What is the defining mark of a Disciple of Christ?

[Barrd]

How can we recognize a disciple of the Lord, Jesus Christ?

The Lord Himself gave us this sign to look for:

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

[bling]

How and where do you find them?

 

[Barrd]

That depends. If you're looking for someone who is perfect, you'll never find one. Even the best of 'em mess up sometimes.
And there aren't many of them...that's for sure.
Obviously, they are the ones who post with love.

In a forum like this one, you won't find many at all. There might be a couple of them, though...you might try looking for the one who is "swimming upstream"...let me know if you find any!

 

[wesOK]

I believe that being a true disciple of Christ is very simple when you get down to it. God is love! We have to be compassionate, kind, and forgiving if we want to be truly happy in this life. Our goal in life is to be more Christlike and these three characteristics are vital in doing this. We must also do this to teach our children and youth how to obtain these attributes. it is our responsibility as well as the churches. We can help our churches through fundraisers and programs like cell Phones 4 Churches. This will give them the ability to get the resources needed to help in this education process. It is definitely not the responsibility of the public schools and we must recognize that fact. We must be examples of living what Jesus taught us. Love everyone you come across in life and treat others the way you want to be treated.

 

[Barrd]

I believe that being a true disciple of Christ is very simple when you get down to it. God is love! We have to be compassionate, kind, and forgiving if we want to be truly happy in this life. Our goal in life is to be more Christlike and these three characteristics are vital in doing this. We must also do this to teach our children and youth how to obtain these attributes. it is our responsibility as well as the churches. We can help our churches through fundraisers and programs like cell Phones 4 Churches. This will give them the ability to get the resources needed to help in this education process. It is definitely not the responsibility of the public schools and we must recognize that fact. We must be examples of living what Jesus taught us. Love everyone you come across in life and treat others the way you want to be treated.

Loving others with that unconditional, Christlike love is not easy at all. You are right, of course....being compassionate, kind, and especially forgiving...these are the tools for building a happy life. But don't pretend that these are easy. Oh, sure...loving our family, and our friends...not so tough. Even forgiving them when they hurt us...although that can be a little more difficult.
It's that "love your enemies" idea that didn't go over too well 2000 years ago...and is still not going over very well today...

And I wouldn't count on the church to teach these values to our children. No...these are things that they can only learn from their parents.
And here's the thing...kids are really hard to fool. Nobody knows you the way your kid knows you...not even you.

 

[Webers_Home]

-
An "expert witness" can be defined as: A witness, who by virtue of
education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a
particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others
may officially (and legally) rely upon the witness's specialized (scientific,
technical or other) opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope
of their expertise, referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to the
fact-finder.

According to God's testimony, as an expert witness in all matters pertaining
to His son, Christians lacking eternal life are also lacking His son; viz: they
are quite christless.

†. 1John 5:11-12 . . And this is what God has testified: He has given us
eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has the life;
whoever does not have the life, does not have His son.

It goes without saying that christless Christians are not Jesus' sheep.

†. Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ.

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[Barrd]

-
An "expert witness" can be defined as: A witness, who by virtue of
education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a
particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others
may officially (and legally) rely upon the witness's specialized (scientific,
technical or other) opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope
of their expertise, referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to the
fact-finder.

I think we can safely rely on Jesus Christ as an "expert witness" in this case.
Don't you?

According to God's testimony, as an expert witness in all matters pertaining
to His son, Christians lacking eternal life are also lacking His son; viz: they
are quite christless.

It's going to be rather difficult for you or I to look at someone else and know whether or not they have eternal life, don't you think? What we're after here, is how men may know Christ's disciples.

†. 1John 5:11-12 . . And this is what God has testified: He has given us
eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has the life;
whoever does not have the life, does not have His son.

For the gift of God is eternal life...

It goes without saying that christless Christians are not Jesus' sheep.

There is no such thing as a "christless Christian". There are an awful lot of phony Christians, that is true...tares among the wheat.

†. Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ.

And the Lord gave us a sign, so that we might know the Spirit of Christ.




Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

[Webers_Home]

-
I believe that love is best exemplified via the attributes of grace.

†. Heb 12:28 . . Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear.

The New Testament Greek word for "grace" is charis (khar'-ece); which
means: graciousness.

Webster's defines graciousness as: kind, courteous, inclined to good will,
generous, charitable, merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial,
affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.

