The Tenth Mark of a True Disciple of Jesus

True disciples repent of wrongdoing

I recently saw an article that said, “About 70 percent of marriages start with cohabitation.” That is, the man and woman live together and presumably have sexual relations before they get married.

Compare that statistic with a Pew Research Center study in 2022 which said 64 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christian.

That suggests a large percentage of people who call themselves Christian are living together and having sexual relations before marriage. In other words, they are not following biblical teaching about sexual morality. Or to put it bluntly, they are living in sin.

Still, are they Christians? Are they true disciples of Jesus? Are they on their way to heaven?

Chiseled in stone

Second Timothy 2:19 says, “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’”

In this verse the apostle Paul envisions a large public building with words chiseled into a stone in the foundation. There are two mottos or certainties chiseled into the stones. One is, “The Lord knows those who are his.” We humans cannot identify with certainty who the real Christians are. People can fool us. Someone can attend church services every week and talk about the Bible and pray much, but in the end be shown to have lived a double life. We can even fool ourselves.

But God knows who the true Christians are. All along he sees through the deception and duplicity. He knows the heart.

The second truth chiseled into the foundation stone of God’s building is, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” In other words, true Christians must repent of ongoing iniquity. There may be a struggle, but the true Christian must fight against temptation and eventually prevail over sinful habits.

The implication of these two sayings being chiseled into the same building is that the person who calls himself a Christian but indulges iniquity is someone that God knows is not a true Christian. The Lord knows those who are his, and those who complacently practice iniquity are not among them.

Where else do we see this idea?

Does that interpretation agree with the teaching of the rest of the New Testament? Consider these words of Jesus:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21–23)

Moreover, note these words from the apostle Paul, the champion of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19–21 ESV) Those who do “not inherit the kingdom of God” are not saved; they do not end up in heaven.

In another letter Paul writes: “You may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:5–6 ESV)

Self-deception and morality

Let’s turn to another significant New Testament writer, the apostle John. He says:

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:4–9 ESV)

Elsewhere, in Revelation, John writes: “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (21:8, ESV)

What we claim versus what we do

Finally, consider 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, where the apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (ESV)

Therefore, no matter what people claim about their belief in Jesus, if they are complacently practicing evil, they are not true disciples of Jesus, and as far as we can know they are not a true Christian. Of course, God is the final judge on the human soul, but according to what the Bible says we can assume they are not true Christians.

No one is perfect

Still, we must recognize that all true disciples are in the process of sanctification. None of us is yet perfect. No one will display all the marks of a true disciple at all times and in every situation. True disciples do fail. We have our ups and downs. This is especially true of new believers and young believers.

However, this is crucial: when true disciples do fail and become aware of it, they confess it to God, and they repent sincerely, as King David did when confronted by the prophet Nathan regarding his sins with Bathsheba (See 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25 and Psalm 51). They do not live contentedly as a false Christian—lacking the marks of a true disciple.

That is the difference between a true disciple and a false Christian. False Christians are not troubled by their sins, they have no intention of becoming a true disciple, they do not confess their sins or sincerely repent of them before God, and they do not pray earnestly for God to help them be true disciples in the areas where they are lacking. They take God’s forgiveness for granted and contentedly sin and live in a spiritually lukewarm condition.

Therefore, I conclude with this exhortation from Jesus:

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Luke 13:24 ESV)

December 4, 2023November 30, 2023

The Necessity of Fruitfulness

If we fail to bear fruit, are we truly Christians?

The Bible says many things to comfort and assure us of our acceptance with God. The Bible also says many things that emphasize the conditional nature of our relationship with him. These Scriptures warn us we need to do certain things or repent of certain sins to have a relationship with God.

All these verses in the Bible are true, and we need to hold on to both the assurances and the warnings. They do harmonize. But most people will focus on one or the other. Some people focus on the verses of assurance and rarely think about where they fall short of God’s will. Others focus on the warnings, and they lack confidence in God’s love for them and acceptance of them through Jesus Christ.

We need to maintain both sides of the equation.

In this post we will consider an important warning.

Warnings from Jesus

You may have noticed that Jesus gives many warnings. It seems to me he gives more warnings than assurances. That suggests that we need them. Here is one of his warnings given in the form of a parable:

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6–9 ESV)

The unmistakable point of this short parable is that farmers require fruit from their trees. Farmers are in business. They do not farm for recreation or entertainment; they need to make a profit. So, they maximize the use of the ground, planting as many fruit-bearing trees as their land will allow. They cut down barren trees and replace them with trees that they hope will bear much fruit.

What fruit does God look for?

