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1. What is a Disciple?

You are a Christian. You’ve heard the stories of Jesus. God loves you, you know that. You believe Jesus died for your sins. Forgiveness, hope, and the promise of eternal life are yours. You are saved—a Christian.

Yet, there are things you don't understand. For example, the church uses the word “disciple” frequently. There is disciple training, discipleship classes, and disciple-making courses. Your preacher uses the word often in his sermons. It seems the terms “Christian” and “Disciple” are both used as descriptions of people who believe in Jesus. Is there a difference, though?

Disciple Defined
Dictionaries define disciple as one who accepts and helps spread the doctrines of another. It follows then, in the Christian context, a disciple of Jesus is one who accepts and helps spread the doctrines of Jesus. That sounds a lot different from the common understanding of Christian.

We typically think of a Christian as somebody who believes Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary to forgive them of their sins. Because of a person's belief, or faith, they are forgiven and going to heaven when they die. There is no mention of adherence to a doctrine, unless, of course, the doctrine is that Christ died for our sins, which he did. Beyond that, there's not much doctrine followed. There is certainly not much mention of spreading the doctrine, at least, not much expectation. Perhaps there is an expectation by some church leaders, but the reality is most Christians do little spreading. They think spreading the doctrine means setting around with other Christians and talking about the bible. Talking with non-Christians about the doctrines of Jesus, forget it. Not happening.

This disciple thing sounds a lot different. If a disciple is one accepts the teachings of Jesus, not just about Jesus, then disciples do what Jesus taught. That makes them a disciple. Being a disciple has little to do with belief and a lot to do with action. Further, if a disciple spreads the doctrines of Jesus, then there should be many people talking about Jesus with other people, particularly in their communities. It's no wonder people prefer to call themselves Christian rather than disciple. There is a difference.