Growing as a Christian

So to answer these questions, according to the Lexham Bible Dictionary, a Christian is one who “worships Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Son of the God of Israel”. It was coined in the New Testament as someone who followed Jesus - a “follower” of Jesus. So, by that definition, it is someone who believes in Jesus, the significance of His death and resurrection, and practices a lifestyle like that of Jesus.

Now, what is a disciple? Again, by definition a disciple is a student, pupil, or learner - it was used in the New Testament as those who followed Jesus. It denotes a relationship between a student and teacher.

So - can someone be a Christian but not a disciple? I think there are some who claim to be a Christian, but are not disciples. How can I say this? Because many will make a profession of faith, will be baptised, may even attend church, but never devote themselves as a student of the Word.

One example that I can use to describe this is during my senior year at UT; I had to take a class in physics. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I can figure, but not everything always figures out… Mom always said I could work the most complicated problems in Calculus and Trigonometry, and get it wrong because I couldn’t add 2 + 2 and get 4. The first class day, I walked into the auditorium to about 500 other students. Because of my schedule coming from the ag campus to the main campus I was right at the bell, and had to sit in the back of the auditorium with the professor standing down front and appeared to be the size of an ant… Now, as I said I understood math… BUT…throw in laws, formulas, and variables…and I was out of my league. I had a book, I went to class, I listened to the ant lecture, I even took notes…but I was a lost ball in high weeds. It wasn’t until I was tutored by my uncle who taught physics, and he could explain the questions I had, and work through the problems with me, that I finally started to understand physics. You see, it wasn’t just enough for me to have the book, listen to a lecture, and take notes - it took having a mentor and becoming a student of the subject that my eyes were opened and I was able to comprehend physics. There is no doubt in my mind, if I had just thrown my hands up and said if I get it, I get it, I would have FAILED physics.

The problem that arises is when a Christian owns a bible, attends services, listens to sermons, may even take notes of what is said… but never takes the initiative to devote themselves to the subject, are they truly learning the subject? So, can you be a Christian, but not be a true disciple? Can you be a true disciple, and not be a Christian? Honestly, I don’t think so. If we look at the twelve disciples… we see examples of men who devoted themselves to learning about Jesus. One, though…never devoted themselves to learning the subject they were being taught. While he was seen as one of the disciples, he certainly was not a born-again Christian. So, I personally do not see how one can separate being a Christian AND a disciple unless one is not a true disciple or a true Christian.

So what is the first step of becoming true discipleship? Coming together with other Christians, growing in our understanding of God’s Word, and immersing ourselves in learning - earning the title Christian.

Gather Together

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

After Pentecost, the believers came together. They did not neglect the coming together of one another. Notice this was a group of professing believers - true believers. Could it be, and I’m treading in dangerous territory here so bear with me, could it be that the reason we see so much fluctuation in numbers, so much jumping from church to church, so much of other things coming in the way of attending church… could it just be that many of those who fail to come together are not true believers? You see, I think scripture warns us not to forsake the gathering, I think scripture points we are to be busy proclaiming the gospel, I think scripture points to TRUE BELIEVERS making disciples. You see, at this time these believers who had been completely transformed at Pentecost in Jerusalem realized the need to come together and learn! Now, understand this did not just happen - it was not until a life changing change occurred in their life - salvation - that they desired to come together!

If we think about Jewish worship, many would come to temple and offer sacrifices under obligation. These believers gathered together because of stirred hearts, stirred souls, and a respect of God. They literally stood in awe of what had taken place at Pentecost - different peoples of different nationalities, cultures, etc. and a group of preachers who preached in a language that all heard and understood the gospel and over 3,000 were saved. There was something that had stirred them to worship! Now, my question for the church today is, where is the stirring of the spirit?

You see, the stirring of the spirit resulted in a desire to learn, to grow, and to know more about their Savior. Where is that desire today? What has happened that squelched that desire to come together, to worship together, to commune together? WHAT has happened to the church family?

All who believed were together and had all things in common. We see examples of the early church, that they came together for worship daily. They studied, they learned, they ate, there was a desire to be together. They were unified. They sacrificed for one another, as the need arose. How do we get this type of desire for worship back? How do we cultivate a desire to learn the Word of God? Well, this partly comes from the individual desire to grow, to understand, and to grow closer to God but also coming together as the unified body of Christ, under one accord, with the desire to worship and praise God!

