http://revivalfocusblog.com/series/distinguishing-between-believers-and-disciples/
http://revivalfocusblog.com/2013/05/02/the-new-radicals-are-right-and-wrong/
http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/a/calvinarminian.htm
http://christianity.about.com/od/Christians-In-History/a/Jacobus-Arminius.htm
Distinguishing Between Believers and Disciples (1..5)
Posted on April 4, 2013 by James Hollandsworth
http://revivalfocusblog.com/series/distinguishing-between-believers-and-disciples/
(1) Distinguishing between believers and disciples
(2) Misinterpretations of John 15
(3) Definition of abiding in Christ
(4) The results of abiding
(5) The consequences of not abiding
(1) Distinguishing between believers and disciples Posted on April 4, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — 3 Comments ↓
Are all born-again believers, by default, disciples of Jesus? In the most basic sense, disciples are learners, but they are not merely students. According to Vine, they are “adherents; hence … imitators of their teacher.”[i] Do all believers live like Jesus, at least in some degree? Do they live like Him all the time? If not, does that mean they are actually unsaved? Is it possible to wander in carnality for a time, showing little “evidence” of salvation? What about Peter, after denying Christ, who was out of fellowship with the Savior, ashamed and ready to leave off following Jesus and return to his old fishing career? (see John 21:3, At that point, was Peter still a disciple of Jesus? If not, was he still a believer? Clearly, in the teachings of Jesus, discipleship requires a high price. The qualifications are extreme. Deny yourself; take up your cross daily; follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Fall into the ground and die; hate your soul (John 12:24-25). Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yourself (Luke 14:26). Forsake all that you have (Luke 14:33). Love others as Jesus loves you (John 13:34), Obey Christ’s commands (John 14:21,23), etc.
If one has to fulfill these conditions in order to be saved (under the paradigm that believers and disciples are one and the same), wouldn’t that be a works-oriented salvation? Furthermore, wouldn’t such a “disciple” continually wonder whether he was in the faith or not, particularly during periods in which he was not persevering as a disciple? Perhaps others might wonder too and pronounce him “unsaved,” based on the lack of so-called evidence. Take the most basic matter of discipleship: baptism by immersion following salvation. What if a professing believer never submits to this ordinance? Does his lack of obedience suggest that he had never been saved? If so, would we not essentially be requiring baptism as a condition for salvation?
>>> Is discipleship a condition for salvation, or is discipleship a chosen path of commitment that some saved persons pursue while other saved persons do not?
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. John 8:31
According to this passage, the test of true discipleship is continuing in the word of Christ; i.e., continuing in His teachings, paying the price of discipleship. Presumably, if one does not continue in Christ’s word, then he is not a disciple. Is Jesus suggesting that it is possible to lose salvation, as one theological system proposes? Or is He suggesting that a lack of steadfast continuance in His principles of discipleship would manifestly declare that one was never saved in the first place, as another theological system proposes? It is critical to note that Jesus makes these comments to those who have already believed on Him. Believing on Him is the equivalent of possessing eternal life.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:31
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16:31 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Romans 3:22 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Galatians 3:22
Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list. The references to believing as the God-ordained means by which we are saved are voluminous. To suggest that those Jews who had believed on Jesus in John 8:31 may not have actually been saved would be inconsistent with Scripture, and particularly the way the word believe is repeatedly used in John’s Gospel.
To those believing (saved) Jews, Jesus says, “If you continue (abide or remain) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Those who are willing to pay the price of discipleship are truly disciples – not merely pupils, but engaged adherents of Christ’s teaching. These are the ones whose works for Christ will survive the testing furnace at the Judgment Seat. While others will be saved, yet so as by fire, these true disciples will be rewarded for their fruitfulness. We can, therefore, conclude that while all disciples are believers, not all believers are disciples.
Interestingly, the word continue in John 8:31 – as indicated above – is the same Greek word translated abide in John 15. The next several articles in this series will focus on the meaning of abiding in Christ.
(2) John 15 Abide in me, the vine – Misinterpretations Posted on April 8, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — 5 Comments ↓
In John 15 Jesus uses beautiful imagery to teach about discipleship. Our minds can picture vineyards with lush grapes, a common sight in the Middle East. Some commentators have suggested that Jesus and His disciples have left the upper room, where they have observed the last supper, and they are now headed toward the Garden of Gethsemane. They would likely be observing grape vines along the route. Christ perhaps points to the vines as an object lesson for teaching his eleven remaining disciples. He says to them, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. Though we live in the twenty-first century, these words are as much for us as they were for the original disciples of the first century. We are extensions of those men, the fruit of their labors in the Lord. Christ commands us all to abide in Him. This text raises some questions. It is the intent of this and succeeding articles in this series to attempt to answer these questions.
· How is this passage frequently misinterpreted?
· What does it mean to abide in Christ?
· How does one abide in Christ?
· What are the results of abiding?
· What are the consequences of not abiding?
How is this passage frequently misinterpreted? (A) Armenian
(B) Calvinist
Interestingly, the misinterpretations are forced upon the passage because of one’s theological grid, as we shall see. First is the (A) Arminian misinterpretation, based on verse 2 – every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away. Arminian-leaning theology teaches that the non-fruit-bearing branch is a Christian who has lost his salvation, and so he is removed from Christ and eventually cast into hell (according to verse 6, which refers to withered vines being burned). The Scriptures are clear that a saved person cannot lose eternal life. If one could somehow lose it, then it would never have been eternal in the first place, and that would make God a liar. Furthermore, if one could lose it, then the atoning work of Christ on Calvary would not have been sufficient. In that case, He would not have saved to the uttermost. Nevertheless, the book of Hebrews is clear that His death was complete and efficacious / effective (see Heb. 10).
Hebrews 10 For the law having aa shadow bof good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never cwith those sacrifices which they offered year by year dcontinually cmake the comers thereunto eperfect. 2 For then * would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 Butfin those sacrifices there is ga remembrance again made of sins hevery year. 4 For iit is not possible that kthe blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore lwhen he cometh into the world, he saith, mSacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but na body * hast thou prepared me: 6 In oburnt offerings and psacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, qSacrifice and offering and oburnt offerings and poffering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, rLo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will swe are sanctified through the offering of nthe body of Jesus Christ tonce for all. 11 And every priest standeth udaily wministering and offering oftentimes xthe same sacrifices, iwhich can never take away sins: 12 But this man, yafter he had offered one sacrifice for sins dfor ever, zsat down on the right hand of God; 13 aFrom henceforth expecting btill his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering che hath perfected cfor ever dthem that are sanctified. 15 Whereof ethe Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 fThis is the covenant that I will gmake with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 g* And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 hHaving therefore, brethren, * boldness to enter into ithe holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living kway, which he hath * consecrated for us, through lthe veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having man high priest over nthe house of God; 22 oLet us draw near with a true heart in pfull assurance of faith, qhaving our hearts rsprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies swashed rwith pure water. 23 tLet us hold fast the uprofession ofour vfaith without wavering; (for whe is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another xto provoke unto love and to good works: 25 yNot forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, zas the manner of some is; but xexhorting one another: and aso much the more, as ye see bthe day approaching.
