The word “believer” has different meanings in today’s society. From pop culture to Christianity, the phrase “I’m a believer” is fairly common. But in the Christian faith, what’s the difference between a believer and a follower? How you answer that question can say a lot about how you view your faith. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells those who want to be His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. All people who profess the name of Christ are called to follow Him—not simply believe. That's the difference. Believing in Jesus is a start, but following Jesus is how we show the world we are who we say we are, especially when life is difficult or we face persecution.
Afshin Ziafat learned this lesson during one of the toughest moments of his life. Afshin is the pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, but he grew up as a Muslim. He met Jesus as a teenager and soon realized he had a choice to make. Would he cave to the pressures of his family or continue following Jesus?
In this episode of the Even You podcast, Afshin shares his story of coming to faith. Continue reading to learn the rest of his story, or watch the full episode below.
I was born in Houston, but I was born into a Muslim family. My family's from Iran. When I was 2, we moved back to Iran. When I was 6 in the late ’70s, an Islamic revolution hit that country, and the Shah, the king of Iran, was overthrown by a Muslim cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. My father, being a doctor, had the means to get us out, and he moved us back to Houston when I was in the middle of first grade when I was 6 years old.
And it was an ordinary person—a second-grade tutor. My family didn't even know she was Christian, but they were paying this lady to teach me the English language because when I came back in the middle of first grade, I didn't speak English. I only spoke Farsi, which is the language of Iran. And this lady poured herself into me by teaching me English by reading me books. And then in the second grade, she said, “Afshin, I've been reading all of these books to you. Now I want to hand you the most important book you'll ever get in your life.” And she handed me a small New Testament. She said, “You're not going to understand this book now, but promise me that you'll read it when you're older.” So she planted a seed in my life in the second grade that wouldn't come to fruition until 10 years later.
By the way, she gave me the New Testament during the Iran hostage crisis. We leave Iran and come back to Houston, thinking we're escaping the turmoil there. We had no idea what we were going to get into in America. A lot of Americans turned against my family because we're from Iran. There was a group of Americans held hostage in Iran for over a year. I only share that to say that had any other American given me that New Testament, I would have probably thrown it away because I didn't trust many Americans at the time. But it came from the lady who was loving me and pouring herself into me. I always say you have to earn the right to be heard. She did it by the way she loved me. So, I held on to it. I took it home, threw it in my house, and grew up in a Muslim home. My dad was the president of the Islamic Medical Society in Houston, so I was taught the five pillars of faith of Islam and that Jesus is just a prophet.
In my senior year in high school, I took the Lord's name in vain on a basketball court, and a guy said, “Hey, that Jesus you just said, He's my God.” And I said, “No, He's not. He's your prophet.” That's what Muslims believe. And he goes, “No, no, no, He's my God.” I thought the guy was nuts. So, I go home, I'm flipping through the TV stations, and I come to a historical documentary about Jesus. It wasn't even a Christian show. At the end of the historical documentary, it said that some worship Jesus as God, and they're called Christians. I said, “Wait, that's what that guy said.” And the Lord put that New Testament on my mind that the second-grade tutor had given me. When she gave it to me, she said, “You’re not going to understand this, but promise me you'll read it when you're older.” So, I went looking all over my room and found it at the bottom of my closet and opened it up. The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, starts off, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham … (Matthew 1:1, NASB).” Being a Muslim, I knew Abraham, so that drew me in. I read the whole book of Matthew in that one sitting. I didn't understand it all at first, but that's what started my journey towards Christ.
I was reading the Bible and hiding it from my family. I'd be under the covers in my bed with a flashlight so my parents wouldn't walk in and figure out what I was doing. I finally got to the book of Romans, and I read about a righteousness that comes apart from the law, apart from what I do. It says that this righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22). I thought I was just a Muslim because I'm from Iran, and you're a Christian because you're from America. But God’s righteousness is for anyone who believes. A couple of weeks after that, I was invited to an evangelistic event, and the Lord prepared my heart for that moment when I went, heard the gospel, and became a Christian.
But I didn't understand the cost of following Christ—that Jesus says you have to be willing to deny yourself, “‘take up their cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23),’” and be willing to lose your life in order to find it. I'm ashamed to say this, but I hid my faith from my dad for a while. I would sneak out to go to church. I'd intercept mail from the church I was attending and hide my Bible. Finally, my dad found out. He'd seen my Bible and other evidences in my life. He sits me down and he goes, “What's going on?” I said, “Dad, I'm a Christian.” He said, “No, you're not. You're a Muslim and you'll always be a Muslim.” I said, “Dad, the Bible says if I trust in Christ for my salvation, then I'm a Christian, and I do.” My dad said, “All right, if you're going to be a Christian, then you can no longer be my son.”
That's when it first nailed me. Here's a God I've known for a year and a half. Here's my dad, who I’ve known for my entire upbringing. Everything in me, my flesh, wanted to say, “OK, forget it. I’ll be a Muslim.” But I think it was the power of God speaking through me when I opened my mouth and said, “Dad, if I have to choose between you and Jesus, then I choose Jesus. And if I have to choose between my earthly father and my Heavenly Father, then I choose my Heavenly Father.” My father disowned me on the spot.
The definitive moment of my life was when I went up to my room after that and said, “God, how could you do this to me?” The Lord led me to a passage of Scripture where Jesus says, “‘So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33, ESV).’” Here's what really blows my mind. Jesus says, “‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father … (Matthew 10:34-35a, ESV).’” I'm reading this right after this happened with my dad. And it says, “‘And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:36-39, ESV).’”
That's when I really understood what it means to be a follower of Jesus and not just merely believe the right things. If you really believe the right things about Jesus, then you're going to deny yourself. Belief is going to lead to denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him. And for me, it was letting go of my dad and his plans for my life. God is worthy to be trusted with that.
On the Even You podcast, we want to empower ordinary people to say, “Yes!” to extraordinary purpose. Hear how everyday believers are using their gifts to have an eternal impact on people’s lives around the world. Learn more, share, and listen to the podcast now!