How Do I Become a Disciple?
To understand how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, it makes most sense to start where Jesus started. While it is true that He said to the disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19), the Bible records one message He proclaimed before that. In Matthew 4:17, He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
This phrase is not difficult to understand if you take it literally. If someone warned you to be prepared because a king and his army were coming, what would you do? You would make sure you were ready to face them. If you werenʼt prepared to fight this king, then you would do whatever it took to make peace with him.
The word "repent" means “to turn.” It has the idea of changing directions and heading the opposite way. So in this context, Jesus was telling people to prepare themselves—to change whatever needed to be changed—because God's kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) was approaching.
So how do we prepare to face this heavenly kingdom? How do we make sure we are at peace with this coming King? Jesus says we need to repent. This implies that everyone needs to turn from the way they are currently living. Romans 3:23 explains that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We have all done things that are offensive to this King. Romans later explains that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Because of our sin, which is an offense to God, we should expect death. But then comes an amazing truth.
"But God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8). The death penalty we should have faced from this King was actually paid for by someone else. The King's Son, Jesus Christ!
The Scriptures then say, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, who He is, and what He has done. Part of our repentance is to turn from believing that there's anything we can do to save ourselves— everything was accomplished by Jesus Christ.
The thought that someone else has paid for our crimes is strange to most of us because it defies our natural way of thinking. And the idea that we need to trust in another personʼs sacrifice on our behalf is even more foreign to us. But understand that while it is strange to us, it is consistent with God's actions throughout the Scriptures.
We get a picture of this when we read the book of Exodus. In this story, Moses warns Pharaoh repeatedly about what God will do if he does not repent. It climaxes when God says He will bring death to the firstborn of every household if they do not repent. Meanwhile, He tells His people that if they put the blood of a lamb over their doorposts, His angel will pass over their homes and not kill the firstborn of that house. So even in the story of the exodus, we see that people had to trust in the blood of a lamb to save them—this was the only way they could be saved.
2. Read Ephesians 2 carefully and take some time to consider the truths it presents. Do you trust in the death of Christ for your salvation? Or do you struggle with believing you need to do something to save yourself?
I am extremely thankful to say that I do not struggle with this often. I know that believing in the death of Christ is more than enough for me to be saved. I do not think that I need to save myself, and thank goodness because I would fail miserably, if this were the case. Ephesians 2: 8-9 explain so clearly that we do not have to do anything, but have faith in order to have eternal life in heaven with Christ Jesus. I also love that in verse 10, we are told, ".... we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I love this verse because I think it shines light on what yesterdays devotion was about and that is that we are called to follow Christ and do His work. What a great chapter Ephesians 2 is!
ReplyDeleteI too am very thankful, because I fully believe that we do not have to do works to get into Heaven. I mean, scripture clearly states that it is by grace we have been saved. Even though I believe this, it doesn't mean I don't struggle with understanding why. I know that God loves us and that's why he sent his Son to die for us, but I struggle with accepting the fact that he would do that when we betray him everyday. I also struggle with the fact of dying itself. I believe in Heaven, but for some reason I don't want my life to end short. I know this sounds selfish because we will live a better life in Heaven, and it's something that I'm trying to work on. I loved reading Ephesians 2 because it just reminded me of how great God is!
ReplyDelete" So even in the story of the exodus, we see that people had to trust in the blood of a lamb to save them"
ReplyDeleteI get in my head that I'm forgiven, covered in the blood of the Lamb, and this salvation is a gift, but...All of my life has been based on performance, grades, GPA, sports, even church can become a performance. Deep down inside a part of me feels I have to earn it...This gift is just too good to be free. I wouldn't say that outloud like that, but I think it reflects in our attitudes. How do we feel when we do "good" things for God, or when we do "bad" things? Or perhaps if you are doing neither. Truth is, I feel pretty bad when I mess up and pretty good when I do something great for the kingdom. But, guess what? Neither of those things make God love me more or less.
This has been a process for me to know that God loves me for just who I am, not what I "DO" or don't do for Him. Just "BEING" His Son. Ephesians is a book about Identity. That's what I love about it. I am continually growing in my understanding of what it means to be His Son.
The quote I noted stuck out to me. Blood even back before Jesus was physically born, was covering God's people, and forgiving and cleansing them of their sins. God responds to His people, He sees them and He hears their cries.