WHO IS A DISCIPLE?
He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
MATTHEW 10:38
A disciple is someone who confesses Christ as Lord and Savior, believes that God has raised Him from the dead, and declares that belief publicly through baptism. He is not some sort of “upper–level†Christian.
You don’t have to wait to become a disciple at some future time in your Christian life when you have reached a certain level of maturity. According to Matthew 28:19–20, a disciple is made at the moment of salvation.
Some claim that there are many Christians who are not disciples. They recall today’s verse and say that in order to be a disciple, one has to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Christ. If one is not up to that level of commitment, they think, then he is not worthy to be Christ’s disciple. But you cannot separate discipleship from conversion.
When someone is saved, he receives a submissive spirit that manifests itself by a willingness to make a public confession and obey whatever else Christ commands. Are you, then, a disciple?
John MacArthur, Truth for Today : A Daily Touch of God’s Grace (Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman, 2001). 74.
