True disciples Archives • Page 3 of 3 • Knowing God and His Ways

Here is what inadequate faith in Jesus looks like.

A true Christian is a true disciple of Jesus. You cannot be a true Christian with the assurance of eternal life and at the same time refuse to be a true disciple of Christ.

The true disciple

Jesus knew that many people who followed him were not true disciples, but rather false disciples. Many believed in him in some sense, but not in the sense that resulted in their becoming true disciples. He knew their kind of belief fell short of being a saving faith.

John 8 tells of a group of people who began to believe in Jesus in an inadequate sense after hearing his teaching:

Jesus said, “‘He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:29–32, ESV)

So, Jesus knew that some of these people believed in him in a way that would not lead to abiding in his words. They might have believed true things, such as that Jesus was a prophet from God or that he was God’s son or that he truly performed miracles by the power of God. They gave assent to certain ideas about Jesus. But their faith did not rise to the level of turning their lives over to him and obeying his words. They did not believe in him as the one who had the right to mold their lives.

Only when they reached that sort of faith in Jesus would they truly become his disciples. And only then would they know the truth and be set free from sin by that truth. They had to believe in Jesus to the point of abiding in his words.

Surprise

It did not take long for Jesus to expose the inadequacy of their “belief” in him. In verse 33 they immediately objected to Jesus’s saying that they needed to be set free:

“They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free”?’” (John 8:33)

Jesus then explained that they are slaves to sin:

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” (John 8:34–36)

And then he jolts them with a shocking revelation:

“I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.” (John 8:37)

The revealer of hearts

These are the same people who moments ago were described as believing in Jesus, the same people Jesus urged to become true disciples. But now, just sentences later, he is revealing what the Father had revealed to him: that they harbored thoughts of killing Jesus. The reason they wanted to kill Jesus was, “My word finds no place in you.”

Jesus had told them they needed to abide in his words, and now he reveals they in fact have an active hostility toward his words. They will not allow his words to take root in their souls. They had some sort of belief in Jesus, but not a belief in him as an authoritative teacher whose words should be learned, believed, and obeyed. They saw Jesus as someone whose words should be sifted.

The time had come for Jesus to reveal to these “believers” the most shocking truth of all.

Who is your father?

John 8:38–44 says:

[Jesus said,] “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.”

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Jesus knew their hearts, as he knew the hearts of all (John 2:25). He knew they did not follow God and his truth, but rather Satan and his lies. They loved and preferred lies to truth. This is why they had no room for the teachings of Jesus. They would never abide in his words. They would never become true disciples. In some sense they believed in Jesus, but not in a saving sense.

Takeaway

Every one of us faces the same choice. Will we move beyond an inadequate faith to a saving faith? Belief is not enough if that belief does not include becoming a true disciple by abiding in the words of him who is the unique Son of God and the Lord of heaven and earth, who knows what is true and false, right and wrong, and who is the only way to God.

A disciple knows that God is jealous

For all who seek to Know God and His Ways, it is essential to understand one thing well: he requires first place in your life.

We see this in the Old Covenant in the 10 Commandments (see Exodus 20). God begins the 10 Commandments by insisting that Israel not have any other gods. He explains, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).

In fact, elsewhere God says his very name is Jealous: “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14 ESV).

So, this is fundamental to God’s relationship with human beings and with you; he requires primacy of place, he requires that he be first in your life without any competitors (such as family members, money, possessions, the world in general, and so on).

Is Jesus Jealous?

We see Jesus has the same jealousy when he insists on being first in our lives and that we be fully surrendered to him as true disciples.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24–25)

And, “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.” (Matthew 10:37)

Most people who call themselves Christians in America do not understand this. I was speaking recently with a woman whom I had just met while doing sidewalk outreach, and I asked her if she was a Christian. She answered yes. Then I asked, Are you a disciple of Jesus? She answered no.

Notice her assumption. She believed someone could be a Christian without being a disciple of Jesus. She knew she was not obeying Jesus, and she knew she was not truly following him. She believed in him, she gave assent to truths about Jesus such as that he is the son of God, that he died for our sins and rose from the dead. But she knew well she was following the world instead of Jesus. Nevertheless, she felt she could be a real Christian on the way to heaven.

A Christian but not a disciple?

That clearly is not true. Jesus makes numerous statements that should destroy the hope of anyone who claims to be a Christian but is not living as a true disciple of the Lord.

For example, Jesus said:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

“But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:46–49 ESV)

Notice the common feature of the two people in this parable. They both listen to the words of Jesus. They both hear his words. However, one person hears the Lord’s words and does them, and the other person hears them and does not do them.

The flood

There is another common element in the story for both people. That is the flood that rises and breaks against their houses. This is where the common features end. When the stream breaks against the one man’s house his house stands because it was built on heeding the words of Jesus. The other man’s house collapses when the stream strikes it because though he listened to the words of Jesus he ignored them.

Notice how the result is described in the disobedient man’s life: his house “fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” That is a description that Jesus would never use to describe someone whose soul is saved. No true Christian ends up with the collapse of her life. No true Christian ends up with his house in great ruin.

The house, of course, represents one’s life. Everyone is building a house. Your house is made of beliefs, values, behaviors, thoughts, priorities, habits, actions, words, relationships, goals, accomplishments, failures, sins, good works.

The flood and stream that sooner or later break against it is Judgement Day, when every person must stand before God and give an account.

Your foundation

How well are you building? Are you digging deep and building on the Rock? Or are you building on the ground without a foundation—the world system which is indifferent to Christ and rebels against him?

So, this is God’s nature, and these are his ways. He must have first place in your life, and if he has that place then there will be obedience in you. You will be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. If you have never settled that with the Lord, do it now. And then write me about your decision.