Disciple

When we receive Jesus, we receive him as Lord and Savior. He saves us by his death and resurrection for us. By his cross, we are forgiven of our sins, which separate us from God.

Through Jesus, we are reconciled to God, and through him, we are being restored into the image of God, in which we are created. Salvation is not just Jesus getting us into heaven when we die. It’s also Jesus getting heaven into us now. So, taking Jesus as Lord and Savior means that we trust him and what he did on the cross, but we also trust him for what he would do in our lives now.

His Lordship is about us giving him our lives - to learn from him and follow him. This is why he calls us his disciples, mathétés in New Testament Greek. It means student or pupil. Remember how Jesus calls us to come to him, and let him teach us. “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls,” Matthew 11:29.

And, we find in the Scriptures that the call of Jesus to discipleship is a two-fold calling: both to be disciples, to be his students, and also to make disciples. Jesus is working to reach others with the Gospel, just as he reached us. His heart is to seek and save the lost. His heart is to bring people into the fullness of life in him. And so, the Lord calls us to follow him in his mission.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going deep into our calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ as we read the Gospel of Matthew together in our Journey Through the Bible. You could think of this series as a church-wide campaign. Usually campaigns are about raising money for ministry. But this is about raising up disciples who make disciples for Jesus Christ. We’ll be looking at the marks of a disciple, and we’ll be provided concrete ways to respond in pursuit of this calling of Christ.