The Fifth Mark of a True Disciple of Jesus

True disciples bear the fruit of 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.

April 24, 2023May 11, 2023

Purity of Heart

Part Two, of Eight Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error

If lights are out in the heart, then lights are out in the mind.

If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. Last week we began an examination of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching. The first quality is Devotion to the True God. The second quality is purity of heart.

2. Purity of heart

Discerning truth and error can seem like the domain of rational thinking alone, but the mind usually follows the heart. Desire steers belief. Evil desires and feelings lead into darkness, and darkness makes reason unreliable. Therefore to recognize error, guard the purity of your heart.

A pure heart depends especially on the illumination of love. John wrote, “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” (1 John 2:9–11).

John wrote these important words about love in a letter (1 John) devoted to the subject of distinguishing truth from error. This confirms again the connection between mind and heart. If lights are out in the heart, then lights are out in the mind. If our hearts are full of lingering bitterness, hatred, anger, and unforgiveness, we will have a hard time knowing the truth. We will be in darkness.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Guard your mind by regularly examining your heart, confessing sin, forgiving others, loving even your enemies, and sincerely repenting.

Next week, we come to the third quality of your soul that makes you immune to error.

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022

Truth #13 – Faith Is Completed through Love

You can be strong in faith but missing something crucial. The answer for incomplete faith is love.

In one of the best known chapters of the Bible, the Love Chapter, the apostle Paul writes a shocking truth about faith. “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 [ESV here and elsewhere]).

If the Word of God says you are nothing, that should get your attention. Faith that can remove mountains seems like something significant; but God says if the person exercising this faith does not have the loving motive of seeking the good of others, then he is nothing. Thus his faith somehow misses its divine purpose. His faith is powerful but misguided, powerful but in the end producing nothing of lasting importance.

The fix for incomplete faith

Therefore, according to this verse, faith and love must be connected. Faith needs to be exercised with love.

It is not that faith cannot do anything without love. Paul says hypothetically that an unloving person can have enough faith to move mountains.

So there is more to faith than getting results; there is getting results for the right reason. Without that, even great faith is flawed. And if it is flawed, it will not be established. Our goal is to be established in faith.

So if you want to be established in faith, if you want to have enduringly strong faith, if you want to have faith that can move not only one mountain but many mountains, then you also need to be a loving person. A Christian who does not love others in a Christlike way has a flaw both in character and faith that will in one way or another negate the good fruits of that faith in the long run.

At least three other passages in the New Testament also make a connection between faith and love.

Galatians 5:6

In Galatians the apostle Paul argues at length against the idea that to be saved a person must not only believe in Jesus but also be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. As Paul nears the end of the letter, he sums up his argument: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

What counts is faith working through love. That sounds like what we saw above in 1 Corinthians 13. But here Paul is not talking about faith that moves mountains; rather, he refers to saving faith—belief in the gospel message. When a person sincerely believes that message, he or she will follow Jesus’s teaching to love God and people.

Still, although the application differs, we again see that faith and love are related. Faith needs to issue in love.

James 2:14–26

James 2:14–26 makes the case that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (v. 17).

Again, if God tells you that your faith is dead, that should get your attention. Something that is dead is flawed. Selah. Dead faith is missing something.

James says what dead faith is missing is works, and by works he explicitly has in mind loving works: “ ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (vv. 14–16)

Later in this section it says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (v. 18)

Two verses later, “Faith apart from works is useless” (v. 20).

Referring to Abraham, the father of all who believe, James says, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works” (v. 22).

Although James never uses the word love in this passage, he clearly has love in view. Like Galatians 5:6 above, James is referring to faith that saves the soul, not the faith that moves mountains through prayer, but the point is still that faith is related to love. It is in fact “completed” by love. Such faith finds and fulfills its purpose.

Is faith that moves mountains similar to faith that saves one’s soul? Are both “completed” by love? First Corinthians 13:2, which we examined at the outset, suggests they are.

James 4:3

Later in his epistle, James talks about people whose faith apparently is flawed. He says they are praying, but their prayers are not being answered. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

In other words, they are praying and I assume believing, but their conduct is marked by the absence of love. Here is the contentious context: James 4:1–3 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? ² You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

They are being utterly selfish. So this is a concrete example of unloving behavior that negates faith.

