At one end of the spectrum, many believe that simply because they have “given their hearts to the Lord” they are true, saved Christians. At the other end of the spectrum, many sincere believers see the faults and failures in their own lives – perhaps even after many years of trying to walk in the Way – and wonder “Am I really living as a true disciple of Jesus Christ?” Thankfully, the New Testament gives us three clear tests by which we can tell if we really are a Christian and walking in God’s way of life. Those tests are found in the first epistle of the apostle John.
The first test John gives us has to do with our beliefs: “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2: 21). Notice that John stresses that true Christians – those to whom he is writing – walk in the truth (something John mentions in all his epistles – 2 John 1:1–4; 3 John 1:3–4; etc.). But notice also that John is not talking about having perfect doctrinal understanding. That may be a goal God helps us grow toward, but it is not the present reality that we must already have. Truly essential belief, John tells us, is simply that Jesus is the Christ – in other words, belief that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah the Bible promised, and the One who has saved us from our sins. This first test is actually a very simple one that requires no theological training or years of biblical study. If we believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ, we have passed the first test!
The second test John gives us relates to our actions: “But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5–6). In case we have any doubt, John clarifies what this means: “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them” (1 John 3:24, emphasis added here and below). But this does not imply constant perfection in our behavior – John makes it clear that spiritually we all fall down occasionally (1 John 1:8), but that as Christians we do not ignore God’s commands, but repent and are forgiven when we do fall down (1 John 1:9), and are constantly trying to obey God with his help (1 John 2:1). This may seem like a harder test to pass than the first one, but in reality, it simply means we are doing our best to obey and walk with God.
The third and final test John gives us is one of attitude: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14). This is a separate test from that regarding our actions because it is perfectly possible to do actions (for example, giving to charity) that seem loving, but which are not based on real love in one’s heart and mind. We may do good deeds simply to win the approval of others, but truly loving others is very different. In some ways, this may seem like an easy test to pass – and usually it is – but we should always be ready to analyze our own motives, if necessary, that our deeds are based in truly loving attitudes.
Passing all of these tests is necessary to be a true disciple of Jesus. We must have right belief, actions, and attitudes. John not only mentions the three tests individually, but also often groups two of them together, as when he writes “Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister” (1 John 3:10), or “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments” (1 John 5:2).
John also summarizes all three of the tests in several powerful verses. For example: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him” (1 John 3:18-19 ESV). Likewise, John tells us “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands … And his commands are not burdensome … Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:1–5).
In these verses, and others, John stresses that the truth of our belief, our continued effort to do what is right, and our attitude of love are all necessary – but he also stresses the good news that doing these things is not really burdensome or difficult, that these conditions can be present in our lives, and that through them we can we reassured of the genuineness of our life in God (1 John 3:19).
Naturally, the Christian understands that these “tests” are not a means to salvation – we do not do these things in order to earn God’s forgiveness or gift of eternal life – they are rather the evidence that we are saved by him. John’s letters to true Christians do not say “if you do these things,” but “we know that we have passed from death to life because” we do them. The good news is that through God’s love, those who truly seek to walk with him are not repeatedly failing, but continually passing the tests John gives.
Instead of focusing on the stories we know well about Peter and the other leading disciples and what may be unfounded legends and traditions regarding the others, whenever possible this book, by R. Herbert, looks at what the Bible tells us about the group as a whole – something we often read over without thought. Yet what the New Testament tells us about the group Jesus chose is not simply background information and often teaches some profoundly important lessons that were written for our education. Lessons from the Lives of the Twelve Disciples is available in formats for computer, e-book reader, or smart phone, Download a free copy from the e-books page on this website, or from FreeChristianEBooks.org, here.
“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said … ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory’ ”(Mark 10:35-37). People will go to great lengths to get the best seats in a restaurant, a theater, or at some important public occasion, but James and John excelled themselves in their asking, through their mother (Matthew 20:20-21), for the seats at the right and left hand of Christ in his coming kingdom.
We should remember that this event took place shortly after Jesus had already promised his apostles that they should all “sit upon thrones” judging the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:28). Their request was not just for authority, but to be elevated to the highest positions at Christ’s right and left hand.
The audacity of these two men may seem remarkable in what they asked, but in reality, James and John were not the only disciples enamored by the thought of ruling with power. Mark shows that the other disciples were extremely angry once they realized the two brothers had made this bid for prominence in the group (Matthew 20:24). While the other disciples’ reaction may have been one of “righteous indignation,” it is probably more likely that they were simply angry at being almost outmaneuvered in regard to who would be the greatest among them.
Yet we should notice that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples regarding their desire for these elevated positions. Rather, he first asked James and John if they were able to “drink the cup” he was going to have to drink (Matthew 20:22).
