Tag Archives: discipleship

The Discipleship Observation

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In Grace, Salvation & Discipleship, Charles C. Bing asserts that the distinction between Christian and disciple is clearly taught in the passage John 8:30-31.

While he was saying these things, many people believed in him. Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples”

In the last post (link) we looked at the assumptions Bing held regarding apostasy and how they influenced his interpretation of John 8:30-31. In this post we will examine his interpretation in light of two more assumptions:

  • The Jews described as believers in John 8:30-31 are genuine Christians who receive eternal life.
  • Jesus’ dialogue that follows is directed to another group of Jews in the crowd and not the same people in verses 30 and 31.

The first question we must ask is what did the Jews, described as having believed in Jesus in verses 30 and 31, actually believe about Jesus? Did they believe that Jesus was their Savior who would save them from their sins?  Did they believe in Jesus for eternal life as Bing claims?

Probably not.

As Jesus is teaching them that He is the Light of the world, the Jews in the crowd are  asking “who are you” (v 25). Jesus replies to this question that it is not until after He has been lifted up, referring to the cross and resurrection, that they would know who He was (v 28). At the point in time that Jesus is dialoguing with these Jews, it is more likely that Bingthe crowd believed/accepted Jesus as a miracle working teacher that has come from God claiming to be the Messiah (John 2:23; 3:1-2). And this belief was probably nominal, as they quickly reject Jesus’ teaching that they must be set free, instead relying on their ancestry to Abraham (v 32-33).  Continue reading →

The Discipleship Conjecture

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If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine – Jesus

I am reading and blogging through Grace, Salvation & Discipleship by Charles C. Bing, a book given to me by a friend who was eager to hear what I thought about it. In the first post we looked at how the book framed the idea of faith within the Free Grace movement (link).

Bing

In this post we will examine Bing’s presentation of discipleship. The purpose of the book and the Free Grace movement is to defend the idea that the term disciple is not a synonym for a Christian (aka believer).

Salvation is not Discipleship. This distinction is the basis of this book.

In defining a disciple, Bing offers four good observations:

  • “A disciple is a learner, someone who is learning to become like his teacher”
  • “The word disciple does not automatically refer to someone who is eternally saved”
  • “the term disciples seems to to refer to Christians as a whole without distinction [in Acts]”
  • a true disciple is “a follower of Jesus Christ as Master”

He then tries to defend the distinction, that believers are not disciples, using John 8:30-31 as the primary text. [1]

This [distinction] couldn’t be clearer than in John 8:30-31 where Jesus tells those who have already believed in Him how they can become disciples …

and later: Continue reading →

I find your definition of faith disturbing

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Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. – Acts 16:31

A friend recently gave me a copy of Grace, Salvation & Discipleship by Charles C. Bing to review. The author, a strong advocate of the Free Grace movement, wrote this book to defend the idea that the term disciple is not a synonym for a Christian (or believer).

A Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for sins, rose again, and guarantees eternal salvation. … A disciple is someone committed to following Jesus Christ and learning from Him.

The Grace Evangelical Society, a ministry dedicated to advancing Free Grace teaching, declares that its “aim is to promote the clear proclamation of God’s free salvation through faith alone in Christ, which is properly correlated with and distinguished from issues relating to discipleship.” Bing is a frequent contributor to their journal (link).

The first part of the book, Bing explores the importance of good Bible interpretation. He also defines various terms where he feels there has been confusion across various theological circles. Most of the book is dedicated to exploring the passages dealing with salvation and discipleship with the goal of presenting the Free Grace understanding of each.

I don’t intend to blog through the entire book, but will be writing on various topics that are dealt with. In this post we will examine how we are to define faith, as this is one of the terms tackled in the book Grace, Salvation & Discipleship (GSD).

Continue reading →