Christians can persist in their relationship with the Lord, by God’s grace and his indwelling Holy Spirit. They remain Christians. They must also do what all disciples do, to maintain their walk with God. This post has a list of ten characteristics of a healthy disciple.
The disciple is a learner, student, follower and apprentice of the Master, and the disciple is filled with the Spirit.
For a deeper look:
Let’s begin our study.
I.. Introduction
A.. Can we drift away from God?
Can a truly born-again disciple walk away from his relationship with God? We look at discipleship to ensure, by God’s grace and his indwelling Spirit, that the disciple does not drift from his relationship with God.
B.. Discipleship
Most importantly, this post ends by exploring what discipleship means biblically. No one has to drift from his saving and personal relationship with God and union with Christ, if the disciple does at least ten practices of discipleship, by the grace of God and empowerment of the Spirit. In this post, discipleship equals the process of sanctification, because the Spirit lives in disciple and sanctifies them.
In this post, I mostly use the word believer, and not disciple.
C. Life in the Spirit
To emphasize the previous point, the section on pneumatology (and the previous posts on life in the Spirit) shows that we disciples are filled with the Spirit. Sanctification and discipleship assumes that the Spirit lives in us. We cannot live a holy life without the Holy Spirit and grace empowering us.
II.. Basics
A.. Brief intro.
Now, here is my interpretation.
B.. The Bible teaches the security of the true believer.
Psalm 37:23-24 says that the Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in the Lord; if the man stumbles, he will not fall, because the Lord upholds him with his hand. This appears like eternal security because the Lord safeguards the believer in his hand, even during tough times. However, those who teach possible apostasy note the condition of delighting in the Lord. In other words, one must delight in the Lord, and then the believer will not fall away out of his own (weakening) free will.
Psalm 121, in its entirety (eight verses), promises that the Lord will watch over Israel, and nothing shall harm this nation. But the bulk of the nation did fall away, so they were not true believers. Only the true believers remained in the covenant. This proves that God knows his elect. On the other side, the warning still assumes potential falling away of everyone who does not maintain his faith. Humans have a role to play—keeping their faith intact. And it is possible that anyone could lose faith, even truly born-again believers.
Psalm 145:20 says that the Lord watches over everyone who loves him but destroys the wicked. This seems to teach eternal security, but those who teach possible apostasy claim that the condition is maintaining one’s love for the Lord.
John 6:37 says that whom the Father gives to Jesus will come to him, and the Son of God will not drive them away. Of course the teachers who say it is possible to drift say that Jesus won’t drive his disciples away, but the individual truly born-again believer can drift on his own.
John 10:27-29 show Jesus saying that his sheep hear his voice, and no one can snatch them out of his hands. Those who teach possible apostasy claim that this verse opens the door for the believer himself to walk away, not an outside force.
Romans 8:35-39 ask the question: who can separate believers from the love of Christ? Then the verses list all the troubles that Christian can encounter; even death or life or angels or demons nor anything in creation can succeed in separating true believers from his love. In fact, true believers are more than conquerors (v. 37). Those verses teach strong eternal security, but the one thing that they omit is the faith of the truly born-again believer, and sometimes it weakens so much that he drifts away from a personal relationship with Christ. For those who teach possible apostasy, it is not so much leaving a state or condition, but a relationship with Christ.
First Corinthians 1:8 has a reassuring promise, because it says that the Lord will keep them firm to the end, so that they will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ (his coming). Yes, God will keep them firm and conditionalists don’t deny that and even celebrate, but other passages don’t support eternal security.
Philippians 1:6 and 1 Peter 1:4-5 say that God will keep believers until the last day. And those who teach eternal security claim that God is the foundation of the believers’ persisting in the faith. On the other side. those who teach possible apostasy agree that God is the foundation of a secure relationship, but sometimes born-again believers sometimes just walk off the foundation, after much enticements and inducements, and then he exercises his free (tempted) will.
Second Thessalonians 3:3 promises that the Lord will protect believers from the evil one. And 1 John 5:18 says that anyone born of God does not continue to sin, and Jesus, who was born of God, keeps the believer safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. These are great promises, and because no outside evil being can deflect the true believer off his course and his relationship with God. However, even a truly born-again believer can just give up and walk away from his relationship with God.
