You are not a believer!

A disciple or believer is one who receives instruction from another and is persuaded of the truth or reality of some doctrine, person, or thing. Do you think that in all the years Jesus ministered He had only 12 disciples?

Jesus asked his disciples to do four things that churches and other training institutions rarely do. He asked them to abandon everything, to immerse themselves into a life of constant ministry, to depend on God and no one else for their resources, and to live in community.
In John 6:66, by their reactions to this radical command we can reduce Jesus’ followers into four categories:
1) The Curious
Curious disciples followed Jesus in fascination. They were intrigued by what He said. But when Jesus said to them, "Unless you are willing to affirm My total lordship in your life you cannot be My disciple or enter My Kingdom." Not willing to make a full commitment to Christ, "...many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him" (Jn. 6:66).
2) The Committed
In contrast, the Twelve showed that they were more than just followers: When Jesus asked them, "Will ye also go away?" Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Jn. 6:67-69). In other words, Peter said, "We're not the kind of disciples who are just curious; we're the kind who are committed. We know that You speak the truth."
3) The Convinced
These were the disciples who were intellectually convinced. Nicodemus is a classic illustration: Having listened to what Jesus said, and having seen what He did, Nicodemus came to Him by night and said, "You must be from God." He was intellectually convinced, but he didn't believe in Christ in the fullest sense then because he didn't forsake all to follow Him.
4) The Clandestine
There were some disciples like Joseph of Arimathea, who kept their belief a secret.
Which category would you classify yourself in? Why? There is a progression in the stages of discipleship. Which do you think occurs first? According to the parable of the sower, why do you think one cannot remain an intellectually convinced or a clandestine believer for very long? What will a committed believer give evidence of in his life? (Mt. 5:3-12; 13:23; Jn. 8:31) If you are not yet a committed believer, what is preventing you from being one? Find out if you don't know and make the necessary changes. If you are one, help someone you know who is in one of the other three categories to become more spiritually mature.