A few years ago, several evangelical churches in the county where I served as an assistant pastor decided to cooperate by sponsoring a series of evangelistic meetings. I helped lead the organizing committee of the meeting and decided from the beginning to invite a well-known radio. preacher to be the evangelist. When the night of the first meeting finally arrived, several thousand people came. I will never forget the preacher’s invitation at the end of his sermon. First, he invited all who trusted Christ as the Savior to come to the front Approximately thirty or forty people moved forward. Then he said something that surprised me, invited all Christians, but who had never become disciples of Jesus Christ, to introduce the thee; To my surprise, many believers, some of whom I knew well, moved forward thinking that at this privileged moment they would become disciples of Jesus Christ for the first time.
This second invitation bothered me. The preacher essentially taught that there are two types of Christians: converted and disciples. According to his teachings, the converted are those who trust in Christ as their Savior; it is the disciples who take another step to follow Christ as their Lord, that is, someone could be technically converted and Christian, but not a disciple.
- However.
- Jesus does not allow such distinction in the Gospels.
- To be a Christian is to be a disciple; to be a disciple is to be a Christian.
This is exactly what Jesus reminded his disciples in the Great Commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Notice what Jesus says: “Go and make disciples of all nations?(Mt 28:19). Jesus’ imperative is not to make converts, but to make disciples. In other words, following and obeying Christ is not an option for a Christian. Jo said it bluntly. He said, “He that saith, I know him, and he that does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him”(1Jo 2. 4).
It is true that the saving faith is the faith that compels us to follow and obey Christ as disciples. Our first steps as Christians, though often small and wobbly, are after our Savior.
I’m afraid much of what we might call evangelical Christianity has lost this important truth. Many have been deceived into thinking that because they said a prayer, signed a map, or walked down a corridor, they are guaranteed eternity in heaven. Anything else. Jesus demands that we confid in him our own lives, Jesus demands that we follow Him strictly (Lr 9:23). In short, Jesus asks us to be His disciples.