What Does It Mean to Be a Disciple of Jesus?

This past Sunday we had a guest speaker, AW Jones. He and his wife have been missionaries in Mexico for 24 years! Hearing from someone speak about what it means to be a disciple who picked his family up and moved them to another country where they didn't know the language yet in order to help advance the Gospel and strengthen local pastors, serve those in need, and work with incarcerated people, as well as others struggling with addiction... Well lets just say it holds a different kind of weight for me!
Here are some of the notes I took during his message. 

Jesus never invited people simply to believe a collection of facts about Him. He invited people to follow Him.

There is a difference between being interested in Jesus, believing something about Jesus, and becoming a disciple of Jesus.

In John 8:31–32 Jesus told those who had believed in Him:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Notice the progression. They had already believed, but Jesus called them further. Belief was not the end of the journey. A disciple is someone who abides, learns, follows, obeys, and increasingly becomes like the one they are following.

Christian discipleship is the lifelong process of following Jesus and allowing His truth to shape every part of our lives.

The journey of discipleship begins with faith.

John 1:12 says:
“But to all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

Christianity does not begin with earning God's approval. It begins by receiving what God has already offered us through Jesus. We believe in Jesus. We receive Him. Through Christ, we become children of God. But becoming a believer is the beginning of discipleship, not its completion. Jesus invites us into a life of learning to follow Him.

You don't have to have it all figured out. You might even have some personal doubts. But sometimes you have this deep gut feeling that you need to put your trust in Jesus. It's a simple and GREAT first step that will begin to change your life.

Throughout Scripture, God is pictured as a King who desires to enter and dwell with His people.

Psalm 24:7 declares:
“Lift up your heads, O gates! Rise up, O ancient doors, and the King of glory shall come in.”

And Revelation 3:20 records Jesus saying:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

Following Jesus means more than acknowledging that He exists. It means opening our lives to Him. We welcome Jesus into our decisions, relationships, priorities, habits, finances, families, thoughts, and futures. The King of Glory does not simply want to be acknowledged from a distance. He wants relationship with us.

Some people come to our house and we avoid them if we are honest. You every have the door to door sales people come through? Sometimes it feels easier to act like no one is home than to talk to them and open yourself up to a conversation. This isn't that!

Jesus is the guest you have been waiting for! In my experience, he comes bearing gifts. 

Jesus connected discipleship directly to remaining in His Word:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” —John 8:31

The word abide carries the idea of remaining, continuing, dwelling, or staying.
A disciple does not occasionally visit the teachings of Jesus. A disciple builds his or her life around them.

Paul gives Timothy a similar instruction in 2 Timothy 2:15:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, as a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who rightly handles the word of truth.”

Studying Scripture is not simply about gathering biblical information. We study God's Word so that His truth can transform how we live. I am so thankful for God's word in my life! Maybe you don't know where to start? Grabbing a One Year Bible is a great place to start or even downloading the YouVersion Bible App!

A disciple can be understood as an apprentice or adherent. An apprentice learns from someone with the intention of becoming like them. An adherent accepts teaching and makes it a rule for how he or she lives. That means discipleship goes deeper than intellectual agreement. The teachings of Jesus become part of our core values.

They influence how we forgive, speak, treat people, how we respond when we are angry, love our enemies, and understand success.

The evidence of discipleship eventually becomes visible in our lifestyle.

John Mark Comer writes about this in Practicing the Way. An apprentice of Jesus learns to be with Jesus, know Jesus and know what He knows, and do what Jesus does. When you are an apprentice to a plumber, you spend a lot of time with that plumber to learn from them, then you begin to know the things that they know about the job and craft. Eventually, you become able to do what a plumber does. That is Jesus intention for every believer... to become like Him. 

Jesus did not call people to admire Him. He called people to follow Him.
There is a massive difference. A fan can appreciate Jesus from the crowd. A disciple rearranges his life around Jesus.

In John 15, Jesus uses the picture of a vine and its branches:
“I am the vine and you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

The Christian life cannot be sustained by our own strength.We remain connected to Jesus.
We receive life from Jesus. We learn from Jesus. And over time, our lives begin producing the fruit of Jesus.

Jesus continues in John 15:8:
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”

Fruit does not earn our relationship with God. Fruit reveals what is happening in that relationship. As we abide in Christ, something begins to change. His character becomes increasingly visible in ours. His priorities begin becoming our priorities. His love begins shaping how we love. His mission becomes our mission.

