Salvation without discipleship?

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Can a person be saved/born again without becoming a disciple?

By definition, a saved/born-again Christian is automatically a disciple of Jesus Christ


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Apex

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Can a person be saved/born again without becoming a disciple?

A "disciple" is just one who follows. One becomes a disciple of Christ when called by Jesus himself (e.g. Mark 1:17; 2:14). The initiative lay with Jesus alone. The synoptic tradition contains instances when would-be disciples attempt to take the initiative, but all of these attempts fail, and there is no evidence that discipleship would have resulted. In Mark 10:17-27 the rich young ruler turns to Jesus, but when the call to discipleship confronts him, he goes away sadly.

The call to be Jesus' disciple demands a total break with the past. Many times the disciple immediately left their families and their vocations (e.g. Mark 1:16-20; 2:14), and followed Jesus. Discipleship means entering into a lifelong relationship with Jesus. The disciple is not there merely to learn from the teacher but to share his whole life with him without reservation.
 
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hedrick

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Jesus uses save and salvation in two ways:
  • Someone who has been opposed to God's way of life being converted.
  • Someone who will be accepted in the final judgement.

By definition someone who is saved in the first sense is a disciple, since salvation means becoming a disciple.

The second depends upon what you think about non-Christians. Despite the impression you sometimes get, it appears that a majority of Christians accept that some non-Christians will be saved in that sense.

Now you get into terminology. Some speak of "anonymous Christians," people who are accepted by Christ though they're not externally Christians. One could argue that any non-Christians who are saved are disciples. I prefer to use the term for people who knowingly follow Christ. In that case I think people can be saved in the judgement who aren't disciples in this life.
 
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Wordkeeper

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Lets be frank, very few of us are disciples of Christ.

Counting the cost

Luke 14:27-33
27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
 
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Copperhead

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Well, all one has to do is look at the thief on the cross who asked Yeshua to remember him. From Yeshua's response, seems like a no brainer the thief was saved. No real time to follow some parameter set by others what constitutes a disciple. I think we run the risk of imposing what we think salvation is as opposed to what Yeshua clearly said it was. I believe that comes from mankind's general idea that the individual has to do something to gain salvation. It can stem from pride, that we can say "I did it" or "I am better than the other guy". The idea that it is a free gift to those that place their trust in the Messiah is foreign to our general way of thinking.
 
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Wordkeeper

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Well, all one has to do is look at the thief on the cross who asked Yeshua to remember him. From Yeshua's response, seems like a no brainer the thief was saved. No real time to follow some parameter set by others what constitutes a disciple. I think we run the risk of imposing what we think salvation is as opposed to what Yeshua clearly said it was. I believe that comes from mankind's general idea that the individual has to do something to gain salvation. It can stem from pride, that we can say "I did it" or "I am better than the other guy". The idea that it is a free gift to those that place their trust in the Messiah is foreign to our general way of thinking.

Faith is mistranslated as belief, when in the Ancient Near East, faith meant loyalty.

Disciples abandon mammon and serve God.

Different cases manifest this loyalty differently. Peter left everything to follow Christ. The rich young ruler did not, because for the rich it is more difficult to enter the kingdom of God than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. The thief exhibited his loyalty with saying good things about Christ.

Mark 9:38,39
38John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

The take away from this is:

To be saved:
1. Turn away from mammon.
2. Don't do disloyal stuff.
3. Ask for terms of peace.

To be a disciple:
1. Give up everything and follow Christ.
 
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