20 Things That Don't Make You A Christian

(Photo from Tiramisustudio - FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

The last 2 posts were about things that don't make you a Christian.

But to be honest, as I've been thinking about it, that list could go on and on.
I mean - being a baker doesn't make you a Christian.
Going to France doesn't make you a Christian.
Being a Yankees fan doesn't make you a Christian (but you are getting closer at least).

Anyhow, let me - instead of putting together 10,000 more posts - summarize the idea with a list of some of the common things people think make them Christians.

It's important to note here that there is a difference between causality and correlation.  There are many things that are correlated to being a Christian i.e. there are many things that Christians do, say, or live out...but those things don't MAKE a person a Christian, they are just associated with being a Christian.

When it comes to causality, it is by grace through faith, period.  Paul makes that clear in Ephesians 2:8-9 (click the reference to read that passage).

But here's a list 20 things that many people think equals being a Christian:

1. Going to church
2. Giving to church
3. Reading your Bible
4. Praying
5. Being involved in youth group
6. Serving or caring for the poor
7. Liking Christian movies, preachers, t.v, or other media sources
8. Pointing your finger at the sky after a touchdown
9. Saying you are a Christian
10. Raising your hand at a conference, retreat, rally, or event
11. Praying the "Sinner's Prayer"
12. Being involved in church leadership
13. Going on a mission trip
14. Not swearing and/or drinking and/or/ sleeping around
15. Singing on a musical worship team
16. Serving in church
17. Saving grace before meals
18. Living in the south
19. Working for a church
20. Being a pastor

What's the point?  Being a Christian isn't caused by anything on this list.  Being a Christian isn't the same as doing any or all of the things on this list.

In our next post we will look at what makes a person a Christian and the fruit we can measure to test if someone is a Christian.

- tC

What Is A Disciple?

Photo by Stuart Miles - FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few weeks back, we talked about the 'why' of Disciples Making Disciples.  Today, we are going to look into the question, "What is a disciple?"  This question is vital for a variety of reasons - here are a few.

1. If we don't know what a disciple is, it's probably very hard to become one ourselves.

2. If we don't know what a disciple is, it's probably very hard to go out and help others become disciples.

3. If Jesus didn't tell us what a disciple is or how to make them, then we are left in a pretty tough spot, and we were left there by our Lord.  This doesn't seem like something Jesus would do.

And He didn't...

A few years ago, I started to look more deeply into this idea of defining a disciple.
To start off, I looked at all the times the word 'disciple' appeared in the Bible.  Around 250 times the word 'disciple' is used.  The vast majority (over 95%) of these occurrences are found in the New Testament.

Interestingly, the word 'disciple' is the most common word used to describe followers of Jesus and not until the 11th chapter of the Book of Acts is the word 'Christian' used.  Another way to look at it is this: of the 250+ times the word disciple is used, it's not until around the 240th time that the word Christian is also used to describe a follower of Jesus.

So we see the word appear a great deal in the Bible.

Secondly, let's talk about the actual word.  In the Greek, the word 'disciple' means pupil, student, or follower (in Greek mathetes). To be fair, it seems that there were different ways that the Gospel writers used it - sometimes referring to people who came to listen and engage, other times to people who were deeply committed to following Jesus.  Jesus most often used the word 'disciple' to describe a person who was giving his all to following Jesus.  He would say things like this:

"Anyone who would come after Me and be My disciple must deny himself and take up his cross daily to follow Me." - Luke 9;23

"Then a scribe came to Jesus and said, 'Teacher, I will follow You where ever You go.'  And Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.'  Another of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord permit me first to go and bury my father.'  But Jesus told him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'" - Matthew 8:19-22

These are just a few examples of what Jesus called His disciples to.

As I continued to research the verses that talked about being a disciple of Jesus, I ended up summarizing it like this:

A disciple of Jesus is consistently following Him, committed to learning from Him, doing as He did, and being in character like Jesus.

Jesus gave His life completely for us, and so He asks us to do the same for Him.

To say it another way, Jesus wants us to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.     

1 John 2:6 says that "Whoever claims to be in Him must live as He lived."

Being a disciple is not a half-hearted commitment.
Being a disciple is being all-in.

- tC