Can I be a believer in Jesus, but not be a disciple of Jesus?
Part two.
Hello, welcome to today's Little Lesson.
Thanks so much for joining me.
It's always a joy to be able to share in the Word of God.
We're looking at one of the most important questions, I think, that anybody could ask,
because there's so much confusion on this issue, the issue of the so-called difference,
possible difference that one could actually be a believer in Jesus but not be a disciple
of Christ.
And the reason that this theology has been concocted is because of a false understanding
of the grace that saves us, because the grace that God's saving us with and for and by is
not a license to sin.
No, the grace that God is showing us is an opportunity to turn from sin and be forgiven
of our sins as we walk in holiness.
That's the deal.
Remember the woman caught in the act of adultery.
Jesus showed her grace, or mercy, whatever you want to call it.
She was saved by grace, she wasn't saved by her works, right?
Jesus didn't say, "Okay, because of something you do, I'm forgiving you."
No, it was pure grace.
She didn't deserve it, she was caught in the act of adultery, yet he said, "Neither do
I condemn you."
But that's not all he said.
He said, "Now go and sin no more."
Why?
Because adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, and if you die in the state of
an adulterous affair, you're in trouble, because adulterers will not, Paul said emphatically,
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Imagine if that lady caught in the act of adultery died having not repented of her adultery,
and then stood before Jesus and walked into the throne room, and then said, "Oh, Jesus,
I'm so glad it's you, because you're such a nice person, and I remember on the earth
how you didn't condemn me then, and the Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever.
And so, if you didn't condemn me then, surely you won't condemn me now, and so where's the
entry gate for heaven, because I'm ready to enter into eternal life."
He would say, "I'm sorry, but you misunderstood the grace.
Remember, I said to you ... I didn't just say to you, 'Neither do I condemn you,' I
said, 'Neither do I condemn you.
Now go sin no more.'"
That's the picture of the true Christian, who is, of course, then a disciple.
In our last Little Lesson, we were kind of enumerating some of the Biblical undeniable
proof that it's preposterous to think that you could believe in Jesus and not obey Jesus,
because if you believe in Jesus, you love Jesus, and Jesus said, "If you love me, you
keep my commandments."
All right?
And James wrote, "Faith without works is dead, it's useless, it cannot save you."
So, again, just think about it logically.
If you believe in Jesus, that he is the Son of God before whom you will stand one day
to give an account, because he's the judge of the living and the dead, and yet you haven't
repented of your sins, and you're not striving to obey him, and you're not concerned about
what he thinks about your life, and yet you say you believe he is the Son of God, you're
only fooling yourself.
You're not fooling God, or anybody else, for that matter, who understands this basic stuff,
okay?
Now, listen to what Paul, the great apostle of grace, wrote in the very first chapter
... Or, the second chapter of Romans.
I'm reading from my little cheat sheet here.
He says in his gospel, "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you
are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds."
So that's what Paul believed.
People who don't repent, who are stubborn and don't repent, they're storing up wrath
for themselves, because God is going to reward everyone according to their deeds, and if
your deeds are evil, you're going to get judgment and punishment, you're not going to get forgiveness
and eternal life, or grace and mercy.
So, Paul goes on to elaborate: "Who will render to each person according to his deeds: to
those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal
life."
Who gets eternal life?
Those, according to Paul, who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and
immortality.
That's who gets eternal life.
And you say, "Well, that sounds different than believing in Jesus."
Maybe it sounds different, but it's not different, because people who believe in Jesus then,
of course, persevere then in doing good, and they seek for glory from God, and they seek
honor when they stand before God, and they're longing for immortality, they want eternal
life.
And so those are the ones who get it, because that's the only ones who believe in Jesus,
the ones who have repented and are striving to serve and obey him, the disciples.
But then contrast with that, Paul, the great apostle of grace, says, "But to those who
are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and
indignation."
That's what Paul believed, okay?
So, again, there's other Biblical proof that it's preposterous to think that one can believe
in Jesus but not be striving to obey Jesus as his disciple.
You know, Jesus' foretelling of the future judgment of the sheep and the goats was all
about obedience.
It was all about loving my neighbor as myself, nothing said about belief at all, because
clearly, only the sheep believed.
The goats didn't believe.
They believed maybe something, might have believed in an idol that they called Jesus,
but they really didn't believe in Jesus as he's revealed himself, and so who can argue
with that?
"I was hungry and you fed me.
I was hungry and you didn't feed me."
That's what determines whether you go to heaven or hell, because the people who believe in
Jesus care for the least of these.
The people that don't care for the least of these don't believe in Jesus.
They're not his disciple.
They don't love him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Further proof that there's no such thing as this dichotomy between believers and disciples,
but that they are synonymous: In the book of Acts, there's no division.
The Bible in the book of Acts repeatedly, at least, I think, 30 times, mentions the
disciples, and not clearly from the context as the elite class of really committed believers.
No, it was everyone who believed in Jesus.
They were naturally, of course, his disciple, because if you believe in him, then you're
his disciple.
And then maybe a final proof to wrap this up, while there could be many other proofs:
In John chapter 8, John talks about there's some Jews who came to believe in Jesus as
he spoke, and Jesus said to those believers, those brand-new Jewish believers, "If you
continue in my Word," that is, if you now begin to live in what I said, and that would
imply knowing and obeying his command, you continue in his Word, he said to those new
believers, "then you are truly disciples of mine."
So Jesus equated these believers with being disciples.
They're professing to believe, so he says, "Well, here's the real proof if you believe
in me, if you continue in my Word, and only then are you my disciples."
He could have said, "Only then do we know that you really believe in me."
So, discipleship is not an optional future step of commitment; discipleship is the proof
of belief in Jesus.
Are you a disciple?
If you say, "I'm not," let me lovingly tell you, you don't believe in Jesus.
Okay?
But you can.
You can, that's the great news, okay?
Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus, not American Jesus, not some idol that you've
erected that represents Jesus that you gave the name Jesus.
Believe in Bible Jesus.
He said, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do what I say?"
He said, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we cast out demons?'"
He said, "Depart from me.
I never knew you."
What's the proof?
"You who practice lawlessness."
Okay.
Well, in future Little Lessons, we're going to talk about some real practical things about
being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
It's going to be great.
But we first got to make sure we are his disciple before we learn how to be his disciple.
All right, thanks for joining me.
Until next time, God bless.