This is the goal of discipleship: not simply knowing more about Jesus, but becoming more like Jesus. Have you taken inventory of the fruit of your life? Sometimes we avoid that because it can be discouraging. It shouldn't be! When we notice our fruit isn't matching what we expect we ask God to pluck things out of our life and plant His seed in our hearts. We have to tend the soil of our hearts!

Jesus gave an incredible promise in John 8:
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Biblical truth is not merely a collection of correct ideas. Truth is deeply connected to knowing God Himself.

Jesus said in John 14:6:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Truth is ultimately revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus prayed in John 17:3:
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Christian discipleship is relational. We are learning to know God.

Jesus promised that His followers would not navigate this journey alone.

John 16:13 says:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus, reminds us of His teachings, convicts us, guides us, and forms Christ within us. Scripture repeatedly calls Him the Spirit of truth.

Jesus prayed:
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” — John 17:17

This is why Scripture is so important to discipleship. God's Word continually exposes the false stories we have believed and replaces them with truth.

A disciple learns to recognize God's voice because he or she has spent time learning God's Word. The more time you spend in His word the more clearly you will discern His voice in your life. What God does and says never goes against what is in the word of God. I remember someone asking me my opinion about a situation and what they were considering doing because they believed God might be directing them that way. The only problem was that what they were feeling "led" to do what explicitly against scripture. My answer? "I don't even need to pray about this. God doesn't want you to do this, it's against His word." Then we prayed God would give this person strength to follow God's word as a disciple of Jesus.

How does this happen though? Sometimes, it could be the enemy/satan trying to scheme and trick us. Other times, it's just our flesh trying to reason what we would rather do because it's easier or more fun to us at the time. You might say, "Oh I would never be deceived or tricked like that" and maybe you are right. I would caution you to humble yourself and encourage you that it is good and wise to have counsel from other mature believers (also in God's word, go figure). 

Jesus did not simply say that truth exists. He said:
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

There is a difference between truth that we have heard and truth that has become deeply rooted in our lives. We can know a Bible verse intellectually without allowing it to change how we think or live. Discipleship moves truth from our heads into our hearts and ultimately into our habits.

As we abide in Jesus and His Word, lies begin losing their power.
We discover the truth about who God is, who we are, about sin, grace, forgiveness, purpose, and freedom.
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And the more deeply we know Jesus, the more freedom His truth produces in us.

A disciple is not someone who has arrived. A disciple is someone who has decided who they are following. Jesus calls us beyond casual belief and into apprenticeship.
We receive Him.
We welcome Him.
We remain in His Word.
We follow Him.
We learn His truth.

And through the power of the Holy Spirit, we increasingly become like Him. That is Christian discipleship. The question is not simply: “Do I believe in Jesus?”

A deeper question is:
“Am I building my life around following Jesus?”
Jesus still invites us today: Abide in My Word. Follow Me. Know the truth. And the truth will set you free.

A disciple of Jesus is more than someone who believes in Him. A disciple is a follower and apprentice of Jesus who learns His teachings, remains in His Word, and seeks to become more like Him in everyday life.

A believer places faith in Jesus and receives Him. Discipleship describes the ongoing process of following Jesus, learning from Him, obeying His teaching, and allowing Him to transform the way we live.

To abide in Jesus means to remain connected to Him. Jesus describes this in John 15 as a branch remaining connected to a vine. We abide through relationship with Jesus, prayer, Scripture, obedience, and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship begins by believing in and receiving Jesus. From there, we learn to follow Him, study and obey His Word, depend on the Holy Spirit, live in Christian community, and increasingly shape our lives around His example.

In John 8:31–32, Jesus connects freedom with abiding in His Word and knowing the truth. As we follow Jesus and allow His truth to replace lies, sin, and false beliefs in our lives, we experience increasing spiritual freedom.

Following Jesus is personal, but it was never intended to be isolated. The New Testament consistently shows disciples worshiping, learning, serving, praying, and growing together in Christian community.

At Vineyard Church Southern Indiana, we believe following Jesus is something we do together.

Whether you're exploring Christianity, returning to church, or wanting to grow deeper as a disciple of Jesus, there is a place for you here.

Join us Sundays at 10:00 AM at Vineyard Church Southern Indiana in New Albany, Indiana, as we worship Jesus, study Scripture, experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, and learn what it means to follow Jesus in everyday life.

Following Jesus was never meant to be something we do alone.
If you’re looking for a church in New Albany, Jeffersonville, Clarksville, or the surrounding Southern Indiana area, we’d love to meet you at Vineyard Church Southern Indiana.

Come as you are. We’d love to welcome you.

Schedule a coffee with one of our pastors. No pressure. Just conversation.