So, what spiritual point is Jesus making?

The context of this parable is important. In the preceding verse, Luke 13:5, Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

So, the fruit God looks for in us is repentance. God seeks increasing Christlikeness and decreasing worldliness, more fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) and less works of the flesh (Galatians 5:16–21).

What about the barren?

What is striking about this parable is the readiness of the farmer to cut down the barren tree. There is no sentimentality. He has given the tree three years, and that is enough time for fruitfulness to begin.

Yet, surely Jesus is not saying our merciful God removes people who regard themselves as Christians yet fail to repent, grow, and show the fruit of walking with Jesus Christ. Surely Jesus is not saying our gracious God is this businesslike in his evaluation of supposed believers.

Does God really remove barren believers? Other Scriptures explicitly say yes. Jesus elsewhere said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1–2 ESV)

Hebrews 6:7–8 says, “Land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”

Fruit matters

The parable of Jesus about the barren tree is an important warning for every person who calls himself or herself a Christian yet does not live as a true disciple of Jesus (see John 8:31–32). A true disciple of Jesus follows him daily, learns, and obeys his words. A true disciple is devoted preeminently to him, not to the things of this world. A true disciple bears the fruit of repentance and obedience.

There are other marks of a true disciple, and that is the theme of this series. Stay tuned—and be true.

July 20, 2020July 2, 2020

Why God Requires Repentance

God’s call for repentance perfectly fits his nature.

What did the gospel preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus have in common? Matthew describes the initial message of each man:

John the Baptist — “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 3:1–2, ESV).

Jesus — “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 4:17).

At the onset of a new era, the everlasting era of the glorious kingdom of God, each man preached the same one-word imperative: repent.

That was not a new idea. Repent was an important, frequently used word under the Old Mosaic Covenant. Yet here was that word again, on the lips of John the Baptist and Jesus, as the gospel preaching of the New Covenant begins. Repent.

It continued in the preaching of Paul, the apostle of grace, who said he testified “both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

What does this tell us about God?

Repentance and truth

First, it reminds us that the forgiveness and mercy offered through Jesus does not compromise God’s concern for truth one iota.

The most searing display of repentance under the Old Covenant was that of King David after his adultery with Bathsheba and cold-hearted murder of loyal Uriah. In the throes of repentance, David wrote Psalm 51, the expression of repentance without equal in the history of literature, and it is painful to read. Verse 6 records one key concept recalled by David, “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being.”

Repentance is a central theme in the good news of Jesus because when God offers amazing grace he never strays a fraction of a degree from his perfect commitment to absolute truth. We cannot be saved apart from telling the truth about God and the truth about ourselves. Our heart must believe and our lips must confess that we have sinned against a holy God and against his holy laws.

We must acknowledge that we are in the wrong and he is in the right. We cannot undo the wrongs of our lives, but we can fully embrace the truth. Although we have been bad, the truth is good; and because the truth is good, repentance is good. In the embrace of repentance we actually become like God in his pursuit of truth.

Repentance and righteousness

Second, the centrality of repentance in the message of the gospel tells us that the grace of God offered in Christ does not compromise God’s concern for righteousness and holiness.

In Jesus, God offers the forgiveness of sins, not a license for lawlessness or a pass on purity. The love-based commands of God still matter because they are right, because they reflect the unchanging heart of a righteous, holy God.

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14)

These verses describe true repentance and the connection of repentance to the grace of God.

Repentance and light

Third, the centrality of repentance in the gospel teaches us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

A day is coming when God will shine the light on everything now in darkness.

Jesus warned, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:1–3).

The apostle Paul speaks of a coming day when “God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:16).

Hiding and ignoring our sins is an act of walking in darkness. Repentance is an act of coming into the light.

Therefore both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God: Repent.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen sinners prefer the cover of darkness.

God’s way: God saves sinners by bringing them into the light of his holy truth and giving them the grace of repentance. Praise to God for his light, truth, righteousness, and holiness! All praise to God that his gospel does not compromise these in the least! Eternal praise to God that his grace does not foster moral darkness, falsehood, or wickedness.

Life principle: Sinners embrace a holy God through repentance and faith. Through repentance we find life, joy, and peace in Jesus Christ.

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)

November 11, 2019November 1, 2019

Righteous Love

God’s righteous love never violates righteousness and justice.

Imagine a father-and-sons building company. Jason Smith, the father, is a master carpenter who employs his three sons building houses. Jason dearly loves his three sons, but he has a soft spot in particular for the middle son Allen. When Allen was a child, he nearly died in a car accident, and ever since then his father has had a difficult time saying no to him.

