Scripture Text: Mathew 28: 16-20

In today Scripture text, our Lord Jesus showed and instructed us on how to be a true and what it’s all about. Christ simply stated to His disciples that:
1. “I have given you authority in heaven and earth”;
2. Make, by this authority, disciples of all nations;
3. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit;
4. Teach these new disciples to obey all commandments I have given you;
5. Be sure of this, I am with you, even to the end of age.
As discussed in the previous post on this topic, it is important to note that discipleship transcends giving your life to Christ. The belief that most Christians have that once they give their lives to Christ, they have fulfilled all they are required to do is wrong. Salvation is the first and major step into a lifelong walk with God and relationship continues with him to eternity. Having become a Christian, you are expected to move into a deeper relationship with Christ, your Saviour, by becoming His disciple. This is a marked difference between being a Christian and being a disciple of Christ.

Characters of a True Disciple

Marks a that a true disciple must possess are:
i. God must occupy the supreme place in your life (Luke 14:26)
ii. Bearing the Cross of Christ (Luke 14:27). Bearing the Cross means sharing Christ’s reproach, suffering and persecution for His sake. The Cross is a symbol of shame and pain of Jesus as He was falsely accused, condemned to death and crucified (1 Peter 5:10).
iii. You must see Christ as the Source and Owner of everything you once consider your own and be willing to release to them to Him whenever He asks for them: your house, cars, money, children, spouse and everything (Romans 12:1-2)
iv. You must accept God’s final Word as the final authority in your life and live day by day in submission to it (John 8:31).
v. As a true disciple, you must love God with all your life, soul, strength and might, and love your fellow brothers, and sisters unconditionally (John 13:34-35).
vi. Witnessing for Christ, evangelism, soul-winning and follow-up on discipleship of souls are the characters you must possess. Ways you can witness for Christ may include:
- Sharing your conversion story with people and how it has led to your positive lifestyle. When you share this, the Holy Spirit will now do the convicting work by winning their souls for Christ.
- Sharing the Gospel with people (i.e., through oral preaching, publications, song ministrations, drama ministrations, sharing of Christian tracts and book or Bible, charity work and outreach, visitations to prisons to share the Good News for lost souls, etc.).
- Helping people to deal with problems, obstacles and objections in their lives through prayers, necessary solutions and words of encouragement.
- Mentoring people and helping them grow in their Faith.

To possess characters of a true disciple, you must first be born again.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this after me: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life and change my world. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Culled from Mountain Top Daily Devotional