Jesus then patiently explained to all the disciples that the greatest among them must be the greatest servant (Matthew 20:25-27) and tried to help them to understand that before any such elevated positions in his kingdom were assigned, he must suffer and die (vs. 28).
After this, Jesus continued on the way to Jerusalem where he knew his life would end. But we do not know if the disciples learned the lesson he had attempted to teach them. There is nothing in the Gospels that indicates they did understand or apply the lesson at that time. We can almost see them jostling with each other to get to be closest to Jesus as he rode, humbly yet triumphantly, into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11). But the events that soon took place must surely have brought the lesson back in their memories.
After Jesus’ betrayal, when it came to the time of his death on the cross, the only ones who were lifted up at his right and left hand were the two condemned individuals who were crucified on either side of him (Matthew 27:38). We can only wonder if James and John realized the irony of that fact, and if they saw in it the lesson Christ had tried to teach them – that those who get to be elevated on the right and left hand of the Son of God are not the great of the world who rule by the world’s power, but those who symbolically, spiritually, are crucified with him (Galatians 2:19-20).
The more we grow spiritually, the more we desire to please God; but how do we most effectively do that? The New Testament mentions a number of ways in which we should please God – that we cannot please him without faith (Hebrews 10:38), without “walking in the Spirit” (Romans 8:8), etc. But in his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul makes a statement that summarizes the many answers to that question (Colossians 1:9-12). Paul tells us he prayed that believers “… may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way…” (vs. 10, emphasis added), and he then follows this thought by speaking of four specific ways that, taken together, please God in “every way.”
Paul’s statement is almost startling in both its reach and its simplicity. No other passage in the New Testament claims to tell us how to be completely pleasing to God, so we should look very closely at the characteristics the apostle tells us fulfill this goal. The four things are:
1.Bearing fruit in every good work (vs. 10). Paul makes it clear throughout his epistles that although good works do not save us, God expects us to produce good works as a result of being saved (Titus 3:8, 14, etc.). Throughout the New Testament the expression “good works” primarily refers to works done to help others (Hebrews 13:16, etc.), but it also includes our obedience to God (1 Thessalonians 4:1, Hebrews 13:20-21, etc.). We should also notice Paul’s stress in Colossians 1 is not that “some” good works will please God, but that we are urged to “every good work” – to as many good works as possible!
2.Growing in the knowledge of God (vs. 10). Paul next cites our ongoing growing in the knowledge of God and his ways as being central to our ability to please God. It is only as we come to know God that we can learn to properly love, fear, trust, and obey him (Psalm 147:11). Knowledge itself is of no use without application (1 Corinthians 13:1-2), but growing in knowledge can enable us to better grow in good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The first two points Paul gives for how to please God correspond directly with the apostle Peter’s summary admonition that we should “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, emphasis added). Paul also stresses these same two characteristics elsewhere in his writing (Philippians 1:9), but in Colossians 1 he goes further to add two more points that we need in order to fully please God:
3. Being strengthened by God (vs. 11). This is not strength for its own sake, of course, rather “… that you may have great endurance and patience” (Colossians 1:11, Ephesians 3:16, etc.). Given what Paul says in this verse, there is no question that this strengthening is actually something God must do in us: “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might,” yet we must make this possible by asking God’s help and trusting him in faith to supply his strength. In that sense, this characteristic includes the quality of faith itself, as the basis of our strength, endurance and patience (Hebrews 11:6).
4. Giving thanks to God (vs. 12). The final characteristic that Paul tells us is pleasing to God is deep gratitude on our part: “… giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” In fact, thankfulness is a theme to which the apostle returns numerous times in this short epistle (Colossians 2:7; 3:15, 17; 4:2) – in this way reinforcing our understanding of its importance in God’s eyes.
So Paul’s four summary characteristics of believers who truly please God are not what many of us might guess. Humanly, we might suppose that never-failing obedience, great sacrifice, frequent or long periods of prayer, or any number of other things that relate to our own lives might be what please God. But Paul’s four characteristics do not focus on our lives – they are all primarily outward looking toward others and God himself. Perhaps we should not be surprised that the things Paul says greatly please God are all expressions of our love for others and love for God. That is basic enough, but the four specific characteristics Paul enumerates are worthy of our careful study – if we want to please God, they are among the highest goals for which we can aim.
The apostle James uses the word “religion” in a specific sense. Rather than meaning religion in the sense of the body of beliefs we hold (as in “the Christian religion”), James uses religion to mean what we do about our beliefs (as in “he practices his religion”).
The verse most of us remember in this context is found in the first chapter of James’ epistle: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).
But this verse, so often quoted in isolation (or marked in our Bibles that way) is actually only part of James’ teaching on this subject. When we read James 1:27 in context we see that his thought actually begins in the verse before this one: “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:26).