Second Timothy 1:12 shows Paul reminding Timothy that Paul was suffering, but this is no cause for shame, because Paul knows that God will guard what he has entrusted to him, until “that day,” or the second coming (or possibly his death). Paul was strong in his faith, so he would not fall away. But other truly born-again believers might weaken in their faith and drift, as Demas did, who abandoned Paul because of the former’s love of the world (3:10). If Demas was not truly born again, then why did Paul choose him? Was Paul so spiritually obtuse that he could not detect Demas’s shallowness? Since he associated with Paul, it is probable that he exercised some gifts, like his Spirit-inspired prayer language (archaically known as ‘tongues’). It is more likely that Demas was truly born-again, but simply left after being enticed by the world.
Hebrews 10:32-38, in this long and great passage about the original readers of the epistle suffered persecution, like imprisonment, public exposure and confiscation of property. Then in v. 36 the writer tells them to persevere (persist or “hang in there”), so that when they do the will of God they will receive what was promised, namely the coming of the Lord. And v. 38 says that the righteous live by faith, and the Lord takes no pleasure in those who shrink back. And so v. 39 says that the readers are not those who did shrink back and were destroyed, but they had faith and were saved. Those who teach eternal security claim that God sustained those who were truly born again, while the shallow believers potentially could fall away or apostatize. On the other hand, those who teach possible apostasy of truly born-again believers claim that the warning is for everyone, the shallow and the true. It is possible for true believers to fall away, because v. 39 mentions faith–a condition.
C.. The Bible teaches possible apostasy of the true believer.
First Timothy 1:19-20 passage says that some have rejected faith and a good conscience and have suffered shipwreck of their faith, like two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Paul handed over to Satan, to be taught not to blaspheme. Those who teach eternal security claim that these men were not truly born again, while those who teach the potential of falling away may agree these men were not truly born again, but the others in Ephesus to whom Timothy was ministering were surely truly born again, or was no one truly born again? Paul’s warning was for the whole Christian community, whether the shallow or the truly born again. Therefore anyone can drift away from the faith and relationship with the Lord.
First Timothy 6:10 and 21 teach that some have fallen away, for the love of money (v. 10) and special (false) knowledge. As noted in the previous point, Paul was issuing this warning to everyone in the Christian community; therefore, anyone can drift away. On the other side, those who teach eternal security conclude that anyone who fell away back in the first century had a shallow faith and were not truly born again.
Second Timothy 2:16-19 say that two teachers were part of the Christian community and departed from the truth and taught falsehoods (the resurrection had already taken place) and destroyed the faith of some. Nonetheless, Paul proclaims that God’s foundation stands firm, and believers are sealed with the inscription that “the Lord knows those who are his” and “everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” Teachers of eternal security say that truly born-again believers stand firm on God’s secure foundation, while the shallow who were not truly born again wander off. On the other side, those who teach the possibility of apostasy say that the condition of remaining a Christian is to turn away from wickedness (v. 19). Sometimes the truly born again will wander towards the false teachings, like the ones who believed the false teachers.
First Timothy. 4:1 plainly teaches: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” Eternal security teachers say they were never truly saved, or else they would have never devoted themselves to such awful things, while the conditionalists teach they were saved because they had to belong to the faith before they could depart from it.
D.. Summary
So it looks like your interpretation of these verses depends on your starting point. If you assume that only shallow “seeming believers” fall away, while the truly born again do not, then you will impose this template, even if the evidence warns all believers against apostasy. I believe that the potential (maybe drifting away) can become actual (the drift has happened).
This issue can never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. I hope therefore that we do not quarrel over it but instead just focus on developing our relationship with the Father in Jesus’s name and through the power of the Spirit.
I suggest that we should not get bogged down with these verbal disputes that can never be completely resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Therefore I hope we develop our relationship with the Father in Jesus’s name and through the power of the Spirit.
III. Questions and Answers
A.. How can I be assured of my salvation?
Renewal theologian J. Rodman Williams, who believes in the possibility of apostasy, writes: “Our security is not in ourselves, but in God. Moreover, there is no earthly security that begins to compare with it. ‘Salvation belongs to our God’ (Rev. 7:10), and we are totally secure in Him” (vol. 2, p. 131). “And this is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the Spirit he gave us” (1 John 3:24). Remain in Christ, therefore.
B.. If I do all those six disciplines (see below), do they make me a Christian?
You become a Christian by repenting of your sins, confessing Jesus is Lord, and asking the Spirit to cause you to be born again. Those other six disciplines assume you have already been born again. I offer them here merely to help you grow in the relationship with the Lord that you already have.
C.. Does disobeying any one of those six things (below) make me lose my salvation?
