True Disciples of the Lord

1
True Disciples of the Lord

• Is there a relatively simple way to recognize
  them?

2
How Do People Recognize True Disciples of God?

• By Our Strong Stand for Our Doctrine?

3
A Strong Stand on Doctrine
How to Recognize True Disciples

• But other groups who hold different doctrines are
  also steadfast in their beliefs.
• Mormons, Catholics, Islam, etc.
• Even in the New Testament, false teachers
  persisted in their doctrines.
• A strong stand on doctrines is not in itself a
  sign of True Disciples.

4
How Do People Recognize True Disciples of God?

• By Our Strong Stand for Our Doctrine?
• By Our Emphasis on the Bible?

5
An Emphasis on the Bible
How to Recognize True Disciples

• Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is
  speaking the utterances of God. (1 Peter 411)
• Yet Pharisees Sadducees emphasized Scripture.
• Their problem was not neglect of the Scriptures,
  but misinterpretation and hypocrisy.
• Emphasis on the Bible is not in itself the sign
  of True Disciples.

6
How Do People Recognize True Disciples of God?

• By Our Strong Stand for Our Doctrine?
• By Our Emphasis on the Bible?
• By Our Knowledge?

7
Our Knowledge of Gods Word
How to Recognize True Disciples

• My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
  Hosea 46
• But members of other groups possess excellent
  Bible knowledge scholarship.
• Even Jesus enemies had spent their lives
  studying and memorizing Scripture.
• They knew the Scriptures inside and out, yet
  still rejected the Lord.

8
How Do People Recognize True Disciples of God?

• By Our Strong Stand for Our Doctrine?
• By Our Emphasis on the Bible?
• By Our Knowledge?
• By Our Moral Stance?

9
Our Moral Stance
How to Recognize True Disciples

• Applying all diligence, in your faith supply
  moral excellence (2 Peter 15)
• Yet some groups, such as Mormons or Catholics,
  also hold to strict moral standards.
• Branches of other religions, including Islam and
  some eastern sects, teach a strong moral code we
  would recognize.

10
How Do People Recognize True Disciples of God?

• By Our Strong Stand for Our Doctrine?
• By Our Emphasis on the Bible?
• By Our Knowledge?
• By Our Moral Stance?

Let us look to our Lord, Himself, for the answer
to this question.
11
John 1335

• "By this all men will know that you are My
  disciples, if you have love for one another."

12
1 John 310 11

• By this the children of God and the children of
  the devil are obvious anyone who does not
  practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one
  who does not love his brother.
• For this is the message which you have heard from
  the beginning, that we should love one another.

13
What Love Looks Like(Romans 129 13)

• Let love be without hypocrisy
• Be devoted to one another in brotherly love give
  preference to one another in honor not lagging
  behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving
  the Lord rejoicing in hope, persevering in
  tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to
  the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

14
1 Thessalonians 49 10

• Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no
  need for anyone to write to you, for you
  yourselves are taught by God to love one another
  for indeed you do practice it toward all the
  brethren who are in all Macedonia.
• But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more.

15
1 Peter 48 9

• Above all, keep fervent in your love for one
  another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
• Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

16
Signs of True Disciples

• True Doctrine, an Emphasis on Scripture,
  Knowledge of the Word and Moral Excellence are
  all essential to being a Faithful Christian.
• But these are empty without visible, fervent love
  for one another.
• Jesus gave a standard for the openness of our
  love By this, all men will know that you are my
  disciples

17
The Question for Every One of Us

• How easily may others identify me as the Lords
  Disciple?