Daily Life

Can You Be a Christian Without Being a Disciple?

February 13, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

I heard a caller on a radio show ask, “Can you be a Christian without being a disciple?” I have been wrestling with this same thought of late. Before diving in, we should define the terms, so we are all on the same page. The term “Christian” now means many things in our world, but for this discussion, I mean someone who has trusted Jesus is who He says He was and has surrendered their lives to His Lordship.

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A disciple, again for our discussion, is someone who is constantly and consistently pursuing Jesus, desperate to live their lives as He lived His. My inclination is to say you cannot be a Christian if you are not a disciple. I could be wrong but let me give you some reasons for my belief, and then I’ll say a few words about why I might be wrong.

Live Differently

February 10, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Our lives should set an example every day of how loving Jesus causes us to live differently. In a world filled with hate, division, violence, and outright evil, we should shine as examples of love, peace, humility, and integrity. It makes no sense to be a Christian if we will spend the rest of our lives behaving as the world does.

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Jesus didn’t call us to conformity, but to be a people who are set apart and look unique to the world (1 Peter 2:9-10). If you aren’t willing to live differently, then you aren’t ready for Jesus to be Lord of your life. When you surrender everything to Him, everything will change for you.

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Do Good People Go to Heaven?

February 6, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers made waves when he proclaimed, “I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell. What type of loving, sensitive, omnipresent, omnipotent being wants to condemn his beautiful creation to a fiery hell at the end of all this?” Mr. Rodgers is misinformed about the God in whom he does not believe.

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Jesus was clear saying He did not come to condemn the world, but to deliver it from the forces of evil (John 3:17-18). We are saved from the condemnation Mr. Rodgers talks about by bowing down to Jesus as Lord and surrendering our lives to Him. Those who reject Jesus condemn themselves, it is not the will of God (John 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9).

Brothers and Sisters in Christ

February 3, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

On Christmas day, two pastors in the Central African Republic (CAR) were gunned down as they walked home from holding services. Then, on January 3^rd, the terrorist organization Boko Haram, kidnapped Pastor Lawan Andimi, a senior member of the Christian Association of Nigeria. On January 19^th, they called his wife and told her they would behead her husband, which they did. So, how was your day? I in no way mean to be flippant but to point out the fact while most Western Christians fret about getting to church while there are still donuts available, our Christian brothers and sisters around the globe are facing real trials and real persecution.

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As another mega-church goes into millions of dollars of debt to build bigger and more comfortable buildings, Christians in nations where Christianity is illegal risk beatings, imprisonment, and death to gather under a tree in the middle of a field just so they can fellowship with one another. Something has gone terribly wrong with the Church in the Western world.

Diverse and Eclectic

January 30, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Most of us hang around people who look like us, think like us, and share the same beliefs as we do. Being charged with furthering Jesus’s mission to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, I find it difficult to believe Heaven looks like our homogeneous gatherings. No, I think Heaven is the most diverse and eclectic bunch of people we can imagine. If that’s true, why don’t we strive to surround ourselves with similar gatherings now?

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This life is our only chance to prepare for our eternal one. We may as well practice now. Paul encourages us in Romans 15:7 to accept others just as Christ accepted us. Jesus takes us as we are. We should also accept others as they are without demanding they become like us. God loves them just as they are, and so should we.

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