ARE YOU TRULY A DISCIPLE OF JESUS?

Throughout the writings of the Apostle John ‘the world’ refers to the godless world, the world that is organized in opposition to the Lord God. Then as even more so now the ‘world’ is in outright rebellion against God and the last stronghold, if one can put it in that term, has proclaimed by its actions to be in total defiance.

 

There are myriads of false teachers/preachers of the gospel in this current time.  They have come from within the believers and teach heresies that are destructive and deny the Lord. This was written about by the Apostle Peter that they will take many with them believing the blasphemous doctrines. They use lies and exploit their followers, (2 Peter 2). 

 

Why do many fall for these false teachers? Because they teach a gospel of greed, and do as you wish just be a nice person, and you will make it to heaven.  But Jesus said just the opposite, He said that, and I quote from Luke 21:12-13:
^“…  they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake.  It shall turn out unto you for a testimony.”  Jesus said to His disciples then, and that includes all disciples to today and days to come, that they would suffer persecution because of Him. Jesus said: “ If the world hates you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also,” (John 15;18-20).

            The fact of the matter is that there is a cost for being a disciple of Jesus Christ, for being a true believer, for being one born again of God. Jesus said that all those who confess Him [Jesus] before man, Jesus will confess him before God,  but that whose who deny Him before man, Jesus will deny ever knowing them before God, and those whom He denies ever knowing will be sent to the everlasting punishment of hell, (Matthew 7:21-23; 10:32-39).

            Just what is this cost? For Matthew it was being pinned to the ground and beheaded with a halberd, combination spear battle axe.  James Jesus’ brother was stoned to death on orders of the High Priest Ananus in 66AD (CE).  Andrew Peter’s brother was crucified on an X shaped cross in Edessa.  Mark the writer of the Gospel bearing his name was dragged to pieces by the people in Alexandria Egypt when he spoke out against the ceremony of their idol Serapis.  Paul was beheaded fr=or ‘crimes’ against the Emperor.

            Let’s jump to the Papal Inquisition instituted by Pope Gregory IX in 1231 for the seizing of heretics by secular authorities and burned. He began a crusade of unimaginable cruelty against the ‘enemies’ of the Roman Church which included Protestants, Jews and Muslims.  The Spanish Inquisition tortured and burned alive people for being guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with Papal doctrine.

            But it doesn’t end there. Lebanon 1991 Mary Khoury was 17 years old when her village was raided by Muslim fanatics who were bent on converting everyone by force. She and her parents were given one choice, “If you do not become a Muslim you will be shot.” Two days later the Red Cross came into the village and found Mary and her family where they had been shot.  In Iran in 1996 Christian Pastor Mehdi Kibaj was accused of apostasy, denial of the Muslim faith and blasphemy against Mohammed. He was imprisoned, condemned to death but surprisingly was released. While free, a “fatwa” was issued against him in a Tehran newspaper and a few days later was found dead in a park He was sixty-five years old. And let’s also look at this very time of March 2014; American pastor Saeed Abedini who is 33 years old while on a trip in Iran in 2012 was pulled him off a bus by the Iranian government in September 2012, and said he must face a penalty for his previous work as a Christian leader in Iran.  He has been in prison since that time with little no request from the U. S. government for his release.

            There are countless more written histories of those followers of Christ that have been and are now being persecuted for their faith. The true “Cost of Discipleship”.  But do you think that is preached in the majority of churches? No! Not even in many of the ‘true bible based’ churches; most certainly not in the ‘emerging church and especially  those with the ‘feel good’ and prosper doctrines.