No. Positively, on your repentance they just mean you are growing in Christ. They should flow as naturally in you as eating a meal. No strenuous effort.
D.. Does doing a few bad things make me an apostate?
No. It is impossible to draw the line. (See the next question and answer).
Just develop your personal relationship with the Father in Jesus’s name and through the power of the Spirit.
E.. How can I tell when I have drifted my salvation?
It is difficult to know when a person drifts from his salvation, since the process is gradual. We cannot know where to draw the line between loss of intimacy, coldness, backsliding, and total apostasy. As noted, just develop your relationship with the Father, in Jesus’s name, and through the power of the Spirit. In the next section, I cover discipleship, so the issue does not have to matter.
Therefore, let’s not pronounce judgment on people, a judgment that says they are complete apostates when they do such and such. God may still be calling them back. So let’s instead pray for and encourage them, no matter how far they appear to be veering off course, from our limited point of view. Leave the final decision with God.
IV. Ten Signs of a Healthy Disciple
A.. Brief intro.
When the disciple–you and me–practice these things, we grow and persevere or persist in the Christian faith.
1.. Prayer and intimacy with God
Maintaining your prayer life in your walk (daily living) with him is so important. This is one verse among many about Jesus praying.
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12)
If he prayed regularly, so should we.
2.. Spirit baptism.
Seek God to be baptized in the Spirit. The Spirit came upon Jesus when he was water baptized:
[…] Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)
Here the 120 disciples were filled with the Spirit. You may or may not get a Spirit-inspired prayer language, but these 120 did.
Did 12 or 120 Speak in ‘Spirit-Inspired Languages’ (‘Tongues’) at Pentecost?
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
Please note: some churches teach that the baptism and infilling of the Spirit happens at conversion or new birth (born again). I do not wish to quarrel about it here. All I can say is that Jesus did not need conversion or new birth, yet he got filled with the Spirit to empower him for ministry.
3.. Water baptism
Get water baptized. This should have been done soon after your new birth, but sometimes delays happen. In any case, follow Jesus’s example, for even he got baptized:
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17)
4.. Scripture
You need to get into Scripture to saturate your mind. Study it strategically—who God is, who Christ is, who the Spirit is. Who humankind is (people are sinful.) Get into a Bible reading plan. Read a chapter a day. Or if you’re a total newbie, read a few verses from Proverbs and Psalms. Or read verses each day from the Gospel of John. Over time, everyone should read through the New Testament.
The church was into the word of God:
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. (Acts 12:24)
The town of Berea welcomed Paul and Silas. But the people there examined the Scriptures to find out whether their message was true. Note the result, Many of them, even the ones with high status, believed.
[…] they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. (Acts 17:11-12)
The Scriptures have this effect on open-hearted and open-minded hearers.
The earliest church considered the apostles’ teaching to be authoritative: “They [the earliest church] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” […] (Acts 2:42a). For the earliest church, apostolic teaching became Scripture through which they interpreted the Old Testament.
5.. Fellowship
You must fellowship with other believers at a Spirit-filled, Bible-teaching and Jesus-following church. In the next verse, the Sanhedrin and chief priests and elders, the highest court and council in Judaism at the time, threatened the apostles. Then the apostles left the council and reported back to their own community or church.
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. (Acts 4:23)
We must have fellowship with each other, particularly during tough times.
These verses come from the epistle to the Hebrews and encourage us to do something. What? Verse 25 is the key verse.:
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:24-25)
We need each other.
This passage, though long, spells out how the earliest church depended on each other.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
6.. Crucified or surrendered life
You must live the surrendered life before God. James 4:7: “Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Jesus said:
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)
But you do not have to surrender to crime or domestic violence. Instead, you relinquish your sins, willfulness, stubbornness, vices, bad attitudes, and addictions to God. You do not surrender to the devil, people, fate, or circumstances. In following Jesus, you surrender to him and him alone.
7.. Fruit of the Spirit
Living the surrendered or crucified life produces the fruit of the Spirit more powerfully and rapidly. Note v. 24 in this passage, which connects the crucified life with the fruit of the Spirit:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal. 5:22-24)
Go here to begin a series of my polished drafts on the fruit of the Spirit.
8.. Gifts of the Spirit
To be a mature disciple, you must experience the gifts which the Spirit himself distributes to you just as he determines (1 Cor. 12:11). “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Cor. 14:1).
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Rom. 12:6-8)
Do you teach Sunday school? Do you help people? Lead a home group? Show hospitality? Encourage people? Show mercy cheerfully?