Now, if we read these verses together – as we should – we find something interesting: that James is giving us not two, but three distinct tests of our religion or personal religious practice. First (in verse 26), he gives us the test of speech. James does not give us any specific examples here; he just tells us plainly that religion that is not worthless involves control of our speech – whether it be the restraint of negative or impure speech or the use of positive uplifting speech.
Next (in verse 27), James tells us that religious behavior that God accepts includes good deeds. Here, he does give a specific example – to look after orphans and widows in need. But the principle is obviously a broad one of which this is just an example. The care for orphans and widows clearly represents our actions toward everyone in need – our willingness to act on our religious beliefs on their behalf.
Finally (in the second half of verse 27), James tells us that religion acceptable to God also includes keeping oneself from being “polluted by the world.” Here again James does not give any specific example of what he has in mind, but we can gain insight into his meaning by comparing this verse with what the apostle says later in this same letter: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Here, James is also talking about the problematic ways in which the wrongful aspects of the world around us can influence us negatively. Although this influence can affect our actions and words, interestingly it is our thoughts that James has in mind here. We see this from what James says directly before verse 4: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want” (James 4:1-3).
So the setting of James 4:4 has to do with our thoughts and attitudes. That means that the three tests James gives us in James 1:26-27 are, respectively, tests of what we say, do, and think. Thinking, saying and doing embrace most of what we are as individuals, of course, and James makes the point that our religion, if it is to be true, must involve all three – the behavior of the mind, the tongue, and the hand: our thoughts, words and deeds.
But the wording James uses is particularly important because he stresses that no matter how good our religion may be in one of those areas, it is meaningless if it is not matched in the others. James tells us that it doesn’t matter what good deeds we do if our thoughts or words are not also right; it is of no importance if our thoughts and words are right, but our deeds do not follow through. All three must be right.
These combined tests of what constitutes true religion should give us all pause. It is only as we analyze our own behavior in all three areas and ensure that, with God’s help, we are living out our religion in all of them* that we will pass the tests James gives us. *See our article on the surprising order of importance the Bible gives to words, thoughts, and deedshere.
“We must hang together, or we’ll hang separately.”
“. . . ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
These statements identify (and in some cases, define) those who spoke them. But no one has ever uttered more impacting words than Jesus Christ, and no statement of Jesus’ more defines His life and what it means to be His disciple than the Sermon on the Mount. It may be the most familiar of Jesus’ teachings, though arguably the least understood and obeyed.
The sermon has been called Christ’s Manifesto – His platform speech outlining the character of those under His kingdom rule. The events that led up to it — His rabbinic training, baptism, wrestling match with Satan, and selection of a cabinet (twelve disciples) — give it the feel of an inaugural address. We speak of a person’s seat in Congress and of a professor’s chair at college, so Matthew’s note that Jesus “sat down” for this sermon is quite significant. This is no small talk. Here Jesus reinterprets the law, redefines spirituality, and calls His followers to a radically different lifestyle in which we love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and offer our coat to the one who steals our cloak.
Before we get too far into the body of the sermon, let’s linger at the introduction: the Beatitudes. There are eight of them, each beginning with the word blessed, commonly rendered “happy.” Yes, these two words are related, but Jesus has more in mind than merely feeling good. The Beatitudes were crafted for their shock effect. The kingdom belongs to the poor; the truly joyous are those who mourn; the meek, not the rich and affluent, are the true owners of the earth’s real estate.
This isn’t a treatise on social ethics, nor the random sayings of a preacher who’s run out of steam. The Beatitudes are the description of a true disciple. If you’d heard of Christian disciples but never met one, here’s the profile. These qualities aren’t optional; every believer will possess each of them in some measure.
The Beatitudes’ sequence is important; each one lays the foundation for the next. Like climbing a mountain with God at the top, our journey toward Him begins with poverty of spirit, declaring spiritual bankruptcy – recognizing that we bring nothing to the table except our sin. Humbled, we weep tears of repentance (mourning). Then we quit calling the shots in our own lives and for others (meekness). Contrary to popular opinion, meekness isn’t weakness but a total surrender to God, illustrated by the two people Scripture calls meek: Moses and Jesus. Humbled, repentant, and surrendered, we hunger and thirst for God Himself and His righteousness.
We’re now at the mountain peak where disciples like to camp, but we can’t stay here. We must go back to the valley where life is lived and our discipleship is tested. So the first four beatitudes move us toward God; the last four point us to others. The descent begins with mercy and compassion for those in need. Purity of motive, protecting and preserving our relationships (peacemaking), and rejoicing when persecuted: These are where the rubber meets the road.
Matthew (7:28, 29) notes that those who first heard the sermon were amazed. May those who hear it now be radically transformed, becoming a nearer copy of the One whose disciples we are.
*Used with permission from the Bible Advocate, Jan-Feb 2010
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