Can people pray and believe God for something yet be completely selfish? Certainly. People pray for what they want. Sometimes people want things for good and godly reasons; sometimes people want something for selfish and unloving reasons. Faith is established when it is completed by good, godly, and loving motives.

Takeaway

This strong connection between faith and love suggests that if I want to have great faith I also need to obey our Lord’s command to have great love (Mark 12:30–31).

If your faith is not working, could it be that you are regularly relating to one or more people in an unloving way? Could it be that your faith is flawed by selfishness, greed, pride, selfish ambition?

The pure motive of love for God and people leads to a completed faith that God delights to bless.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

February 26, 2018February 3, 2018

When You Long for Happiness

All people want lasting happiness. But we find sustained joy in the place least expected.

In this series on practicing God’s presence we have seen the recurring idea of joy. There is a deep connection between practicing God’s presence and joy.

The pursuit of lasting happiness

This is an important subject to explore further because happiness is what we’re all after. We pursue joy in innumerable ways, but in the end that is what we’re seeking. We do things because they make us happy.

So what we need to be convinced of is that practicing God’s presence leads to the ultimate experience of joy. The people on earth who practice God’s presence best are the ones who have the most happiness.

In particular if you struggle with sadness or depression, learning to practice God’s presence better is crucial for you.

What King David learned

David, speaking of himself in the third person, says in Psalm 21:6–7, “You make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.”

David here refers to “the joy of your presence.” He says God’s presence makes him glad. And then he explains further: “For the king trusts in the LORD.” There is a connection between God’s presence and our trust in him. When we practice God’s presence we trust him more.

Security

One of the strongest drives most people have is the pursuit of security. We live in a dangerous world. We can lose anything and everything we value in a moment. Our health, job, money to pay for housing and food and other needs, family, friendships and so on—all are terribly vulnerable. And we know it, so we worry, fear, and feel insecure.

But notice David’s sense of security: “through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.” David says with perfect confidence that he shall not be moved.

And he bases that confidence in God’s steadfast love. Ultimately your sense of security can only come from knowing God’s steadfast love, his covenant-based love, for you. It comes from knowing that steadfast love not just with your head, but with your heart, because trust is a heart thing.

And you know God’s steadfast love with your heart when you practice his presence.

Try it today. Practice God’s presence faithfully throughout the day and see if by the end of the day you do not have more trust in God’s steadfast love, a greater sense of security, and ultimately more joy.

Those who walk closest to God are the happiest people in the world.

February 5, 2018February 3, 2018

After God’s Heart

God’s heart is important for those who want to experience his presence. God has heart. If we are to practice God’s presence, he must have our hearts.

God said, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22)

What does it mean that David was after God’s heart?

It means David pleased him and thereby inspired his affection. The direction of David’s heart pleased God’s heart. David was directed toward God in love, trust, and obedience.

Examples

Here are some of the things David wrote that demonstrate this:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:1–2)

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:1–2)

“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You” (Psalm 63:1)

“I trust in You, O LORD, I say, ‘You are my God.’” (Psalm 31:14)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

David came as close to obeying the great commandment as anyone ever has: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

As a result, he moved God’s heart.

God’s heart

That God would speak in this way reveals something ultra-important about him. He has heart. He feels. God has affections. He is love. He cares what we do and think and say and seek and love.

This explains why he describes himself as a jealous God (see Exo. 20:5), because he wants our love and responds to our love or lack of it.

He delights in those who love, trust, and obey him.

Our obedience

Obedience is crucial to being a person after God’s heart. Immediately following God’s statement of affection for David, he added the explanation: David “will do all my will.”

That was not incidental because the situation that prompted God to commend David was King Saul’s disobedience. God had told Saul what to do and how to do it, and Saul had violated the commandment. He had not been careful to obey.

The prophet Samuel rebuked him, “Now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14)

Our hearts

Those who successfully practice God’s presence understand the central importance of the heart. They understand God’s heart. They understand God wants their heart. It’s all about the heart.

So to practice God’s presence is to monitor our hearts. Whom do we love supremely? Trust and obey supremely? Desire supremely? Delight in supremely? To whom do we ascribe ultimate value and surrender what we most value? For whom do we live?

All this rests on a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, for no one can please God apart from his beloved Son (John 14:6; 1 John 2:23). The most important and necessary way we walk after God’s heart is to believe and love his Son, of whom the Father spoke the ultimate words of affection: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17).