Faith is Only the Beginning

For a Christian, the foundation of our faith is our belief of God's existence and that because of His love for us, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And because of Jesus, we model our own lives after His example of how to live uprightly and for God's approval. 

We have to be careful that our faith doesn't end at simply believing in that fact.  

There's more to having a relationship with God and more to living this life than that.  There have been so many people who have left the Christian faith, because they don't see that their faith has brought any rewarding results in their lives.  I love what my Pastor said once, we as Christians are in a profession of faith and everyone day we must work and walk in our purpose & seek God's approval to have fulfillment in our lives. 

We know our purpose is to be like God or to live like Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh.  We won't know how to achieve this unless we seek God through prayer and bible study. With God's word being a lamp to my feet And a light to my path, I should be able to either design a plan of how I will live as a Christian or to pray that God will order my steps to live Holy to give no chance of letting sin in. (Psalm 119:105) (Psalm 119:133)

(Luke 9:23), says we should, every single day “Deny ourselves, carry our cross, and follow Him.” Ephesians 4:22-24, says to throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

As Christians we should be big on sharing what we have.  We should also be sharing our love for God with others, to the saved and unsaved among us.  I don't mean the Eros or erotic type of love.  I mean the Storge, (empathy) or Philia (friend/brotherly) type of love.   While we work on our relationship with God, we should take note of the Agape (unconditional) type of love that God gives us. No matter how far out of God's will we go, remember sin does separate us from God, but confession and repentance brings restoration in our relationship because of His love for us.  Because He loves us, He will never give up on wanting to dwell in/with us.  And we should never give up on wanting to walk closely with Him, wanting to grow and be a better Christian, wanting to be blessed by Him and wanting Him to be with us while we live our lives.

True Discipleship

On the heels of the word to commit yourself to God, let's examine what being a true disciple means. Luke 9:23, says "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  Disciple is defined as any follower of Christ.  There is a continued theme here, just like if you call yourself a Christian, you are a follower of Christ or calling yourself a Christian you're declaring you live a life like Christ's.

We definitely have to be careful not to call ourselves Christians without actually being a disciple. We will then be guilty of using the Lord's name in vain.  Calling yourself a Christian is carrying/wearing  God's name.  If you knowingly and willfully continue in sin and excuse yourself because of your declaration of being a Christian, you are blaspheming God's name.  That's just one of many examples you can use God's name in vain.  Those who carry His name, does so as a representative of who He is.  So if you're calling yourself a Christian, be fully prepared to learn how and to live by it.

Disciplining is to train to be a disciple, so being a disciple is to be someone who learns how to be a disciple.  How can one become a true disciple?  First thing we have to do like I noted last week, we must commit mind, body and soul to live in the will of God.  It's definitely a given that in order to be true disciples, we must remember and live by the ten commandments.  We must commit to being used by God for service to people who are believers and unbelievers, those who are hurt, suffering or who have lost hope.  We have to study the word, so we can become teachers and train others to also become disciples.  Matthew 28:19-20 ESV, says Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The most important thing to learn in order to be a true disciple is to love, to be understanding and to have a compassion when dealing with God's people. Regardless of beliefs, religion, conditions, race, etc., God wants us to show others the love of God like he has shown to us.

Matthew 22:36-40, list two commandments that are the foundation for the Christian life and it says 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  38This is the first and greatest commandment.  39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

What does it mean to love?  Many know of the verb meaning of love which is a feeling of sexual attractions, but I want to emphasize the noun definition of love which is to have a deep affection.  To love is also to have compassion, to care for, to be concerned for, to exercise friendliness, kindness, charity, goodwill and exercising sympathy for others.

You see, you can't be a true disciple unless you first know how to love and to love others like God loves you.

Christ's Terms of Discipleship

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/barfield/christ's_terms_of_discipleship.htm

A. F. Barfield.

Luke 9:23
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

I. THE TERMS OF DISCIPLESHIP are —

1. Self-denial.

2. Endurance — Take up his cross daily.

3. Perseverance — "And follow Me."

II. THE REASONS GIVEN.

1. Because selfishness brings ultimate loss.

2. Because sacrifice brings ultimate salvation.

III. THE MOTIVE INCULCATED — "For My sake."