What is the difference in being a "Christian" and being a "Disciple of Christ"?

Just to clear things up before I get started...there is not supposed to be any difference! However, this is not the case in the modern church. Let me explain what is happening in the church today...

The church is being filled with many false converts! This is being done through pastors who are preaching a false gospel. They are preaching a "different" Jesus than the one that is proclaimed in the Bible! What is happening today is that Jesus is being proclaimed as someone Who is the means to our own ends. He is portrayed as some sort of "Divine Butler" (thanks to Ray Comfort for that title). We are being taught that WE are so important that God cannot do anything apart from our works. It's like He is waiting for us to do His work! This is contrary to what the Bible says! Jesus said that His Father was always at work (John 5:17 - 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."). So then, according to Jesus, God is ACTIVE and always at work! He is not passive and is certainly not waiting for us to do anything! What we are hearing is a man-centered, self-centered gospel. This is certainly not the gospel that Christ Himself proclaimed! Let us now look at what Jesus said concerning the requirements, costs and rewards of following Him.

Jesus spoke of the requirements of discipleship and of following Him in Matthew 10:37-42 (NASB)

(37)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

(38)And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

(39) He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

(40) He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

(41) He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

(42) And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

So then, does this sound like the members of the modern church? If not, why not? I'll tell you why...it's because the modern church is not proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ! The modern church is in the business of making it easy to become a Christian (i.e., "easy believism) to increase their numbers without ever telling you what it means to be a Christian and a disciple of Christ. Jesus never hid the costs of following Him. He always told the truth about the costs and drove away the false converts...something that the modern church will not do. It's a numbers game that is giving millions of people a false sense of eternal security in Christ as well as a false impression of Who our Lord really is and how we, as Christians, are supposed to act.

We are supposed to love Christ more than anything else...including our spouse, children and parents. We are supposed to carry the burdens of others and to love others like we love ourselves. We are supposed to lose ourselves (our lives) for the sake of Christ for the glory of God. We are supposed to be selfless, helping others by receiving them, helping them and loving them. What do we see happening within the walls of the modern church? Self-centered people thinking only of themselves, being told how wonderful they are and leaving the church feeling so good about themselves. I used to not understand the meaning of Amazing Grace when it was being sung at church. I didn't understand why the song said "to save a wretch like me." Why? Because I didn't consider myself to be a wretch. I thought that I was a good person and certainly not a wretch. Let me tell you...God dealt with me and showed me that not only was I a wretch, but that I was the worst sort of wretched, miserable person imaginable. You may think that this sounds strange and can't relate. Believe me, if you belong to God, you will find out. Not only that, but you will also praise Him for breaking you and showing you your depravity. Only then can God mold you into something that He can use. He has to strip you of our pride, self-reliance, biogotry, addictions and any other sin that is weighing you down before He can start to begin conforming you into the image of His precious Son, Jesus.

After He begins your life-long transformation, He will begin showing you who He is. For a good look at who God is, read Isaiah 6 (the entire chapter). I promise that it will give you an image to behold, that will bring you to your knees. Where does this take you? Does it take you to a weak-minded church that wants to entertain you while it takes your tithe? No. You will not be satisfied with that type of church. When God has stripped you, He will not leave you that way. He will clothe you, but not in the clothes that you used to wear. He will clothe you with a white robe and will ascribe the righteousness of Christ to you.

Are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Do you hunger for the things of God or do you hunger for the things of the world? Do you care for others or do you only care about yourself? Re-read Matthew 10:37-42 above and ask yourself if these verses describe you. If not, maybe you need to re-evaluate yourself, your walk with God and the church that you attend. Remember that the road is wide that leads to destruction and the road that leads to eternal life is narrow. If everyone is doing it, does that make it the right thing to do? Pray that God will show you the truth of who He is and for yourself that you will be obedient to His commands. Become a true disciple of Jesus Christ by doing what He said to do, not what a power-hungry pastor told you to do. Read your Bible, pray, fast, sing Psalms and hymns, meditate on the Word, fellowship with other believers, give to others generously and then teach others what you have learned. Be a disciple of Jesus Christ or be a disciple of Satan. There is no middle ground. Choose this day whom you will serve.