ARE YOU A ‘BELIEVER’ OR ‘DISCIPLE’?

“Are you a believer?” It’s very easy to answer “Yes” if someone asks you this question. I tried this on my youth group and I could get a loud and clear answer “Yes” from them. But if we probe more by asking “Are you a disciple”? , it takes a moment for the youth group to answer. In a way, it is consoling to know that the youths are aware of the difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Being a believer and being a disciple is entirely different. Becoming a believer is simply a matter of trusting in Christ as your only hope of salvation. Becoming a disciple is working hard everyday to become more like Jesus and to bring people to the Lord.
However, I am not saying that we must work hard or behave like a saint to get to heaven. When we receive salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are saved. But if we call ourselves a disciple, we need to live a genuine faith with our words and action in consistency. If we claim that we love Christ, we cannot say it only on our lips and not doing anything. In order to improve a relationship, we need to spend time with the person and do things and make efforts to please him or her. Likewise, in our relationship with Christ, we need to improve our relationship with the Lord. A true disciple will not be satisfied with just being a believer. An authentic disciple will make effort to spend time with the Lord and learn to be more and more like Jesus, whether in actions and words. An authentic disciple will also like more and more people to know the Lord that He loves deeply and want them to be close to the Lord.
Here is a list that makes a great starting point to "examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine" (II Corinthians 13:5).
A believer praises the Lord in good times, the disciple at all times.
The Holy Spirit resides in the believer but shines through the disciple.
A believer loves God with heart and mind, while a disciple commits the will.
A believer loves God and others, but they are the disciple's life.
A believer lives in hope, but for the disciple, God's hope is certain.
A believer seeks forgiveness for sin, but a disciple also determines not to walk that path again.
A believer had faith in God but the disciple's faith is tempered in the fire of testing.
A believer loves the Lord, but the disciple's love is unconditional.
The believer serves the Lord in strength, but the disciple is made perfect through weakness.
God is part of the believer's life, but the central focus of the disciple.
A believer forgives, but the disciple also forgets.
A believer communicates with God at his/her own convenience, but the disciple's heart is open to the Lord at all times.
I understand that we are afterall, weak and limited human beings. I encourage you to continue to work diligently as a true disciple even when we are still ‘work-in-progress’ disciple. Let’s continue to strengthen the areas that need to be improved in our actions and words, so as to be like Jesus.
Jesus said “ If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

Pr. Carol Ling (Bethel Presbyterian Church)