The Conditions of Discipleship

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also . . . . And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me . . . . So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple —Luke 14:26-27, 33

If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him. We may admire, respect, and revere Him, but we cannot love Him on our own. The only One who truly loves the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit, and it is He who has “poured out in our hearts” the very “love of God” (Romans 5:5). Whenever the Holy Spirit sees an opportunity to glorify Jesus through you, He will take your entire being and set you ablaze with glowing devotion to Jesus Christ.

The Christian life is a life characterized by true and spontaneous creativity. Consequently, a disciple is subject to the same charge that was leveled against Jesus Christ, namely, the charge of inconsistency. But Jesus Christ was always consistent in His relationship to God, and a Christian must be consistent in his relationship to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to strict, unyielding doctrines. People pour themselves into their own doctrines, and God has to blast them out of their preconceived ideas before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ.

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作門徒的條件

人到我這裡來，若不愛我勝過……就不能作我的門徒。 （路十四26、27、33）

耶穌基督說人生中最親密的關係，若與他的要求相衝突的話，就必須立刻選擇順服他。作門徒的意思，就是把自己誠意地奉獻給一位——我們的主耶穌基督。對一個有位格的主奉獻，與對一個原則或運動獻身，並不相同。我們的主從沒有宣告一項運動，他宣告的乃是叫人對他個別的獻身。作門徒就是做主忠誠的愛奴。我們這些自稱基督徒的人，許多根本就不專心愛主。除非聖靈把愛澆灌給人，否則世上沒有一個人懂得熱誠愛主。我們也許會仰慕他、尊敬他，但卻不會愛他。唯一愛耶穌的就是聖靈​​，是他把神的愛傾瀉入我們心中。聖靈一見有榮耀耶穌的機會，就會佔有你的心、你整個的人，使你在主耶穌的熱愛中燃燒發光。

基督徒的生命，都蓋上了[自然的道德創造力]的印記，所以門徒像主耶穌一樣被人指責為：矛盾不一。其實，主耶穌時刻對神都是如一。信徒也該對神的兒子始終如一，而不是在死硬的教條上持守。人把自己傾進教條里去，神卻要把人的偏見炸毀，叫她們懂得專心愛他。

祈禱◆我何等需要看見你那威嚴、大能和榮耀的作為！我們所有人都只需要你的觸摸，使一切事物都變成嶄新而奇妙，並且抗衡任何不屬於你的影響和標準。願你的同在使我們得以潔淨和滿有能力。