Is to be a disciple different from being saved?

This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 1994.

I think I understand why some Bible teachers maintain that to be saved is one thing, and to be a disciple is another; but I think that if we make that distinction we must be very careful what we mean by it.

In John 8:31–32 Christ remarks to those Jews who believed on him, 'If you continue in my word, then shall you be truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free'. These Jews, as I say, had professed to believe on him, but, as the following verses make clear, they were not prepared to be his disciples.

But what did that imply? Did it mean that, while they were not prepared to be his disciples, they were nevertheless true believers? No, certainly not. Our Lord proceeds to tell them that they were not true believers, and never had been. They were, in fact, of their father, the devil (see John 8:44).

This shows us that the mark of a true believer is, among many other things, that they are prepared to continue in Christ's word, learning it and obeying it. Anyone who persistently refuses thus to continue in Christ's word raises the question as to whether they are really a believer at all.

Yours very sincerely,