Go here to begin a series on my polished drafts on the gifts of the Spirit:
Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and 12:28
Lord willing, I will write more on the gifts in another series.
9.. Outreach
You reach out to the lost. The gifts of the Spirit can help you here. These verses are about the Great Commission.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
We have all been commissioned to reach unsaved people. You can start by just being friendly to workers behind the counter at your favorite shop. When the transaction is completed, you can say, “Thank you. God bless you.” Or “Thank you. God loves you.” This simple truth can change a life by the power of the Spirit.
Next, you can be friendly at your job. Eventually they will catch on to your faith. But earn the right to be heard. If you are a lazy employee, then ask God to help you improve your behavior before you share your faith.
Or you can go the extra-mile for someone who is not a believer, like a family member. You can help her move or mow your widowed grandmother’s lawn or do this for your neighbor if he or she is in need.
10,. Giving and other good works
You should give regularly to your local church. And you do good works for God, in this safe environment. You can also give your time. You can volunteer to help out, for example, in the car park, or teaching Sunday School or in the kids department.
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Cor. 9:6-8)
The more you give to the poor and high-quality ministries, the more God will supply you with income so you can give some more. No, this is not “give to get rich,” but God does love a cheerful giver.
Be careful, though, for some ministries are off balance and even fraudulent. Give to your local church first, but be sure the pastors do not live the life of luxury and hyper-prosperity, while everyone else lives middle-class or working-class lives.
Next, we are going to be judged by our good or bad words and works (Matt. 12:36; Rom. 2:6-8). Here are verses that talk about your salvation and then you doing good works:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10)
Get the sequence. Salvation first by grace through faith. Then, second, after salvation, you do good works that God has prepared for you to do.
Here’s a simple formula to help you remember the sequence, the arrows meaning “leads to” or “produces”:
This:
Salvation → Good works
Not this:
Good works → Salvation
B.. Summary
Do not treat those ten characteristics as The Ten Commandments. They are not a new law. They are goals to shoot for. Yet, a healthy disciple has at least some of those ten truths operating in her life. But don’t be discouraged if you are weak in certain areas. Give God time to work in you. Be as patient with yourself as God is with you! God loves you and wants to work with you and grow you up by his Spirit living in and empowering you.
V.. Reflections
A.. No fear of rejection from God
We should never live in fear that we can drift from our salvation frivolously or casually. You can be totally secure in your Father. He really does sustain you by his grace and Spirit living in you. You can have assurance in your heart that you belong to him. Do not let the devil whisper to you that you are not saved. That is a lie.
B.. Assurance through the Spirit
You can have assurance of your salvation by the Spirit living in you. Here is one sample verse: “The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
C.. Caution
However, you can drift away from your walk with God. Those (above) verses of warning are for everyone in the Christian community, whether the shallow or the truly born again.
You are eternally secure, if you keep your relationship with your Father through Christ and the power of the Spirit. Just surrender to the cross each day, and ask God to fill you with his Spirit, so you can walk in the Spirit each day.
Therefore, let’s learn how to remain a Christian by focusing on our relationship with our loving Father through Christ and the power of the Spirit.
D.. Word of encouragement from Williams
He writes:
The first fact—and glorious indeed—is that our eternal security is in God; that our salvation is based on the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who has made salvation possible for us, and who daily sustains us by His grace. It is a great salvation indeed! (p. 135)
But then he offers this balanced thought in the same paragraph:
However, just because it is so great, the New Testament writers are also concerned to warn us of the tragedy of its possible loss. One senses in all the biblical warnings a compassionate note of hope that none of the dire results should befall believers. (ibid.)
His main point is that the truly born-again believer must keep believing, so there is a small human element and a massive role for God to our remaining a Christian and persisting in faith.
E.. One question
Are you a disciple? If so, you are a learner. You are supposed to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of him. He calls you to take his yoke upon yourself and walk with him.
F.. The test
You have to take the test. A student submits during tests that Jesus gives. But during the test sometimes the teachers seems silent. But if you quiet your mind, then you will discover that this is an open-book exam. You can bring your Bible. Then the teacher will call you in front to his desk and then he will ask you questions, so it’s a personal test. If you stumble and fail, he may send you back to the basics class, which he also teaches. But he will not kick you out of his school. You just have to start over from the beginning.
G.. Stay in his school
Never give up or walk out of his school. Just submit to him. Learn of him. Then he will help and empower you by his empowering grace. You cannot be a disciple without him in your heart and life. Disciples know God. Then he will commission you to go out and reach your corner of the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 