26 For cif we sin dwilfully eafter that we have received fthe knowledge of the truth, gthere remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment andhfiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 iHe that jdespised Moses’ law kdied without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 lOf how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, mwho hath trodden under foot nthe Son of God, and ohath counted pthe blood of the qcovenant, wherewith he was rsanctified, an sunholy thing, tand hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, uVengeancebelongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, vThe Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is wa fearful thing to fall into the hands of xthe living God. 32 But ycall to remembrance the former days, in which, zafter ye were illuminated, aye endured a greatbfight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst cye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst aye became dcompanions of them that were so used. 34 For yeddhad compassion of me ein my bonds, and ftook joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing * in yourselves that ye have gin heaven ha better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your iconfidence, kwhich hath great lrecompence of reward. 36 For mye have need of patience, that, after ye have done nthe will of God, oye might preceive othe promise. 37 For qyet a little while, and rhe that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Nowsthe just shall live by faith: but if any man tdraw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of uthem who tdraw back unto perdition; but of them that wbelieve xto the saving of the soul.
The blood atonement of Christ does not allow one to be “un-saved.” In John 10:28 Jesus says, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. What’s it going to be? They shall never perish? Or a theological system which suggests that it is possible to perish if you lose your salvation? We must trust the words of Jesus: they shall never perish. In fact, Jesus goes on in the next verse to say, My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. We are in the hands of Jesus and He is in the hand of His Father –doubly secure! Indeed, it is impossible to be plucked out of His hand, for we are part of His body.
(B) The second misinterpretation is presently more fashionable. It is the teaching of Calvinism. Based on verse 2, most of those who hold to some form of Calvinistic theology would say the branch that is taken away is a professing Christian who was never actually saved, and so that is why they are not bearing fruit. One of the planks of mainstream Calvinistic soteriology is perseverance of the saints, which means that all believers persevere and bear fruit. They virtually always act like a Christian or show some evidences of their salvation. Thus, most of those who lean toward Calvinism claim that a person who is not bearing fruit is not truly saved. They believe that the fire of verse 6 is hell-fire. That is incorrect, for Jesus is speaking to believers, namely His disciples. Fire in the NT does not merely refer to hell. In fact, fire is repeatedly used in the New Testament in reference to the Christian. Hebrews 12:29 reminds that our God is a consuming fire. That verse is in the context of God’s discipline of His children. His discipline is a consuming fire; that is, it consumes the dross in our lives. Furthermore, 1 Cor. 3 warns of the impending Judgment Seat:
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1 Cor. 3:13
This passage clearly refers to the saved, and the fire here is Christ’s testing furnace at the Bema. Recognizing that John 15 is a passage for believers on the subject of discipleship, the context dictates that we view the fire of verse 6, not as hell-fire, but rather as the Judgment Seat fire. The branches that are taken away in verse 2 are not believers who have lost their salvation. That is impossible. Nor are those branches professing Christians who were never actually saved. It is important not to press one’s theological grid onto Scripture. We must always allow Scripture to determine our theological position.
(3) Definition of abiding in Christ Posted on April 11, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — No Comments ↓
What does it mean to abide in Christ?
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. John 15:1 Jesus uses a beautiful analogy. He likens Himself to a grape vine, and God the Father to the husbandman (vinedresser). We (i.e., born-again children of God) are the branches. Jesus is speaking to saved people, and He calls us to discipleship in verse 4: Abide in me. He goes on to explain. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself – it must be attached to the vine and draw its sustenance and life-giving properties from the vine – so we are unable to bear fruit of ourselves. We must abide in Christ if we would bear fruit. The vine is essential to vitality.
What, then, does it mean to abide? It means to stay or remain. The command implies continuing action. To stay or remain implies that you must not leave. You must stay put in the vine if you would bear fruit. Notice in verse 4 the little phrase in Me after the word abide. That phrase is used sixteen times in the Gospel of John. In every case, it refers to fellowship with Christ. It is not consistent with John’s Gospel to suggest that this phrase could be applied to a professing Christian. It always refers to a true Christian. What, then, does the phrase, in Me signify? The preposition in is used “to designate a close personal relation.”[i] Dillow concludes:
So to abide “in” Christ means to remain in close relationship to Him. What kind of relationship is meant? A review of the 16 occurrences of “in Me” in the Gospel of John seems to suggest that when Jesus used this phrase, He referred to a life of fellowship, a unity of purpose, rather than organic connection.[ii]
While Paul sometimes uses the term “in Christ” (not “in Me”) differently in the epistles, to refer to an organic union, John never uses the term in that way to refer to the believer’s position in a forensic sense.[iii] Rather, John uses the term in the sense of depth of relationship: communion or fellowship. To abide in Christ, therefore, is to remain in close fellowship with Him, living obediently, loving as He loves, experiencing the closeness as described in John 14:23: If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
What fellowship we can have with Jesus when we choose His pathway of discipleship! The cost of discipleship is great, but the benefits are much greater. Unfortunately, this is not the experience of all believers. Since Jesus commands us to abide in Him, we must conclude that it is possible to not abide in Christ. Though all believers are in Him – positionally – in the Pauline sense, not all Christians are in Him – experientially – in the Johannine sense. In other words, some believers are fulfilling this command and thereby enjoying sweet communion with Jesus. Other believers are saved, born-again, washed by the blood, but they don’t have close fellowship with Jesus. They have union, but not communion. They are missing out on the glorious fellowship for those who are abiding in the vine. They are believers, but not disciples.
How does one abide in Christ?
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. John 15:9-10 How do we abide? We remain in Christ by continuing in His love, which is the essence of obeying Him. Of course, the only way we can obey Him is by depending on Him. We trust God to obey Him. So remaining in Christ is continually depending on Him for obedience. The ultimate way that obedience is demonstrated in our lives is when we love others as Jesus loves us. That is how discipleship is evidenced. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35
In part 2 of this series we pointed out that one of the greatest misinterpretations of this text is to suggest that it is talking about the saved and the lost. The argument is that those who abide are saved and those who do not abide are demonstrating that they never were saved. As we noted, that is incorrect teaching, and here is one reason we know that to be the case. According to verses 9-10, the way we abide in Christ is by obeying Him. If abiding is a requirement for salvation, then obedience is a requirement for salvation, and that is works-based salvation, the very legalism that Paul condemns in the book of Galatians. We are not saved by obedience! Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us (Titus 3:5). Are you appropriating the vitality that comes only through the vine? Some believers are, to the extent they are abiding. They are Christ’s disciples indeed. Other believers who are not abiding will face the severity of Christ’s judgment at His Bema Seat. In the next article, we will see more specifically the results of abiding and not abiding.
(4) What are the results of abiding? He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:5,8
Those believers who remain with Jesus will bear much fruit. Incidentally, fruit-bearing is not of you. It is of the vine; it is of Jesus. You are simply the branch on which the fruit is displayed. You are unable to bear fruit unless you are abiding in the vine, in fellowship with Jesus.
Fruit is for the refreshment and nourishment of others, not for the benefit of the branches.
That is to say, the fruit is not for you. Andrew Murray writes: “Amid all who surround him he becomes like a tree of life, of which they can taste and be refreshed. He is in his circle a center of life and of blessing, and that simply because he abides in Christ and receives from Him the Spirit of life, of which he can impart to others.”[i]
What is the fruit? It the fruit of the Spirit displayed in your life, the divine characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, etc. It is the fruit of love shown toward others. It is the fruit of compassion for the lost. It is the fruit of our lips giving praise to His name. What is the result of abiding? Certainly, fruit-bearing is the most obvious. But there is another result in the following verses:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7
When you are in close communion with God, your prayers will always be answered ! John gives one additional result of abiding in his first epistle:
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 1 John 3:6
When you are abiding in Him, you are not sinning. Abiding in Christ is living in continuous revival! The problem is that we don’t continue in our abiding. Those who are sinning do not have fellowship with Him. It’s as if they don’t know Him. Keep in mind that John’s epistle is not talking about salvation; it’s talking about sanctification. It’s about communion. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another (1 Jn. 1:7a).
When you are not in fellowship with Jesus because of sin in your life, it is as if you don’t know Him; you have become estranged from him. You have union with Him, but not communion. You are not abiding and, consequently, you are not bearing fruit. God is not glorified by your unproductive lifestyle. He is glorified when you, as a believer, choose to count the cost and pay the price of discipleship.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
The word be at the end of the verse is more literally become. We become disciples of Jesus by abiding, by remaining with Him, by obeying Him, by loving others, by fellowshipping with Him. Much fruit is the natural outcropping of such a life of discipleship. Sadly, not all believers live like this.
Thus, disciples are a subset of believers who have chosen to remain in communion with Jesus. As stated previously, those who lean toward Calvinistic theology tend to view believers and disciples as one and the same and thereby fall into the error of Lordship Salvation, which is a perversion of the doctrine of repentance.
Lordship Salvation essentially says that, in order to be saved, one has to become a disciple – take up his cross, deny self, fall into the ground and die, hate himself and his family members, forsake all, love others, and obey Christ. But unbelievers are incapable of making such change in their lives. To suggest that they must do so is to imply that salvation is something more than a matter of simple faith! Calvinism attempts to get around this by promoting another unbiblical doctrine – teaching that regeneration precedes faith – and thereby claiming that an elect unbeliever is enabled by the Holy Spirit to live as a disciple so that he can then exercise the faith to become one! It is not the purpose of this article to refute all the tenets of Calvinism but, hopefully, the reader can see how this theological system forces its paradigm on the Scriptures.
(5) What are the consequences of not abiding? Jesus says to His disciples, “keep abiding; stay with Me; continue loving others; remain in communion with me!” Why does Jesus say this? Because He knows our tendency to not continue abiding. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Just as Peter, who denies Jesus at the cross, gets discouraged and later determines to quit following as a disciple of Christ and go back to his old occupation of fishing, so we have the same tendency. So Jesus admonishes, “keep on abiding!”
To that end, according to the end of vs. 2, the heavenly Father will lovingly purge you and cleanse you so that you will bring forth more fruit. Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. At times, He will nip your buds and prune back your branch through trials and afflictions that will help you to grow stronger and healthier, so that you can bear much fruit. Always remember that our vine-dresser is loving and patient and kind and merciful. He will always prune you in the way that will benefit you the most as His tender plant. Are you responding rightly to His pruning work in your life?
What about those who choose not to abide? Remember, we’re talking about fellowship, not salvation. What will happen to those who do not remain in fellowship with God, who are not bearing fruit? Though you are eternally secure, God takes the matter of your remaining with Him quite seriously. If you choose not to abide, He has a manner of dealing with His sons, as outlined in Hebrews 12.
If you choose not to abide, He has a manner of dealing with His sons, as outlined in Hebrews 12.
God lovingly disciplines His children, though it may not be obvious to onlookers. Those who continually resist will be dealt with severely at the Judgment Seat. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. John 15:2 What does the vine-dresser do with non-fruit-bearing branches? The Greek here translated taketh away can also mean “lifts up” and at least eight times elsewhere in John’s gospel it is used in that sense. So some commentators have suggested that, as a first measure, Jesus carefully lifts up those vines that are not producing, so as to give them an opportunity to produce. In the viticulture of the Middle East, vines will often trail along the ground. The vine-dresser has to come along and prop them up so they will become healthy and produce fruit. God often puts us out of our comfort zone to give opportunities for fellowship with Him. He often customizes trials to prompt us to depend on Him more. He wants our fellowship! He graciously works with us so we will become fruit-bearing disciples. What happens to those who continue to resist His working in their lives?
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:6
In a previous article we clarified that this is not referring to hell-fire. Rather, it is the fire of God’s “testing furnace” that Christians will experience at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The fire will try every man’s work of what sort it is. God’s fire – could it be the “fire” of His eyes? – will burn up the wood, hay, stubble that was produced by your life, leaving the gold, silver and precious stones. Using the analogy of Jesus in John 15, when branches are persistently not producing, they are cut off and set aside in a certain area to wither up and later became burned at the end of the season. So it is with the Christian. It is important to remember that abiding in Christ is the picture of ongoing fellowship with Him after salvation. It is not the means by which we are saved.
The warning of our Savior is clear. If you are not fellowshipping with Christ, even after His repeated, loving discipline, He will eventually remove you from discipleship (fellowship), leaving you to your own ways.
If you are not fellowshipping with Christ, even after His repeated, loving discipline, He will eventually remove you from discipleship (fellowship), leaving you to your own ways.
You will wither up spiritually, though you remain a child of God. You will then be put into His testing furnace at the Judgment Seat and you will be saved, yet so as by fire. Nevertheless, you will be ashamed as you enter His millennial kingdom with a greatly diminished capacity for glorifying Him. Throughout the Millennium, you will consciously regret that you did not remain in fellowship with Christ this side of the rapture. You will likely even shed many tears. Undoubtedly, that is why God wipes away tears after the Millennium, before we enter the New Jerusalem.
Thus, John the apostle admonishes:
Abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28
What about you, dear Christian? If Jesus were to come right now for His saints, rapturing them up to glory, would you hang your head in shame because you have not been a fruit-bearing disciple?
(2a) The New Radicals are Right and Wrong Posted on May 2, 2013 by James Hollandsworth
Christianity Today ran a cover story in its March 2013 issue featuring, “The New Radicals.” The simple, but creative graphic on the front cover shows the leg of a man wearing a business suit and wing-tip shoes, in stride behind the leg of a man wearing a white robe and sandals. The subtitle reads, “David Platt, Francis Chan, and other pastors are calling comfortable Christians to extreme discipleship.” Who are the new radicals? Perhaps you have read one of their books, which are all the rage now in the Christian publishing realm and even on national bestseller lists. Included in the genre are . . .
I have read some of these books and have been quite blessed by their passionate outcry for Christians to get serious – radical! – about following Jesus. Let me first tell you why I think these new radicals are right, and then I will share what I believe to be a theological flaw in their writings that confuses and hurts the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
These pastors are exasperated with the shallowness of American Christianity, which has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. Platt, for example, is concerned that the American dream mentality has taken over how we do church. To grow a “successful church” today, he argues, seems to require a good performance (i.e., entertainment), a beautiful and comfortable place so crowds will come, programs to keep them coming back, and professionals to run the programs. “But what is strangely lacking in the picture … is desperation for the power of God,” he says, “never realizing that the Holy Spirit is virtually absent from the picture.” (Radical, p.49-50). Who could argue with such an accurate assessment?
Much is said in these books of the cost of true discipleship. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Jesus. Let someone else bury your dead. Fall into the ground and die. Hate your soul. Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters. Forsake all that you have. The new radicals are shocking modern churchgoers with the reality that a high price is required if they would truly follow Jesus. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. But we don’t want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. (Radical, p.12-13).
The new radicals believe that all Christians should be disciples, and their books are a clarion call to make whatever sacrifices are necessary for truly following Jesus. Nevertheless, the radical life they preach is not an end to itself. It is for the purpose of sharing the Gospel with the whole world, baptizing those who are saved, and making more disciples.
I appreciate their emphasis on discipleship. There is little of this focus in twenty-first century Christianity. Imagine what could happen in our world if Christians were to get serious about discipleship! Platt ponders the possibilities. What if God in all his might is simply waiting to show his power in a people who turn their backs on a philosophy of life that exalts their supposed ability to do anything they want and who instead confess their desperate need for him? What if God in all his grace is radically committed to showing himself strong on behalf of a people who express their need for him so their lives might make much of him? (Radical, p.54) Who can argue with this kind of preaching? I am thankful for men who are willing to take the risk of preaching hard Bible truth unashamedly.
However, there is a subtle danger in their message. The theology of the new radicals leads them to the conclusion that true Christians virtually always persevere and bear fruit. Real Christians pay the high price of discipleship. Those who do not, are probably not saved. There is little room in the theological system of the new radicals for carnal Christians. They tend to blur the biblical distinction between believers and disciples (see my previous series on this subject) and claim that all true believers are disciples. Notice the following quotes: Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than “Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me.” (Radical, p.10-11)
So how do we respond to this gospel? Suddenly contemporary Christianity sales pitches don’t seem adequate anymore. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Invite Jesus to come into your life. Pray this prayer, sign this card, walk down this aisle, and accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Our attempt to reduce this gospel to a shrink-wrapped presentation that persuades someone to say or pray the right things back to us no longer seems appropriate. That is why none of these man-made catch phrases are in the Bible. You will not find a verse in the Scripture where people are told to “bow your heads, close your eyes, and repeat after me.” You will not find a place where a superstitious sinner’s prayer is even mentioned. And you will not find an emphasis on accepting Jesus. (Radical, 37). We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about his commands, his standards, or his glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls. (Radical, p.38). There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death. There is no believing without committing. (Not a Fan, p.35). Many have made a decision to believe in Jesus without making a commitment to follow Jesus. The gospel allows for no such distinction … Biblical belief is more than just an intellectual acceptance or a heartfelt acknowledgment; it is a commitment to follow … Our churches … have separated the message of “believe” from the message “follow” … To truly believe is to follow. (Not a Fan, p.32).
Did you catch what the new radicals are doing? Using the tool of sarcasm, they are mocking the excesses of easy-believism (or easy-decisionism, if you prefer), which we also deplore. We agree that “pray-this-prayer-and-you-will-be-saved” or “walk-this-aisle-and-you-will-be-saved” is unbiblical, but the biblical alternative is not “pay-this-price-and-you-will-be-saved.” We agree that “pray-this-prayer-and-you-will-be-saved” or “walk-this-aisle-and-you-will-be-saved” is unbiblical, but the biblical alternative is not “pay-this-price-and-you-will-be-saved.” That is merely the other extreme! The new radicals are trying to make it look as if anything other than their Lordship salvation position is easy believism. But that is not the case.
There is a third position.
Platt says that salvation is not a “one-time decision” to “accept Jesus as your personal Savior.” Oh really? John 1:12 proclaims, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Receiving is taking. It is accepting Jesus, namely, His free gift of eternal life. Salvation is by simple faith (trust, dependence) in the finished work of Jesus. Repentance is turning to Jesus to deliver from sin.
While these men would use this same gospel terminology, their soteriological paradigm obligates them to redefine repentance as more than turning to Jesus in belief. Repentance becomes paying the price of being a disciple, making Christ Lord of one’s life. If one pays the price, he is saved; if he does not, he is not saved. Yet I remind the reader that lost men are incapable of paying the price of discipleship. To suggest that an unsaved person must deny self, take up their cross, hate family, etc., is to imply that certain works are required for salvation. Such a position is contrary to Scripture (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). I understand that the new radicals are at wit’s end with the deplorable condition of American Christianity, replete with licentious behavior and worldly attachments. So few believers are willing to pay the price to be a disciple. What, then, is the solution to shallow American Christianity? Is it to equate belief with discipleship and thereby suggest that to become saved one must be willing to pay the high price of discipleship?
I would contend that the most effective way to deal with shallow Christianity is to preach the urgency of discipleship for those who are children of God. Preach the awfulness of being unprepared for the Judgment Seat of Christ and the consequences of not becoming an overcomer. Preach the tragedy of being saved, yet so as by fire. Preach the shame of having one’s works burned up in Christ’s testing furnace. Preach the shame (conscious regret and tears) that will accompany unworthy Christians throughout the Millennium. And then preach the love of Jesus, Who is ready and willing to enable those who desire to follow Him.
(2b) David Platt Brook Hills, Birmingham, Alabama (2010 experiment)
It's not easy to make the Church at Brook Hills, Alabama's second-largest congregation, look like a slum. But in 2010, the church collected trash all over Birmingham and set its stage in corrugated metal, scrap wood, plastic tarps, and other detritus. Three months before, their lead pastor, David Platt, had proposed that their church "take India," by which he meant pay for Compassion International's child survival programs in the country for an entire year. The whole church couldn't jet off to India, but the rubbish on stage tangibly reminded its members of the country's impoverished communities. With the stage literally set, Platt called his church to something more than giving $525,000 to Compassion. Platt and the Church at Brook Hills (affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention) spent a full year praying for the world, reading the entire Bible, giving their money to those in need, spending time in a context beyond Birmingham, and building community. The five components of "the Radical Experiment" may not seem that radical; they're more like basic Christian discipleship. Forty families and singles committed to moving into a disadvantaged area of Birmingham. As one attendee told me, the news created something of a reputation for the church. After Platt released Radical in May 2010, it spent more than two years on The New York Times advice best-seller list.
At the heart of David Platt's message is his claim that we mistakenly turn the "radical Jesus of the Bible … into the comfortable Jesus of 21st-century American culture." He warns that the culture of "self-advancement, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency" and our "individualism, materialism, and universalism" have neutered American Christians' witness and blinded us to widespread global poverty, an orphan crisis, and the massive number of those who still have never heard of Jesus.
LUKE 23
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast 18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty poundsa]">[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
The Narrow Door 22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
http://revivalfocusblog.com/2013/05/02/the-new-radicals-are-right-and-wrong/
http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/a/calvinarminian.htm
http://christianity.about.com/od/Christians-In-History/a/Jacobus-Arminius.htm
Distinguishing Between Believers and Disciples (1..5)
Posted on April 4, 2013 by James Hollandsworth
http://revivalfocusblog.com/series/distinguishing-between-believers-and-disciples/
(1) Distinguishing between believers and disciples
(2) Misinterpretations of John 15
(3) Definition of abiding in Christ
(4) The results of abiding
(5) The consequences of not abiding
(1) Distinguishing between believers and disciples Posted on April 4, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — 3 Comments ↓
Are all born-again believers, by default, disciples of Jesus? In the most basic sense, disciples are learners, but they are not merely students. According to Vine, they are “adherents; hence … imitators of their teacher.”[i] Do all believers live like Jesus, at least in some degree? Do they live like Him all the time? If not, does that mean they are actually unsaved? Is it possible to wander in carnality for a time, showing little “evidence” of salvation? What about Peter, after denying Christ, who was out of fellowship with the Savior, ashamed and ready to leave off following Jesus and return to his old fishing career? (see John 21:3, At that point, was Peter still a disciple of Jesus? If not, was he still a believer? Clearly, in the teachings of Jesus, discipleship requires a high price. The qualifications are extreme. Deny yourself; take up your cross daily; follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Fall into the ground and die; hate your soul (John 12:24-25). Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yourself (Luke 14:26). Forsake all that you have (Luke 14:33). Love others as Jesus loves you (John 13:34), Obey Christ’s commands (John 14:21,23), etc.
If one has to fulfill these conditions in order to be saved (under the paradigm that believers and disciples are one and the same), wouldn’t that be a works-oriented salvation? Furthermore, wouldn’t such a “disciple” continually wonder whether he was in the faith or not, particularly during periods in which he was not persevering as a disciple? Perhaps others might wonder too and pronounce him “unsaved,” based on the lack of so-called evidence. Take the most basic matter of discipleship: baptism by immersion following salvation. What if a professing believer never submits to this ordinance? Does his lack of obedience suggest that he had never been saved? If so, would we not essentially be requiring baptism as a condition for salvation?
>>> Is discipleship a condition for salvation, or is discipleship a chosen path of commitment that some saved persons pursue while other saved persons do not?
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. John 8:31
According to this passage, the test of true discipleship is continuing in the word of Christ; i.e., continuing in His teachings, paying the price of discipleship. Presumably, if one does not continue in Christ’s word, then he is not a disciple. Is Jesus suggesting that it is possible to lose salvation, as one theological system proposes? Or is He suggesting that a lack of steadfast continuance in His principles of discipleship would manifestly declare that one was never saved in the first place, as another theological system proposes? It is critical to note that Jesus makes these comments to those who have already believed on Him. Believing on Him is the equivalent of possessing eternal life.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:31
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16:31 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Romans 3:22 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Galatians 3:22
Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list. The references to believing as the God-ordained means by which we are saved are voluminous. To suggest that those Jews who had believed on Jesus in John 8:31 may not have actually been saved would be inconsistent with Scripture, and particularly the way the word believe is repeatedly used in John’s Gospel.
To those believing (saved) Jews, Jesus says, “If you continue (abide or remain) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Those who are willing to pay the price of discipleship are truly disciples – not merely pupils, but engaged adherents of Christ’s teaching. These are the ones whose works for Christ will survive the testing furnace at the Judgment Seat. While others will be saved, yet so as by fire, these true disciples will be rewarded for their fruitfulness. We can, therefore, conclude that while all disciples are believers, not all believers are disciples.
Interestingly, the word continue in John 8:31 – as indicated above – is the same Greek word translated abide in John 15. The next several articles in this series will focus on the meaning of abiding in Christ.
(2) John 15 Abide in me, the vine – Misinterpretations Posted on April 8, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — 5 Comments ↓
In John 15 Jesus uses beautiful imagery to teach about discipleship. Our minds can picture vineyards with lush grapes, a common sight in the Middle East. Some commentators have suggested that Jesus and His disciples have left the upper room, where they have observed the last supper, and they are now headed toward the Garden of Gethsemane. They would likely be observing grape vines along the route. Christ perhaps points to the vines as an object lesson for teaching his eleven remaining disciples. He says to them, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. Though we live in the twenty-first century, these words are as much for us as they were for the original disciples of the first century. We are extensions of those men, the fruit of their labors in the Lord. Christ commands us all to abide in Him. This text raises some questions. It is the intent of this and succeeding articles in this series to attempt to answer these questions.
· How is this passage frequently misinterpreted?
· What does it mean to abide in Christ?
· How does one abide in Christ?
· What are the results of abiding?
· What are the consequences of not abiding?
How is this passage frequently misinterpreted? (A) Armenian
(B) Calvinist
Interestingly, the misinterpretations are forced upon the passage because of one’s theological grid, as we shall see. First is the (A) Arminian misinterpretation, based on verse 2 – every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away. Arminian-leaning theology teaches that the non-fruit-bearing branch is a Christian who has lost his salvation, and so he is removed from Christ and eventually cast into hell (according to verse 6, which refers to withered vines being burned). The Scriptures are clear that a saved person cannot lose eternal life. If one could somehow lose it, then it would never have been eternal in the first place, and that would make God a liar. Furthermore, if one could lose it, then the atoning work of Christ on Calvary would not have been sufficient. In that case, He would not have saved to the uttermost. Nevertheless, the book of Hebrews is clear that His death was complete and efficacious / effective (see Heb. 10).
Hebrews 10 For the law having aa shadow bof good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never cwith those sacrifices which they offered year by year dcontinually cmake the comers thereunto eperfect. 2 For then * would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 Butfin those sacrifices there is ga remembrance again made of sins hevery year. 4 For iit is not possible that kthe blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore lwhen he cometh into the world, he saith, mSacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but na body * hast thou prepared me: 6 In oburnt offerings and psacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, qSacrifice and offering and oburnt offerings and poffering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, rLo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will swe are sanctified through the offering of nthe body of Jesus Christ tonce for all. 11 And every priest standeth udaily wministering and offering oftentimes xthe same sacrifices, iwhich can never take away sins: 12 But this man, yafter he had offered one sacrifice for sins dfor ever, zsat down on the right hand of God; 13 aFrom henceforth expecting btill his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering che hath perfected cfor ever dthem that are sanctified. 15 Whereof ethe Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 fThis is the covenant that I will gmake with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 g* And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 hHaving therefore, brethren, * boldness to enter into ithe holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living kway, which he hath * consecrated for us, through lthe veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having man high priest over nthe house of God; 22 oLet us draw near with a true heart in pfull assurance of faith, qhaving our hearts rsprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies swashed rwith pure water. 23 tLet us hold fast the uprofession ofour vfaith without wavering; (for whe is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another xto provoke unto love and to good works: 25 yNot forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, zas the manner of some is; but xexhorting one another: and aso much the more, as ye see bthe day approaching.
26 For cif we sin dwilfully eafter that we have received fthe knowledge of the truth, gthere remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment andhfiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 iHe that jdespised Moses’ law kdied without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 lOf how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, mwho hath trodden under foot nthe Son of God, and ohath counted pthe blood of the qcovenant, wherewith he was rsanctified, an sunholy thing, tand hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, uVengeancebelongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, vThe Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is wa fearful thing to fall into the hands of xthe living God. 32 But ycall to remembrance the former days, in which, zafter ye were illuminated, aye endured a greatbfight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst cye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst aye became dcompanions of them that were so used. 34 For yeddhad compassion of me ein my bonds, and ftook joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing * in yourselves that ye have gin heaven ha better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your iconfidence, kwhich hath great lrecompence of reward. 36 For mye have need of patience, that, after ye have done nthe will of God, oye might preceive othe promise. 37 For qyet a little while, and rhe that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Nowsthe just shall live by faith: but if any man tdraw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of uthem who tdraw back unto perdition; but of them that wbelieve xto the saving of the soul.
The blood atonement of Christ does not allow one to be “un-saved.” In John 10:28 Jesus says, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. What’s it going to be? They shall never perish? Or a theological system which suggests that it is possible to perish if you lose your salvation? We must trust the words of Jesus: they shall never perish. In fact, Jesus goes on in the next verse to say, My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. We are in the hands of Jesus and He is in the hand of His Father –doubly secure! Indeed, it is impossible to be plucked out of His hand, for we are part of His body.
(B) The second misinterpretation is presently more fashionable. It is the teaching of Calvinism. Based on verse 2, most of those who hold to some form of Calvinistic theology would say the branch that is taken away is a professing Christian who was never actually saved, and so that is why they are not bearing fruit. One of the planks of mainstream Calvinistic soteriology is perseverance of the saints, which means that all believers persevere and bear fruit. They virtually always act like a Christian or show some evidences of their salvation. Thus, most of those who lean toward Calvinism claim that a person who is not bearing fruit is not truly saved. They believe that the fire of verse 6 is hell-fire. That is incorrect, for Jesus is speaking to believers, namely His disciples. Fire in the NT does not merely refer to hell. In fact, fire is repeatedly used in the New Testament in reference to the Christian. Hebrews 12:29 reminds that our God is a consuming fire. That verse is in the context of God’s discipline of His children. His discipline is a consuming fire; that is, it consumes the dross in our lives. Furthermore, 1 Cor. 3 warns of the impending Judgment Seat:
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1 Cor. 3:13
This passage clearly refers to the saved, and the fire here is Christ’s testing furnace at the Bema. Recognizing that John 15 is a passage for believers on the subject of discipleship, the context dictates that we view the fire of verse 6, not as hell-fire, but rather as the Judgment Seat fire. The branches that are taken away in verse 2 are not believers who have lost their salvation. That is impossible. Nor are those branches professing Christians who were never actually saved. It is important not to press one’s theological grid onto Scripture. We must always allow Scripture to determine our theological position.
(3) Definition of abiding in Christ Posted on April 11, 2013 by James Hollandsworth — No Comments ↓
What does it mean to abide in Christ?
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. John 15:1 Jesus uses a beautiful analogy. He likens Himself to a grape vine, and God the Father to the husbandman (vinedresser). We (i.e., born-again children of God) are the branches. Jesus is speaking to saved people, and He calls us to discipleship in verse 4: Abide in me. He goes on to explain. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself – it must be attached to the vine and draw its sustenance and life-giving properties from the vine – so we are unable to bear fruit of ourselves. We must abide in Christ if we would bear fruit. The vine is essential to vitality.
What, then, does it mean to abide? It means to stay or remain. The command implies continuing action. To stay or remain implies that you must not leave. You must stay put in the vine if you would bear fruit. Notice in verse 4 the little phrase in Me after the word abide. That phrase is used sixteen times in the Gospel of John. In every case, it refers to fellowship with Christ. It is not consistent with John’s Gospel to suggest that this phrase could be applied to a professing Christian. It always refers to a true Christian. What, then, does the phrase, in Me signify? The preposition in is used “to designate a close personal relation.”[i] Dillow concludes:
So to abide “in” Christ means to remain in close relationship to Him. What kind of relationship is meant? A review of the 16 occurrences of “in Me” in the Gospel of John seems to suggest that when Jesus used this phrase, He referred to a life of fellowship, a unity of purpose, rather than organic connection.[ii]
While Paul sometimes uses the term “in Christ” (not “in Me”) differently in the epistles, to refer to an organic union, John never uses the term in that way to refer to the believer’s position in a forensic sense.[iii] Rather, John uses the term in the sense of depth of relationship: communion or fellowship. To abide in Christ, therefore, is to remain in close fellowship with Him, living obediently, loving as He loves, experiencing the closeness as described in John 14:23: If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
What fellowship we can have with Jesus when we choose His pathway of discipleship! The cost of discipleship is great, but the benefits are much greater. Unfortunately, this is not the experience of all believers. Since Jesus commands us to abide in Him, we must conclude that it is possible to not abide in Christ. Though all believers are in Him – positionally – in the Pauline sense, not all Christians are in Him – experientially – in the Johannine sense. In other words, some believers are fulfilling this command and thereby enjoying sweet communion with Jesus. Other believers are saved, born-again, washed by the blood, but they don’t have close fellowship with Jesus. They have union, but not communion. They are missing out on the glorious fellowship for those who are abiding in the vine. They are believers, but not disciples.
How does one abide in Christ?
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. John 15:9-10 How do we abide? We remain in Christ by continuing in His love, which is the essence of obeying Him. Of course, the only way we can obey Him is by depending on Him. We trust God to obey Him. So remaining in Christ is continually depending on Him for obedience. The ultimate way that obedience is demonstrated in our lives is when we love others as Jesus loves us. That is how discipleship is evidenced. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35
In part 2 of this series we pointed out that one of the greatest misinterpretations of this text is to suggest that it is talking about the saved and the lost. The argument is that those who abide are saved and those who do not abide are demonstrating that they never were saved. As we noted, that is incorrect teaching, and here is one reason we know that to be the case. According to verses 9-10, the way we abide in Christ is by obeying Him. If abiding is a requirement for salvation, then obedience is a requirement for salvation, and that is works-based salvation, the very legalism that Paul condemns in the book of Galatians. We are not saved by obedience! Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us (Titus 3:5). Are you appropriating the vitality that comes only through the vine? Some believers are, to the extent they are abiding. They are Christ’s disciples indeed. Other believers who are not abiding will face the severity of Christ’s judgment at His Bema Seat. In the next article, we will see more specifically the results of abiding and not abiding.
(4) What are the results of abiding? He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:5,8
Those believers who remain with Jesus will bear much fruit. Incidentally, fruit-bearing is not of you. It is of the vine; it is of Jesus. You are simply the branch on which the fruit is displayed. You are unable to bear fruit unless you are abiding in the vine, in fellowship with Jesus.
Fruit is for the refreshment and nourishment of others, not for the benefit of the branches.
