How Do Disciples Become Christians
HOW DO DISCIPLES BECOME CHRISTIANS?
Acts 11:19-26
The Scriptures declare to us that the disciples of Jesus Christ were called Christians first in the city of Antioch, where the church's members were basically Gentiles.
The inspired writer may be paying tribute to the work of the divine Spirit in the hearts of the believers. Barnabas influences the life and the spiritual growth of this congregation, and he is described as "a good man, full of the spirit and faith." A large number of people were converted and added to the church because of his ministry. With the assistance of Paul, these disciples ministered to the church and taught the people, and these people experienced spiritual growth. They let the Spirit produce his fruit within them and they began to show the character traits and the graces of Jesus in their lives. Others saw the beauty of Jesus in them. Thus they were called Christians.
Indira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, has been quoted as saying that if Christians would act like Christ, India would be at his feet. The greatest hindrance to the evangelistic effort of a local church or to the missionary effort of all the churches is a poor example of Christianity. The low quality of life that some Christians portray to the world is due to the fact that they have ignored and neglected the Holy Spirit and have even refused to let the Spirit reproduce within them the character of Jesus.
The term Christian has been cheapened, abused, and misused by people in society today. Today many claim to be Christian just because they believe that there is a God. They don't really know Jesus, they just admit that there is a higher being that is in control.
The term Christian has been applied to some just because they live by a high moral code that makes them look respectable. Not necessarily a saving quality, but an admirable quality none-the-less.
Too many people today claim to be Christians just because they were baptized. This may just make you a wet sinner. Nothing about baptism ever saved anyone.
Too many people consider themselves to be a Christian just because they are a member of such and such a church. How many times have you heard someone say something like, "I'm a member of this church or that church, of course I'm a Christian." Just like baptism, church membership never saved anyone's soul.
Some people thing that being saved and being a Christian are the same thing. Sure, you have to be saved in order to be a Christian, but are they really the same thing? Just because you are saved, does that mean that you live a Christ-like life? The misuse and abuse of the term Christian has produced some tragic results. First some have the impression that the conversion experience is all that there is to being a Christian. They feel that they are saved and now they can do whatever they want to. The term Christian has also been misused to produce a low quality of life that does not reveal the wondrous change that has taken place through Christ in the ones that have truly accepted him as their Lord and personal Savior. Finally some have a very basic Christianity, Christians by the skin of their teeth, that is nothing more than simply a thin covering of the real thing, but they still wonder why that are not more successful in winning the world for Jesus.
Unfortunately, many people today think of Christianity as cushioned pews, agreeable music, a comfortable worship service that is followed by business as usual the rest of the week. We need to rediscover what cause the people to start calling the disciples in Antioch Christians.
First, though, we need to look at some things that don't necessarily make a disciple into a Christian.
We need to remember that the word Christian can be an adjective or a noun. It can describe a quality of life instead of referring to a person as a follower of Jesus Christ. Let's look for just a couple of minutes at some good things that a person can do, but things that by themselves do not always produce Christians out of disciples.
1. Being regular in attendance in worship services.
2. Reading your Bible regularly.
3. Prayer.
4. Tithing.
5. Good habits and willpower to avoid temptations.
All of these qualities should be present in a Christian, but does any one, or any combination of any of them, necessarily mean that you are a Christian. Does the presence of these in your life really mean that you are living your life the way that Christ would live it?
Disciples become Christians as they make proper responses to the indwelling Holy Spirit. The fact that God gives the gift of the Spirit to the new convert has not been emphasized as much as it should be. Many people that have trusted Christ as their savior are unaware that in the conversion experience, the Spirit entered their life and took up residence in their innermost being and came with the desire to reproduce in their lives the character and personality of Jesus.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
These graces provide us with a verbal photograph of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The apostle declares that these graces are the fruit of the indwelling spirit of God.
These graces are the fruit of the indwelling Spirit for every believer. The gifts of the Spirit enable us to render specific ministries for the building up of the church and for the advancement of God's kingdom. These graces of the Spirit, which Jesus personified perfectly, have to do with the character of the believer. People who have these graces in their lives will reflect and manifest the presence of Jesus in their lives.
Disciples become Christians when they make a proper response to the Spirit. There is no way for a disciple to become fully Christian in their innermost being or in their influence over others apart from the ministry and the work of the Spirit in their lives. To become genuinely Christian a person must make a positive response to the presence and the purpose of the indwelling Spirit.
We must believe the testimony of the Spirit concerning our new relationship to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
We have to recognize and respond to the indwelling Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you? The Spirit cannot do his finest work unless his presence is recognized and unless there is a personal response of cooperation with him.
We have to listen to the voice of the Spirit and obey him. Revelation 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '
We have to cooperate with the Spirit as he works within us. Phillipians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His] good pleasure.
The Spirit invites the nonbeliever to put faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Spirit is seeking continually to magnify and exalt Christ as the Savior who alone can bring the gift of forgiveness and new life into one's heart.
Trust Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, for new life, for hope for the future, for the power to live an abundant life, and for the gift of divine sonship and assurance of an eternity in the heaven of God.