So just what is discipleship? What does it involve? As Jesus zealots, we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We follow His teaching. We follow His example. And we modern-day followers have a special advantage, the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We see Jesus's first command about personal discipleship in Matthew 4:19-- He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We also see their immediate response. At once they left their nets and followed him. Are we willing and striving to be fishers of men? It all starts with leaving our nets and following immediately.
In Matthew 10:34-40, we see the extreme implications of the radical call that Jesus makes to all who would be a member of His kingdom. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” Are we truly willing to be a Jesus zealot?
My friends, let no man deceive you. Salvation is not without a price. Jesus died and suffered horribly for us, but now he is calling all men to repentance, and a personal walk with him. We cannot earn our salvation, but we can devote our entire lives in gratitude to the One who has saved us. Can faith alone save us? NO! It is a the combination of faith and works. James 2:14--What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
James 2:26 says: For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Are we seeing dead faith today? Dead Christianity? Modern evangelicalism has reduced it to a science. Say this prayer word for word, and you go to heaven, no matter what you do! The Bible clearly teaches that to be a Jesus zealot, one has to follow Jesus with his whole soul, strength and mind. What about you? Are you like the lukewarm church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-18)? I challenge you to a closer walk with God, and to truly be on fire for Jesus Christ. In closing, let me say that I am not perfect, but I am still trying, and by God's grace, continuing on the upward way.
For Him and His kingdom,
Free Radical
Note: All scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible
