered me, “Look, learning an unfamiliar language is hard work, but not for a Christian. Because Christians are people with a definite method of life.” Going to church, constant prayer, and reading the Word make us diligent and steadfast not only in our spiritual life, but in every area of life. So without our even realizing it, holding to the truth of Christ blesses us beyond measure.
PERSEVERANCE IN THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING
What did the three thousand baptized on the day of Pentecost do in order to become disciples? They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They went on learning the Word of God from the very apostles who had first preached to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many people today are saved, but never become disciples, because they begin to follow people who are relatively young in the Lord and yet have proclaimed themselves “experts” on spiritual matters. But often the teaching of these so-called “experts” is not in line with the apostolic teaching we find in the New Testament. So, being led astray, these new believers quickly veer off in the wrong direction.
To be disciples we must persevere in God’s Word, and not in some other human opinions and understandings. If we want to be disciples, we must learn from ministers who preach the undiluted truth of Christ. For Jesus said:
31 If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (John 8:31)
PERSEVERANCE IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE CHURCH
What else helped to turn these new believers of Acts chapter two from “the baptized” into disciples?
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship… (Acts 2:42)
From this verse, and from other verses in Acts, we understand that the early church did not forget or forsake its gatherings. Fellowship plays an especially important role in turning believers into disciples. Many people stop and limit their spiritual growth by abandoning and breaking off their fellowship with the other believers of the body of Christ. After they have been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, they make the mistake of trying to keep up their old friendship with their unbelieving friends.
But if you want to become disciples, you cannot remain in a permanent friendship with the old worldly company you moved around with before you believed. You need to build relationships with God’s people. This is one way to receive strength, and one of the chief reasons you need to go to church. Many believers say, “My church family is closer to me than my own relatives.” Why? Because we are brothers and sisters in spirit and in faith in Christ.
It depends on us whether we will be consistent or not in our Christian growth. No one can force us to become members of a given local church. It depends on us alone. Only we can decide it. But we could say that the word “disciples” can be used not only in the general sense of “followers devoted to Christ,” but also in a specific sense—“disciples of the local church”—people committed to the local body of believers. I am not saying that we should become disciples of the pastor, for one is our Shepherd—the Lord Jesus Christ. But pastors are appointed by the Lord to watch over our souls, and it is very hard for them to do good work if they do not have devoted sheep.
What happens sometimes? While the pastor is trying to bring back one group of sheep, another group runs off in a different direction. And, God forbid, if he takes a few days of rest, everyone else heads off somewhere and scatters to the four corners of the world. This may sound exaggerated to you, but it happens in some churches where there are many baptized and few disciples.
That is why Hebrews 13:17 says:
17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
Discipleship requires discipline. Sometimes we may not feel like going to church, but we must make ourselves do it. We may have no special illumination on the Word, but we must not stop reading it. We simply have to take ourselves in hand, put ourselves in the chair, open the Bible before us, and say to ourselves, “Today you will read!”
In Hebrews 10:24–25 it says:
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24–25)
PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER
In the same way that we must make ourselves go to church and read the Bible, we must be disciplined in our prayer life as well. Sometimes there may be a time of prayer when the Holy Spirit takes us along with Him into God’s presence and we have a wonderful time with the Lord. But other times it is not like that. We must not begin to pray because we “feel” that we want to pray. No, we must begin our prayer because we have disciplined ourselves to be steadfast in prayer. A good practice is that in the morning when we get up, the first part of our body to touch the floor should not be the sole of our foot, but our knee—that is, to begin our day with prayer. It is our responsibility to bring our flesh into subjection and to be consistent in our walk with the Lord. Sometimes this may cost us commitment and effort. But what we see in the early church is that they persevered not only in the apostles’ teaching, not only in the fellowship and the Lord’s Supper, but in the prayers as well (Acts 2:41–42).
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:41–42)
BE NOT ONLY A BELIEVER OR BAPTIZED—BE A DISCIPLE!
The church of Jesus Christ needs disciples. For the baptized go to heaven, but they do little for the coming of God’s kingdom here, on the earth. Like the hare in the little story we heard at the beginning, they waste their time and play around, until one day they wake up and see that the race is over. Unlike them, disciples finish their course, but they also bring others along with them as they walk consistently with the Lord. Such people are a blessing, not a burden, to the local church.
No one can make you a person devoted to God, a consistent Christian and a disciple of Christ—one who is not only baptized, but who “holds” to the teaching of Christ. It depends on you to be such a person. But if you make this decision, and persevere onward toward the goal, the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Helper, will help you reach the finish, and to do it with dignity. Be consistent, like the tortoise in today’s story:
- consistent in the Word—in the apostles’ teaching;
- consistent in fellowship—this means breaking off the old worldly ties that pull us back, and building new ones that push us forward, toward heaven;
- consistent in prayer—even when you do not feel like praying.
Be not only a “believer” or one of the “baptized”—be a “disciple” of Christ! He deserves it, not only because He gave His life for you, but also because His word is truth.