There is no exact definition in the Bible that will describe exactly what a disciple is. One thing is very clear when Jesus called his disciples “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19)” A disciple needs to follow the one who called them. And since it was Jesus Christ who called us, then we are to follow Jesus Christ.
But the game doesn’t end there. Because Christ called us to be “fishers of men” and not continually become a fish.
Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.”
In this description, we can see that a disciple is someone being taught, and not the one teaching. His knowledge is more limited than that of his teacher. However, when fully trained, he will be like his teacher. This means that if his teacher can teach, he can definitely teach when fully trained.
Luke 14:25-27 “25 Now large crowds were accompanying Jesus, and turning to them he said, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Here we can see that Jesus is giving an instruction concerning our priorities. Of course this doesn’t necessary mean to literally hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, it simply means that we need to love him ABOVE all.
Furthermore, new believers that comes from extremely closed culture, closed family, and closed religious backgrounds usually suffers a lot when it comes to Christianity, being his new found faith. People around the new believer will criticize him, mock him, and even cast him out from their relationship. But this is what Jesus Christ have said. Thus, a disciple “HAS” to make a decision whom to obey, his family or Jesus.
And this is something to bear since Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
To summarize this point, a disciple of Christ is someone who loves Christ more than the rest of his family.
Luke 14:33 “33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions.“
Sometimes, it is not family nor relationship that hinders us to become a disciple of Christ. Sometimes, it is our wealth, our possessions. And here we can see that Jesus made an emphasis against our possessions.
A disciple therefore should love Christ more than his possession.
John 8:31-32 31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This passage tells us that being a disciple requires “Continuous Obedience”. Obedience means following Jesus’ teachings. With the conitnuous obedience, we will know that truth, and such truth will set us free.
Here we see a passage that tells us about the authenticity of being a disciple of Christ. As we continue to obey God’s word and as we continue to follow his teachings, it proves that we are his disciple and we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.
John 13:34-35 34 “I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”
A disciple is loving towards other people and especially to his fellow brethren in Christ. Jesus is giving us a command here to be loving toward others. And by doing this, we are showing the people around us that we are Christ’s disciple.
Loving for one another is setting up an evidence that we God’s.
John 15:8 8 My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.
A disciple bears much fruit. The main context of the passage is about the vine and the branches. Christ is the Vine and we are the branches. If a branch doesn’t bear fruit it is cut off from the vine and then thrown into fire. Now, this tells us that as disciples we have to understand that we are suppose to bear fruit.
But what kind of fruit? The context suggest that it refers to the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit can be found at Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Another thing that we can see in this passage is that, being a disciple tells us that we there should be some result of Christ’s teachings in our life. It does not just end at the acceptance of Jesus Christ but continuously work in our life until such time that fruits can be seen in our lives.
A true disciple of Christ must discern, not deny, the truths He revealed in His written word, and must know the issues behind the bible, as extensively explained in an expose of the egregious errors of those pretending to be the word of God, as given in:
http://watch.pair.com/another.html
The critique on a dangerous discipleship:
from: http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5847
As we noted, at its beginning Promise Keepers stressed discipleship. However, in its zeal to unify professing Christian men, PK has decided that doctrine is a stumbling block to unity, rather than the biblical basis for it. That makes Christian discipleship an impossibility. Very simply, there is no true discipleship without doctrine: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (Jn 8:31). Doctrine tells us who Christ is, what He did, and how to be saved; and unless a person is first of all saved he cannot be discipled. A man who believes a false gospel or in a false Christ has no basis for being discipled.
One clear evidence of being a disciple is devotion to His word:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable [to be used] for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32
How about other fruits resulting from the sowing of God’s words in fulfilling the Great Commission? E.g., the fruit of new believers???
Not just new believers that comes from extremely closed culture, closed family, and closed religious backgrounds usually suffer a lot when it comes to Christianity, being his new found faith, but even old believers with Christianity as their old found faith, since their families and friends love not the light of the knowledge of God and His great grace in Christ, but love more the darkness of their ignorance, iniquities, inequities, idolatries, and immoralities.