A Disciple

Image courtesy City College Norwich on Flickr.

Luke 14:33 …my disciple…

A disciple by definition is a learner and a follower. A person who is not interested in what he himself thinks but only what his Master says. He lives by the teachings and the lifestyle of his Master. He holds the standards and ideals set by his Lord. He wants to be like his Master. Paul, the apostle, says this:

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1

Assuming one is already a Christian and has fully trusted Christ as his Saviour (O believer! Make this sure in your life!), what then qualifies him to be a disciple of Christ?

A disciple is one who, having a choice between Christ and this world’s relationships, chooses Christ.

In Luke 14:25, there were many people who came to the Lord Jesus, but rather than encouraging them, the Lord tested them and asked them, placing before them this challenge:

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:26

The Lord taught that anyone who comes to Him, clinging on to the relationships of this world, cannot be His disciples. Christ has to be in first place. Is this, the forsaking of all
relationships, not a difficult demand to place on a believer? Yet, it is the Lord’s will because the Lord Jesus wants the best for His child, and because the relationships of this
world will always entangle the believer who wants to move forward for Christ. There is a cost, and the cost is high. Does that mean therefore that as Christians we are to hate our
family? Far from that, because love is the badge of the believer in Christ. The Lord still teaches us to love the family, but our love for our Saviour needs to surpass our love even for our loved ones.

A disciple is one who has counted the cost

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? A disciple is not one by whim and fancy but one by choice.
Luke 14:28

A disciple of Christ knows the cost to pay for following Christ, and is willing to pay it. All of the apostles gave their lives for the Lord in following Him, and many more did so in the first five centuries of the Christian faith, even up till today. Yes, there is a cost for following Christ, but a true disciple of Christ counts the cost and aims to pay the price as long as it brings him closer to His Lord.

A disciple is one who has forsaken all for Christ’s sake

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33

The disciple of Christ will voluntarily and without hesitation give up all for Christ and give up his position in this world for his Lord. Nothing on earth can hold his hand or his heart: he is willing to give up all for His Saviour.

Dear Christian, are you a disciple of Christ? Is any relationship in this world more important to you than Christ? Have you counted the cost and forsaken all for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s? Meditate on this: are we not willing to forsake all, for the Lord Jesus who forsook ALL for our eternal salvation and present happiness?

Evangelist-Pastor Johnny Tan
Ambassador Baptist Church