That is to say, the fruit is not for you. Andrew Murray writes: “Amid all who surround him he becomes like a tree of life, of which they can taste and be refreshed. He is in his circle a center of life and of blessing, and that simply because he abides in Christ and receives from Him the Spirit of life, of which he can impart to others.”[i]
What is the fruit? It the fruit of the Spirit displayed in your life, the divine characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, etc. It is the fruit of love shown toward others. It is the fruit of compassion for the lost. It is the fruit of our lips giving praise to His name. What is the result of abiding? Certainly, fruit-bearing is the most obvious. But there is another result in the following verses:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7
When you are in close communion with God, your prayers will always be answered ! John gives one additional result of abiding in his first epistle:
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 1 John 3:6
When you are abiding in Him, you are not sinning. Abiding in Christ is living in continuous revival! The problem is that we don’t continue in our abiding. Those who are sinning do not have fellowship with Him. It’s as if they don’t know Him. Keep in mind that John’s epistle is not talking about salvation; it’s talking about sanctification. It’s about communion. If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another (1 Jn. 1:7a).
When you are not in fellowship with Jesus because of sin in your life, it is as if you don’t know Him; you have become estranged from him. You have union with Him, but not communion. You are not abiding and, consequently, you are not bearing fruit. God is not glorified by your unproductive lifestyle. He is glorified when you, as a believer, choose to count the cost and pay the price of discipleship.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
The word be at the end of the verse is more literally become. We become disciples of Jesus by abiding, by remaining with Him, by obeying Him, by loving others, by fellowshipping with Him. Much fruit is the natural outcropping of such a life of discipleship. Sadly, not all believers live like this.
Thus, disciples are a subset of believers who have chosen to remain in communion with Jesus. As stated previously, those who lean toward Calvinistic theology tend to view believers and disciples as one and the same and thereby fall into the error of Lordship Salvation, which is a perversion of the doctrine of repentance.
Lordship Salvation essentially says that, in order to be saved, one has to become a disciple – take up his cross, deny self, fall into the ground and die, hate himself and his family members, forsake all, love others, and obey Christ. But unbelievers are incapable of making such change in their lives. To suggest that they must do so is to imply that salvation is something more than a matter of simple faith! Calvinism attempts to get around this by promoting another unbiblical doctrine – teaching that regeneration precedes faith – and thereby claiming that an elect unbeliever is enabled by the Holy Spirit to live as a disciple so that he can then exercise the faith to become one! It is not the purpose of this article to refute all the tenets of Calvinism but, hopefully, the reader can see how this theological system forces its paradigm on the Scriptures.
(5) What are the consequences of not abiding? Jesus says to His disciples, “keep abiding; stay with Me; continue loving others; remain in communion with me!” Why does Jesus say this? Because He knows our tendency to not continue abiding. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Just as Peter, who denies Jesus at the cross, gets discouraged and later determines to quit following as a disciple of Christ and go back to his old occupation of fishing, so we have the same tendency. So Jesus admonishes, “keep on abiding!”
To that end, according to the end of vs. 2, the heavenly Father will lovingly purge you and cleanse you so that you will bring forth more fruit. Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. At times, He will nip your buds and prune back your branch through trials and afflictions that will help you to grow stronger and healthier, so that you can bear much fruit. Always remember that our vine-dresser is loving and patient and kind and merciful. He will always prune you in the way that will benefit you the most as His tender plant. Are you responding rightly to His pruning work in your life?
What about those who choose not to abide? Remember, we’re talking about fellowship, not salvation. What will happen to those who do not remain in fellowship with God, who are not bearing fruit? Though you are eternally secure, God takes the matter of your remaining with Him quite seriously. If you choose not to abide, He has a manner of dealing with His sons, as outlined in Hebrews 12.
If you choose not to abide, He has a manner of dealing with His sons, as outlined in Hebrews 12.
God lovingly disciplines His children, though it may not be obvious to onlookers. Those who continually resist will be dealt with severely at the Judgment Seat. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. John 15:2 What does the vine-dresser do with non-fruit-bearing branches? The Greek here translated taketh away can also mean “lifts up” and at least eight times elsewhere in John’s gospel it is used in that sense. So some commentators have suggested that, as a first measure, Jesus carefully lifts up those vines that are not producing, so as to give them an opportunity to produce. In the viticulture of the Middle East, vines will often trail along the ground. The vine-dresser has to come along and prop them up so they will become healthy and produce fruit. God often puts us out of our comfort zone to give opportunities for fellowship with Him. He often customizes trials to prompt us to depend on Him more. He wants our fellowship! He graciously works with us so we will become fruit-bearing disciples. What happens to those who continue to resist His working in their lives?
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:6
In a previous article we clarified that this is not referring to hell-fire. Rather, it is the fire of God’s “testing furnace” that Christians will experience at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The fire will try every man’s work of what sort it is. God’s fire – could it be the “fire” of His eyes? – will burn up the wood, hay, stubble that was produced by your life, leaving the gold, silver and precious stones. Using the analogy of Jesus in John 15, when branches are persistently not producing, they are cut off and set aside in a certain area to wither up and later became burned at the end of the season. So it is with the Christian. It is important to remember that abiding in Christ is the picture of ongoing fellowship with Him after salvation. It is not the means by which we are saved.
The warning of our Savior is clear. If you are not fellowshipping with Christ, even after His repeated, loving discipline, He will eventually remove you from discipleship (fellowship), leaving you to your own ways.
If you are not fellowshipping with Christ, even after His repeated, loving discipline, He will eventually remove you from discipleship (fellowship), leaving you to your own ways.
You will wither up spiritually, though you remain a child of God. You will then be put into His testing furnace at the Judgment Seat and you will be saved, yet so as by fire. Nevertheless, you will be ashamed as you enter His millennial kingdom with a greatly diminished capacity for glorifying Him. Throughout the Millennium, you will consciously regret that you did not remain in fellowship with Christ this side of the rapture. You will likely even shed many tears. Undoubtedly, that is why God wipes away tears after the Millennium, before we enter the New Jerusalem.
Thus, John the apostle admonishes:
Abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28
What about you, dear Christian? If Jesus were to come right now for His saints, rapturing them up to glory, would you hang your head in shame because you have not been a fruit-bearing disciple?
(2a) The New Radicals are Right and Wrong Posted on May 2, 2013 by James Hollandsworth
Christianity Today ran a cover story in its March 2013 issue featuring, “The New Radicals.” The simple, but creative graphic on the front cover shows the leg of a man wearing a business suit and wing-tip shoes, in stride behind the leg of a man wearing a white robe and sandals. The subtitle reads, “David Platt, Francis Chan, and other pastors are calling comfortable Christians to extreme discipleship.” Who are the new radicals? Perhaps you have read one of their books, which are all the rage now in the Christian publishing realm and even on national bestseller lists. Included in the genre are . . .
- Greater by Steven Furtick;
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan;
- Radical, Radical Together, and Follow Me by David Platt;
- Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.
