Tag: discipleship

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How to Get Answers to Your Questions about the Bible

To understand the Bible, we need God’s wisdom

In October of 2023 I began preaching a series of sermons and writing in this blog on the marks of a true disciple of Jesus. The series resulted from my devotional reading of the four Gospels, in particular the Gospel of Luke. I was struck by how many times Jesus says certain qualities must be found in those who want to be saved by him and how high he raised the bar. Eventually, compelled by what I felt Jesus required, I developed a list of 15 marks of a true disciple of Jesus.

Around this time I also read two books that refined my theology and deepened my confidence in my understanding of the nature of faith and works: What Is Saving Faith? Reflections on Receiving Christ as a Treasure, by John Piper, and Free Grace Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel, by Wayne Grudem. Both authors taught that true faith in Christ necessarily results in a changed heart and life. These changes do not save us; only the righteousness of Christ received as a gift of God’s grace through faith in Christ can do that. But true faith always results in the necessary works Jesus requires of us. As Martin Luther famously said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

I concluded that unless these marks are present in the life of a believer, he or she is not a true Christian. In other words, if you are not a disciple of Jesus, you are not a Christian, no matter what you call yourself. Certainly no one is a perfect disciple, and every believer sins. We begin the Christian life as a babe in Christ, with many things to learn, many thoughts that need to be renewed, and many evil habits to outgrow. True Christians mature at different rates over the entire course of their lives. Some true Christians will stumble and fail in serious ways. Nevertheless to some degree these 15 marks of a true disciple, as taught by Jesus, will appear in the lives of those who have true, living faith in Jesus.

Second thoughts

I taught that series with conviction in our church for four months, and wrote on it in this blog over the same period. However, sometime after finishing that series I began to question myself. Many pastors and theologians would disagree with what I taught in that series. Was I raising the bar too high? In effect was I preaching a gospel of salvation by works?

The more I thought about it the more concerned I became. To preach salvation by works is to preach a false gospel and to become a false teacher. That is serious, deadly business, as the Book of Galatians makes clear. I presented my series to a respected pastor and asked him to read it and evaluate my theology. To my relief, he gave his stamp of approval.

Still, wanting further reassurance, I soon put the question on my list of prayer requests for wisdom, writing, “Does my teaching about the marks of a true disciple agree with the true gospel, or is it a false gospel? Is it a false gospel to say that a believer is not saved unless he is a true disciple?”

Questions answered

A few months later I received what I now regard as the definitive answer to my request for wisdom. On February 21st, 2025, I was fasting and praying in my office, and for some reason my eyes settled on a book that I have owned for at least 13 years but had only partially read: Magnifying God in Christ, a New Testament theology by Thomas R. Schreiner. Over the years my respect for Schreiner as a theologian has grown, and for some reason I pulled the book off the shelf. I opened to the table of contents and read. I saw that chapter 10 was titled Faith and Obedience, and it occurred to me this might say something pertaining to my burning question.

As I read, it felt as though the chapter was written directly to my question and that it affirmed my conclusions. Schreiner’s book felt like a God-send. (Caveat: I do not know if Schreiner, Piper, or Grudem would affirm my conclusions as I worded them, or my list of 15 marks, but I understand their writing to support what I wrote.)

Praying for wisdom about theological questions and biblical interpretation has become one of my most cherished categories for inquiring of God. I believe this was one more example of God’s answering my prayers for wisdom. When I pray for wisdom, God leads me to answers in providential ways, as he led Moses to the burning bush.

Learn to pray for wisdom in all things from my book, Know, available on Amazon.
praying for wisdom
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The Fifth Mark of a True Disciple of Jesus

True disciples bear the fruit of love

sign of faith is love

True disciples bear the fruit of love

Love is the inevitable fruit of true, living faith in Jesus Christ.

The apostle John says this unequivocally: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7–8, ESV)

Thus, the person who lacks love does not have living faith in Jesus, is not a disciple of Jesus, and is not a Christian, no matter what he claims.

Christian stalwarts?

This is so even if people show many other signs of faith. Notice the impressive list of qualifications of church members in the ancient city of Ephesus, who nevertheless were on the verge of being rejected by Christ. In Revelation 2:2–5, Jesus warns them:

“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Hatred

On the other end of the scale, the sin of persistently hating another Christian is a sign of being a person who is in the darkness rather than the light:

First John 2:9–11 says, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

This is a level of darkness incompatible with a true Christian.

The apostle John confirms this in 1 John 3:14–15: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

The sinner’s ultimate question

A Bible expert once asked Jesus the most important question pointblank: What must I do to be saved? Luke 10:25–28 says:

“Behold, a lawyer stood up to put [Jesus] to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’”

Does this mean a person can be saved by obeying the two most important commands of the Law without receiving Jesus? No, the rest of the New Testament makes that clear. No one can perfectly keep these commandments, and therefore everyone needs the salvation that comes through faith in Christ (Romans 3:10–26).

Nevertheless, Jesus’ response to the man’s question reveals the sure mark of having eternal life: love for both God and people.

As the apostle John confirms: “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3–4, ESV)

Further confirmation

If you need further confirmation that love is the essential sign of true and living faith in Jesus, read on:

The apostle John writes: “(10) By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (11) For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. … (16) By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. … (23) And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (24) Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 3:10–11, 16, 23–24 ESV)

In John 15:8–17, Jesus said: “(8) By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (9) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (10) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love…. (12) “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (13) Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (14) You are my friends if you do what I command you…. (17) These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

In John 13:34–35, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Conclusion

Without question, love is the inevitable fruit of true, living faith in Jesus Christ—faith that receives him as Lord, Savior, and ultimate treasure.

If your love is lacking, what you need to do is not to try harder to love others; rather, you need to truly receive Christ as Lord, Savior, and ultimate treasure. Repent of your sins. Then give yourself to loving him. Ask him to pour his love into your heart through the Holy Spirit. And out of love for him, obey his command to love your neighbors and your fellow believers as yourself.

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Can You Be a Christian and Not a Disciple?

A disciple knows that God is jealous

disciple

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.