Jason does not toss up houses overnight. He refuses to work for any developer who wants to construct inferior buildings. He is a stickler for using quality materials and for following city building codes to the letter.

And therefore a home built by Jason Smith and sons is a masterpiece. No crooked walls or corners, no plumbing that breaks six months after moving in, no surprising leaks in the roof during an extraordinary rainfall, no cheap light fixtures that blink and develop shorts, no seepage in the basement, no cracks in the cement, no cold rooms in winter. When Jason Smith builds a house, a homeowner gets a perfect home, a dream home to be proud of and safe in. An investment for a lifetime and an inheritance for one’s family.

Trouble

Over the course of time, Allen befriends some other builders in town who are his age. They hang out more and more. Surprisingly, given Allen’s upbringing, his new friends are not master builders. In fact, they are greedy builders whose top priority is making fast money, not quality homes. They bend rules. They break building codes. They bribe building inspectors. They make big money, and eventually bitter enemies.

Then an economic downturn comes to town, and the construction business is hit hard. Developers are building few homes. Contracts are tough to come by, even for Jason Smith and Sons.

A quick fix

One day Allen surprises his father with a suggestion. “Dad, I think we can get more business if we cut a few corners.”

“What kind of corners do you mean, Son?”

“Well, Dad, let’s face it. Our bids can’t compete with other builders.”

“That’s true. We can’t beat the bids of builders who are breaking the rules and getting away with it. But that’s only true for the short term.”

“I know that, Dad, but we have to deal with reality in the short term too. These are hard times. Until this economic recession ends, I think we need to save money by using lower quality materials and turning out homes on a faster schedule. You’re secure financially and can weather this downturn; I can’t. I need the steady income.”

“I’ll lend you money.”

“No, I’m not going to take handouts.”

“Allen, you know how I feel about this. But let me think it over for a few days.”

For three days, Jason Smith agonizes over what to do. He barely sleeps. His every instinct says to stay the course and do what’s right. But he can’t find the will to say no to Allen. He can’t bear to see him and his wife and children going through a hard time.

Finally he calls Allen. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he says, “All right, Son. Only until this recession ends, we’ll do it your way.”

Righteous love

In this example, we see a father who does what he feels is wrong for the sake of someone he loves. God never does that. God never compromises on righteousness and justice for the sake of love.

Scripture says, “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” (Jeremiah 9:24, ESV).

This Scripture is one of many showing that God’s love, righteousness, and justice are inseparably woven together, like a handmade rug with horizontal and vertical threads.

Scripture says of the Messiah, “A throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness” (Isaiah 16:5).

God’s love never violates righteousness. His love is always a righteous love.

What does it mean to love righteously, to love in righteousness, with righteousness, for righteousness?

Wicked love

Consider the opposite: wicked love. For an extreme example, think of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. They had a worldly love that cooperated in doing wrong. Together they fostered idolatry in Israel. Together they murdered, stole, and oppressed the poor, as when they murdered a neighbor who would not sell his field to them and then claimed the land.

When love is evil and worldly, relationships are built on sinning together, with two or more people bonded by their mutual enjoyment of and pursuit of evil. One of the most commonplace forms of wicked love is two people bonded together in a relationship of sexual sin. Even more common are friendships built on sins of the tongue such as gossip and slander.

God only does what is right

Righteous love means God’s love always does what is right, not wrong, follows what is right, not wrong, pursues what is right, not wrong. When love is righteous, it is concerned about right and wrong, not primarily about feelings. Feelings follow righteousness, rather than righteousness following feelings. Feelings guide at times—feelings such as compassion, pity, affection, passion—but only when they align with righteousness.

That’s because feelings can lead a person astray.

If Jesus had followed feelings, he would not have submitted to the Father and gone to the Cross.

If the Father had followed his feelings, he would not have sent his Son to the Cross to suffer and die for his enemies.

Justice and salvation

The preeminent example of the righteousness of God’s love is the means he chose to save sinners. He did not simply forgive sinners on the basis of his love and mercy. If he had done so, justice would not have been served. The unrighteous deeds of men would have simply been overlooked. Murderers, rapists, liars, and thieves would not be penalized for their crimes. God would have acted as though all the blasphemies and perversions of mankind had never happened. God’s love would have somehow covered over the entire, vile mess of human history.

But God’s righteousness would not allow it. His justice must be served. And so he found a way to wed justice and love. He sent his holy Son to suffer and die on the cross as a substitute for us. Jesus took the just penalty that we deserved.

“It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen people want God to love and accept them as they are.