Cordial stresses warmth and heartiness

Affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to
conversation or requests or proposals

Genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality

Sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others

Generous is characterized by a noble or forbearing spirit; viz: magnanimous,
kindly, and liberal in giving

Charitable means full of love for, and goodwill toward, others; viz:
benevolent, tolerant, and lenient.

Altruistic means unselfish regard for, or devotion to, the welfare of others;
viz: a desire to be of service to others for no other reason than it just feels
good to do so.

Tactful indicates a keen sense of what to do, or say, in order to maintain
good relations with others in order to resolve and/or avoid unnecessary
conflict.

Compassion defines a sympathetic awareness of others' distress, coupled
with a desire to alleviate it.

Love is very easy to imitate, but seeing as how true love comes from the
heart, then true love is impossible to duplicate if your heart's not in it.

†. 1Pet 1:22 . . Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply,
from the heart.

Webster's defines "sincere" as marked by genuineness (honesty) and/or free
of dissimulation.

"dissimulation" speaks of concealing one's true feelings about someone by
putting up a front.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

[Barrd]

-
I believe that love is best exemplified via the attributes of grace.

†. Heb 12:28 . . Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear.

The New Testament Greek word for "grace" is charis (khar'-ece); which
means: graciousness.

Webster's defines graciousness as: kind, courteous, inclined to good will,
generous, charitable, merciful, altruistic, compassionate, thoughtful, cordial,
affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, considerate, and tactful.

Cordial stresses warmth and heartiness

Affable implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to
conversation or requests or proposals

Genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality

Sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others

Generous is characterized by a noble or forbearing spirit; viz: magnanimous,
kindly, and liberal in giving

Charitable means full of love for, and goodwill toward, others; viz:
benevolent, tolerant, and lenient.

Altruistic means unselfish regard for, or devotion to, the welfare of others;
viz: a desire to be of service to others for no other reason than it just feels
good to do so.

Tactful indicates a keen sense of what to do, or say, in order to maintain
good relations with others in order to resolve and/or avoid unnecessary
conflict.

Compassion defines a sympathetic awareness of others' distress, coupled
with a desire to alleviate it.

Love is very easy to imitate, but seeing as how true love comes from the
heart, then true love is impossible to duplicate if your heart's not in it.

†. 1Pet 1:22 . . Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply,
from the heart.

Webster's defines "sincere" as marked by genuineness (honesty) and/or free
of dissimulation.

"dissimulation" speaks of concealing one's true feelings about someone by
putting up a front.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I think we find ourselves in agreement....

 

[Jun2u]

What is the defining mark of a Disciple of Christ?

I believe the hallmark of a true believer is to Accept and Obey the Bible

To God Be The Glory.

 

[Barrd]

What is the defining mark of a Disciple of Christ?

I believe the hallmark of a true believer is to Accept and Obey the Bible

To God Be The Glory.

There are people who believe the Bible who are not Christians, who think that Jesus was a very wise man and even that He was crucified for His rather unusual ideas. There are even atheists who will tell you that they agree with the morality that the Bible teaches.
No, I think it is something deeper than simply accepting and obeying the Bible.

And I think that Jesus, Who ought to know, gave us the sign that identifies His disciples and puts them apart from everyone else.
And that is love. One cannot love with the unconditional love that Jesus has for us, without His spirit within them.

Jesus told us, Himself:


Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Why would we not believe Him?

 

[Jun2u]

There are people who believe the Bible who are not Christians, who think that Jesus was a very wise man and even that He was crucified for His rather unusual ideas. There are even atheists who will tell you that they agree with the morality that the Bible teaches.
No, I think it is something deeper than simply accepting and obeying the Bible.

And I think that Jesus, Who ought to know, gave us the sign that identifies His disciples and puts them apart from everyone else.
And that is love. One cannot love with the unconditional love that Jesus has for us, without His spirit within them.

Jesus told us, Himself:


Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Why would we not believe Him?

Exactly! The Bible consist of only one truth. Why do you suppose there are so many different denominations in the world? Because every church comes with their own presuppositions. If we are reading the same Christian Bible why can't we arrive with the same conclusions?

I will reiterate what I've declared. The hallmark of a true believer is to accept what scriptures states because God is the Author and that we are to believe and obey the contents written therein. If we disregard these principles then the rest of scriptures will be meaningless.

To God Be The Glory