I have read some of these books and have been quite blessed by their passionate outcry for Christians to get serious – radical! – about following Jesus. Let me first tell you why I think these new radicals are right, and then I will share what I believe to be a theological flaw in their writings that confuses and hurts the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
These pastors are exasperated with the shallowness of American Christianity, which has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. Platt, for example, is concerned that the American dream mentality has taken over how we do church. To grow a “successful church” today, he argues, seems to require a good performance (i.e., entertainment), a beautiful and comfortable place so crowds will come, programs to keep them coming back, and professionals to run the programs. “But what is strangely lacking in the picture … is desperation for the power of God,” he says, “never realizing that the Holy Spirit is virtually absent from the picture.” (Radical, p.49-50). Who could argue with such an accurate assessment?
Much is said in these books of the cost of true discipleship. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Jesus. Let someone else bury your dead. Fall into the ground and die. Hate your soul. Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters. Forsake all that you have. The new radicals are shocking modern churchgoers with the reality that a high price is required if they would truly follow Jesus. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. But we don’t want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. (Radical, p.12-13).
The new radicals believe that all Christians should be disciples, and their books are a clarion call to make whatever sacrifices are necessary for truly following Jesus. Nevertheless, the radical life they preach is not an end to itself. It is for the purpose of sharing the Gospel with the whole world, baptizing those who are saved, and making more disciples.
I appreciate their emphasis on discipleship. There is little of this focus in twenty-first century Christianity. Imagine what could happen in our world if Christians were to get serious about discipleship! Platt ponders the possibilities. What if God in all his might is simply waiting to show his power in a people who turn their backs on a philosophy of life that exalts their supposed ability to do anything they want and who instead confess their desperate need for him? What if God in all his grace is radically committed to showing himself strong on behalf of a people who express their need for him so their lives might make much of him? (Radical, p.54) Who can argue with this kind of preaching? I am thankful for men who are willing to take the risk of preaching hard Bible truth unashamedly.
However, there is a subtle danger in their message. The theology of the new radicals leads them to the conclusion that true Christians virtually always persevere and bear fruit. Real Christians pay the high price of discipleship. Those who do not, are probably not saved. There is little room in the theological system of the new radicals for carnal Christians. They tend to blur the biblical distinction between believers and disciples (see my previous series on this subject) and claim that all true believers are disciples. Notice the following quotes: Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than “Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me.” (Radical, p.10-11)
So how do we respond to this gospel? Suddenly contemporary Christianity sales pitches don’t seem adequate anymore. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Invite Jesus to come into your life. Pray this prayer, sign this card, walk down this aisle, and accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Our attempt to reduce this gospel to a shrink-wrapped presentation that persuades someone to say or pray the right things back to us no longer seems appropriate. That is why none of these man-made catch phrases are in the Bible. You will not find a verse in the Scripture where people are told to “bow your heads, close your eyes, and repeat after me.” You will not find a place where a superstitious sinner’s prayer is even mentioned. And you will not find an emphasis on accepting Jesus. (Radical, 37). We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about his commands, his standards, or his glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls. (Radical, p.38). There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death. There is no believing without committing. (Not a Fan, p.35). Many have made a decision to believe in Jesus without making a commitment to follow Jesus. The gospel allows for no such distinction … Biblical belief is more than just an intellectual acceptance or a heartfelt acknowledgment; it is a commitment to follow … Our churches … have separated the message of “believe” from the message “follow” … To truly believe is to follow. (Not a Fan, p.32).
Did you catch what the new radicals are doing? Using the tool of sarcasm, they are mocking the excesses of easy-believism (or easy-decisionism, if you prefer), which we also deplore. We agree that “pray-this-prayer-and-you-will-be-saved” or “walk-this-aisle-and-you-will-be-saved” is unbiblical, but the biblical alternative is not “pay-this-price-and-you-will-be-saved.” We agree that “pray-this-prayer-and-you-will-be-saved” or “walk-this-aisle-and-you-will-be-saved” is unbiblical, but the biblical alternative is not “pay-this-price-and-you-will-be-saved.” That is merely the other extreme! The new radicals are trying to make it look as if anything other than their Lordship salvation position is easy believism. But that is not the case.
There is a third position.
Platt says that salvation is not a “one-time decision” to “accept Jesus as your personal Savior.” Oh really? John 1:12 proclaims, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Receiving is taking. It is accepting Jesus, namely, His free gift of eternal life. Salvation is by simple faith (trust, dependence) in the finished work of Jesus. Repentance is turning to Jesus to deliver from sin.
While these men would use this same gospel terminology, their soteriological paradigm obligates them to redefine repentance as more than turning to Jesus in belief. Repentance becomes paying the price of being a disciple, making Christ Lord of one’s life. If one pays the price, he is saved; if he does not, he is not saved. Yet I remind the reader that lost men are incapable of paying the price of discipleship. To suggest that an unsaved person must deny self, take up their cross, hate family, etc., is to imply that certain works are required for salvation. Such a position is contrary to Scripture (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). I understand that the new radicals are at wit’s end with the deplorable condition of American Christianity, replete with licentious behavior and worldly attachments. So few believers are willing to pay the price to be a disciple. What, then, is the solution to shallow American Christianity? Is it to equate belief with discipleship and thereby suggest that to become saved one must be willing to pay the high price of discipleship?
I would contend that the most effective way to deal with shallow Christianity is to preach the urgency of discipleship for those who are children of God. Preach the awfulness of being unprepared for the Judgment Seat of Christ and the consequences of not becoming an overcomer. Preach the tragedy of being saved, yet so as by fire. Preach the shame of having one’s works burned up in Christ’s testing furnace. Preach the shame (conscious regret and tears) that will accompany unworthy Christians throughout the Millennium. And then preach the love of Jesus, Who is ready and willing to enable those who desire to follow Him.
(2b) David Platt Brook Hills, Birmingham, Alabama (2010 experiment)
It's not easy to make the Church at Brook Hills, Alabama's second-largest congregation, look like a slum. But in 2010, the church collected trash all over Birmingham and set its stage in corrugated metal, scrap wood, plastic tarps, and other detritus. Three months before, their lead pastor, David Platt, had proposed that their church "take India," by which he meant pay for Compassion International's child survival programs in the country for an entire year. The whole church couldn't jet off to India, but the rubbish on stage tangibly reminded its members of the country's impoverished communities. With the stage literally set, Platt called his church to something more than giving $525,000 to Compassion. Platt and the Church at Brook Hills (affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention) spent a full year praying for the world, reading the entire Bible, giving their money to those in need, spending time in a context beyond Birmingham, and building community. The five components of "the Radical Experiment" may not seem that radical; they're more like basic Christian discipleship. Forty families and singles committed to moving into a disadvantaged area of Birmingham. As one attendee told me, the news created something of a reputation for the church. After Platt released Radical in May 2010, it spent more than two years on The New York Times advice best-seller list.
At the heart of David Platt's message is his claim that we mistakenly turn the "radical Jesus of the Bible … into the comfortable Jesus of 21st-century American culture." He warns that the culture of "self-advancement, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency" and our "individualism, materialism, and universalism" have neutered American Christians' witness and blinded us to widespread global poverty, an orphan crisis, and the massive number of those who still have never heard of Jesus.
LUKE 23
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast 18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty poundsa]">[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
The Narrow Door 22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”