God’s way: Because God’s love is always a righteous love, all who want a relationship with him must change their unrighteous ways.

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him” (Deuteronomy 10:12).

Life principle: We can’t have a relationship with God without repentance.

And in our relationships with other people, true love always is righteous: “[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).

June 18, 2018December 29, 2020

How Holy Must We Live to Be Saved?

Nobody’s perfect, but how imperfect can you be and still make it through the door of heaven?

We have focused for several posts on the crucial subject of holiness. Anyone who wants to know God and his ways can and must learn to love the awesome, exciting, joyful, and beautiful quality of holiness. At the moment of our salvation, God removes us from a polluted, foul, sewage-fed canal, places us in a perfect garden, and commands us to learn to love our new environment.

Before we move on to another topic, I need to address one more question: How holy does a person have to be in conduct to be a true Christian, to have assurance of salvation?

I noted in a previous post that in Christ we are regarded as perfectly holy in status before God even though we are never perfect in conduct. But can a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus be so unholy in conduct that their holy status is negated, that is, proven invalid?

Taking holiness seriously

Let’s begin answering this question by looking at Hebrews 12:14, which says,

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (niv).

This says we are to make every effort—or strive—to be holy. Just as we make every effort necessary to earn a living and keep a job, or get the food we need each day, we are to make every effort to be holy. Why exert such effort?

We must make every effort to be holy because “without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Does that mean what it sounds like it means? Is it saying we cannot ultimately be saved and have eternal life with God unless our conduct in this life reaches a certain standard of holiness?

Necessary holiness

To answer this crucial question we first need to see that this verse cannot be referring to the status of holiness; it must be referring to conduct because we cannot achieve the status of holiness through effort, but only through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) (If you have not yet read my previous post on “How to Avoid Extremes in the Pursuit of Holiness,” I urge you to read it before reading this). So, striving for holiness must mean striving actually to live in a holy way.

Second, we need to see that the words “see the Lord” must refer to ultimate salvation, not merely feeling close to God or walking in communion with him. In other words, some people have the view that because we are saved by God’s grace that means we can live any way we want because if we have faith in Christ we will still be saved. They would say that “without holiness no one will see the Lord” means something like, “Without holiness we will not have an accurate understanding of God,” or “Without holiness we will not enjoy the presence of God,” or “No matter how bad we have been in this life, if we believe in Christ God will transform us after we die to be truly holy so that we can come into his holy presence.”

But that understanding does not fit the context of Hebrews 12:14. In verses 15–17 the writer warns: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:15–17)

Notice, the writer warns about people who will fail “to obtain the grace of God” even though they want the grace of God. He warns against being like Esau, who was lost. The writer’s focus in the surrounding verses is clearly to warn Christians not to continue in sin lest they ultimately discover to their sorrow that they are lost.

This agrees with the rest of the New Testament

Does this understanding fit the larger context of the New Testament? Does the New Testament elsewhere teach that it is possible to think you are a Christian and call yourself a Christian and yet live below a minimum standard of holiness, and therefore be a false Christian? See what you think.

Jesus said:

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:21–27)

Galatians 5:19–24 says:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ephesians 5:3–6 says:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 says:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 John 3:2–10 says:

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 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.

Revelation 21:7–8 says:

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Conclusion

How holy does a true Christian have to be?

Answer: A true Christian will not practice evil. That is, a true Christian will not keep committing evil without repentance.

A true Christian will on occasion commit an evil deed but will soon repent sincerely. A true Christian may fall again to that sin (as can happen to an addict), but he or she will again repent sincerely. (Mark 1:14–15; Luke 5:32; Acts 17:30; 26:20)

A true Christian will not be complacent about doing what the Bible plainly calls evil.

True Christians will not deceive themselves by calling good what the Bible calls evil.

Our way versus God’s way

Our way: Regard holy conduct as optional.

God’s way: Without holiness no one will see the Lord. If we rely on Christ, he can give us the ability to hate and overcome our own evil, live in purity, and delight in the joy-producing gift of holiness.

God is patient with his children and works over time to purify them of evil. But his patience has limits. See Hebrews 12:1–29 and Revelation 2:20–23 (note especially verse 21); 3:1–5; 3:14–21.

If we willfully live in ongoing disobedience to God’s commands recorded in Scripture, that is, if we knowingly continue doing evil without repentance over an extended time, we are falling short of the holiness required to be saved. We must repent of deliberate, ongoing, self-deceived evil-doing.

In our confused times and culture, this post is super important. Many people are deceived on this subject. Therefore, out of concern for others, please share this, forward it, tweet it, like it, do whatever you have to to get it before the eyes of others.