Growing in Our Understanding

Colossians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We must allow the Word to permeate not only our mind, not only our body, but our soul (our heart). Now, referring back to the physics class, how many of you fully understand physics? Now, let’s get down to a more realistic example. Coal miners, how many of you started your first day knowing how to run a continuous miner? Teachers, how many of you started your first day and were completely proficient in writing lesson plans and delivering content? Carpenters, how many of you on day one could use a square to lay out a set of stairs or cut a rafter on a reverse? Farmers, how many of you are able to successfully treat every stocker calf that gets sick? So, what does it take to become proficient? It takes time, it takes studying, it takes listening to mentors, it takes devoting yourself to being a student. After a period of time…then you realize you become one of mentors. People ask you questions, people rely on your opinion.

The same comes with our walk with God, the knowledge of and the Word of God does not naturally come to us. When we accept Christ as Savior, we do not become a scholared theologian. We must take the time to become the student, to learn. Not only that, but we must desire the knowledge. This word used for dwell literally means to make a home, to abide or live within - as a believer, a Christian, we must make room in our mind, our body, our soul (our heart) for the Word of God.

But I will again make a bold statement - too many Christians have too many other things taking up room in their hearts that they have little to no room for the Word of God. We allow the things of this world to fill up our heart, our desires, and unfortunately we don’t leave much room for what should be the biggest priority of our life.

Colossians 3:1–2 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

You see, we must empty our heart of selfish wants and desires, of the things of this world, and make room for God to fill our heart. Unfortunately all the worldly things only bring temporary satisfaction, temporary happiness, temporary distractions… but it also fades away and is not sustaining. Rather than filling ourselves with material and worldly fixes that will only leave us empty and wanting more, we should be filling ourselves with the only thing that will never leave us empty, and that is God and His Word.

Earning the Title

Acts 11:20–26 (ESV)

20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Professing and being baptised is not the end of your journey as a Christian, but is the beginning. Too many view coming to an altar, or saying a standardized prayer, or getting wet in a baptistry as their certificate of fire insurance. Unfortunately, all churches will experience this. However, there are others that will desire to grow closer to God, and each other as they study the Word. Barnabas recognized these who wanted to grow, and developed a plan for discipleship. He left for Tarsus so he could find Paul. Notice what happened when Paul came to Antioch - for a whole year he taught and the people listened, they learned, they grew in their faith, and here we find the first use of the word Christian. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Remember when I asked if you could be a Christian and not a disciple, or a disciple and not a Christian? Hmmm… Look at this real close. Now we have to look at the background here to understand some of their desire to come together as the church. This is after the stoning of Stephen, and there was a scattering of believers who fled Jerusalem as Paul deepened his persecution of them. Now the believers are coming back together with the desire to learn.

Now, will it take a great adversity to bring the churches in America to the point they will desire to come together? I was hoping the time apart during Covid would make us (as Christians) understand how simple it is for the government to try to shut the doors of our churches. I thought it might make us realize the true honor it is to be in the House of the Lord. I thought it might bring greater numbers together, and they would be hungry for the Word. Instead, I truly feel we became so preoccupied with the things of the world that we now see it as common to forsake the gathering together.

Maybe we, as a church, can be like Barnabas and reach out to those who are now scattered, and through witnessing, through lifting up, through ministering to them, can bring them back into the church. There are still people who desire to grow, who are looking for a relationship with Jesus, who need a body of believers to join with, so they too can be taught, mentored, and discipled.

Notice what went on during this time in the church of Antioch, they devoted themselves to a year of studying, learning, and growing and these who were discipled…were called Christians.

Closing

Church, one of the things I want to get across today is this, none of us have arrived. Our journey as Christians are still ongoing, we need to come together as a unified body. We should desire to grow in our knowledge of God, we should desire to study His Word, we should come together as the body and become disciples…

So what is the first step? Dedicating ourselves, or even rededicating ourselves to the process of becoming a disciple. Setting aside the things of the world, desiring the filling of the Holy Spirit, and becoming the Christian God desires us to be.

Why is this so important? So that we have the heart to reach others. “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord”. You see, as disciples we are also to disciple. And I truly believe if we get back to the basics of making disciples, that we too can see God move in a mighty way and others will believe and turn to the Lord.

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