During one of the many times the apostle John, in his Gospel, recounted Jesus’ discussions with Jewish audiences, he once wrote, “As He [Jesus] spoke these things, many came to believe in Him” (John 8:30).
That certainly sounds like good news, doesn’t it? We’re always happy to hear about people believing in Jesus. Christians want everyone to believe in Jesus.
But the very next verse reveals something very important, because not everyone who says they believe in Jesus actually does believe in Jesus. The test of true faith in Jesus is obedience to Him which, of course, begins with seeking to know His will. True believers immediately become Jesus’ disciples. The proof of my claim can be found in the very next verse in John’s Gospel:
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free’” (John 8:32, emphasis added).
We see that Jesus immediately challenged the professed faith of those new “believers” by telling them what they would do if they were truly His disciples. Clearly, to Jesus, being a believer and being a disciple were synonymous. In His mind, there are not two categories of Christians, “believers” and “disciples,” as is often taught in some modern “Christian” circles.
Read John 8:32 again in any English translation (including the KJV). My claim is irrefutable. Jesus believed that those who truly believe in Him will “continue in His word,” thus proving that they are truly His disciples. All true believers in Jesus become His true disciples. Those who don’t become His disciples are not believers.
What does it mean to continue in Jesus’ word? For starters, it means to make an effort to learn all that He said, because those who continue in Jesus’ word will, to quote Jesus, “know the truth.” Moreover, that truth will “make them free.” If we keep reading Jesus’ discussion with His audience that day, it becomes crystal clear that He was speaking of being set free from sin.
So, those who truly believe in Jesus continue in His word, which proves that they are His disciples, and as they learn His will, they obey it, becoming progressively set free from sin and thus more obedient to His commandments. That is Christianity 101.
It is interesting (and tragic) that many of us have been taught that, as soon as anyone professes to believe in Jesus, we should “assure them of their salvation.” Often, our method was to read to them 1 John 5:13: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” After reading that single verse to new believers, we would tell them, “See? Because you believe, you have eternal life! Now don’t let the devil talk you out of it!”
But we failed to consider what “these things” were that John had written in his first epistle. The fact is, John repeatedly listed three tests whereby we can ascertain if we truly know the Lord and have been born again. One of those tests is the test of obedience:
By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3).
Another is the test of sacrificial love for the brethren:
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who 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. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will 1assure our heart before Him (1 John 3:14-19).
Jesus affirmed this same test, once saying, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35, emphasis added).
So the mark of a disciple of Jesus is the same thing that marks those who have “passed from death to life,” that is, those who have been born again. True believers in Jesus are disciples of Jesus.
Jesus also foretold of a future judgment at which everyone’s eternal fate will be determined by whether or not they “loved the brethren.” He warned that those who are not characterized by what He said marks all His true disciples will be cast into hell (see Matt. 25:31-46). Again, all true believers are disciples.
But let us return to Jesus’ words to the newly-professing believers in John 8. In contrast to assuring new believers of their salvation, Jesus challenged them to question if they were truly His disciples. How different were Jesus’ methods compared to modern methods! The reason is because Jesus’ gospel was so different than the modern gospel, the gospel of God’s alleged “unconditional grace.”
False-grace preachers, of necessity, must create two categories of “saved” people—believers and disciples—because all that Jesus said about being His disciple doesn’t fit their strange definition of grace, a grace that is little more than a license to sin. They can’t escape the fact that Jesus taught that one cannot be His disciple without being very committed to Him, and being willing to suffer and make sacrifices (see Luke 14:25-35). And so being a disciple can’t be the same as being a believer, because being a believer costs nothing in their confused minds! The truth, however, is that faith that costs nothing is worth nothing.
What is most amazing is that, false-grace preachers never hesitate to say that Jesus does, in fact, want us to be His disciples. That is because that fact is biblically inescapable. But in the same breath, they say, or imply, that it is our option to not be His disciple. In addition, our decision allegedly has no bearing on our salvation. If that is not a license to sin, what is it? There are no words that are adequate to describe how horrifying such doctrine is.
American Jesus may offer an option on being his disciple, but Bible Jesus does not. Bible Jesus gave commandments to His disciples, and He expected them to obey, and teach, those commandments (see Matt. 28:19-20). Bible Jesus warned that anyone who is not His disciple is completely useless to Him and will be discarded in the end (Luke 14:34-35). And He certainly repeated those same sentiments in His message to the church at Laodicea:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth (Rev. 3:15-16).
If your pastor teaches that there are two categories of Christians—believers and disciples—and that being a disciple is optional but not required for ultimate salvation because salvation is by grace, run as fast as you can. Run for your life! Your pastor is a heretic and a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
