872. The Cost of Being a Disciple?

Ask a church auditorium full of people what the definition of a “disciple” is … and you’ll probably get all kinds of different answers. And this is just from the people who belong to the same denomination. Depending on what we’ve been told or taught, we have probably developed assumptions as to what a disciple is in our own minds. Sometimes we’ll even turn it from a noun into a verb. People seem to feel the need to bring a form of an old Jewish custom from a past culture into our present time because “discipleship” was in the Bible.

On this week’s program, we take a look at how the word disciple is defined in the original language. What were the requirements to be an actual disciple of Jesus to those who wished to apply for the position? Will it cost us everything like religion has taught? Are we called to be disciples of Jesus today? Here is a hint: The main word for disciple in the Greek appears about 246 times in the New Testament. But the word never appears one single time after the book of Acts. Not once was anyone identified as a disciple of Jesus in New Covenant writings.



   
Get the book