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The gospel in Romans is the same gospel taught elsewhere in the New Testament. It is a message for both unbelievers and believers. Unbelievers should place faith in Jesus for justification and eternal life; believers should live a life of faith so that the power of God can deliver them from the power of sin in their lives.

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What is the Gospel in Romans?

If Romans is Paul’s magnum opus on the gospel, we should expect his letter to contain a clear explanation about the content of the gospel he preached. And this is exactly what we find. If Galatians is Paul’s defense of the gospel, Romans is where he defines the gospel. But we must be careful to include everything within the gospel that Paul himself does.

From my own study of Romans, it seems that many stop short of including everything within the gospel which Paul includes in his letter to the Romans. Many want to stop at the end of Romans 5, or maybe the end of Romans 8, but a careful reading of Romans reveals that Paul’s gospel explanation carries all the way through Romans 16.

Paul begins his letter right away by talking about the gospel. He wants to tell his readers what his letter is about, and so from the opening statement in his letter, he indicates that he will be writing about the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). Romans 1:1 indicates that all sixteen chapters concern the gospel, not just the first three, five, or eight chapters.

The Gospel in Romans 1:1-5

In Romans 1:1, we read, “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.” The following verses explain what he was separated to.

First, Paul states that the gospel of God was “promised before though His prophecies in the Holy Scriptures” (Romans 1:2). In other words, the gospel was a topic of prophecy. But in Romans 1:3, he really gets into the content of the gospel. This gospel concerns “His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

As can be immediately seen, Romans 1:1-2 contains several elements of the gospel which are normally not included in typical gospel presentations. Not only does Paul’s gospel include Old Testament prophecy, but it also includes the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the fact that according to the flesh, Jesus was born of the seed of David. Though many teach that the Lordship of Christ is essential to the gospel, almost nobody today includes the descendancy of Jesus from David.

Thirdly, he goes on to write that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God (Romans 1:4). This can be understood in various ways, either as a reference to the deity of Jesus or to His royal kingship, but either way, Paul stipulates that he is thinking primarily of the power and authority Jesus received after the resurrection. Nobody denies that the resurrection is central to the gospel, though few mention the power and authority as the Son of God that Jesus received by the resurrection from the dead.

In Romans 1:5 Paul explains why he was separated to the gospel, and why he preached. He says that he preached this gospel “for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” There are numerous ways this phrase “obedience to the faith” can be understood. The best option is that Paul is not primarily referring to initial faith in Jesus for justification, but the continual life of faith in Christ which results in obedience.

So Paul’s gospel in Romans is not simply to tell unbelievers how to receive justification and everlasting life. Paul’s gospel in his letter to the Romans includes this truth, but much more as well. Paul wants to emphasize how justified believers can live the life of faithful obedience to God, thereby escaping the temporal wrath of God in this life which comes upon us as a result of sin.

The Gospel in Romans 1:16-17

This idea is further seen in Romans 1:16-17, the key verses of Romans. The main point of these verses is that the gospel Paul preached is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

“Salvation” in the Bible is not primarily about how to receive eternal life, but is instead about deliverance from some sort of physical, temporal, or even spiritual calamity, we are led to look into the context for what kind of deliverance Paul has in view. And we need not look far.

Romans 1:16 itself indicates that whatever deliverance Paul has in view, it is deliverance for believers, that is, it is for people who have already believed. The deliverance in view is not for people who have not yet believed, but for those who have believed, both Jews and Gentiles alike.

And in Romans 1:17, we see a theme that reminds us of what we saw in Galatians, that believers should live their life in Jesus by faith. Going on into Romans 1:18 and following, Paul writes about how the wrath of God comes upon those who practice unrighteousness, and in Romans 2 Paul indicates that this wrath (which is not hell!) can fall upon anybody who practices unrighteousness, believer and unbeliever alike—for there is no partiality with God (Romans 2:8-11).

Paul does not want this temporal discipline of God to fall upon anybody, and especially not the believers in Rome to whom he is writing, and so He calls them in the following chapters to live their lives by faith in the Son of God. This is the idea he introduced in Romans 1:16-17, and which he expounds throughout his entire letter.

A Gospel for Believers

So in Romans, Paul is not teaching a gospel for unbelievers, but for believers. He wants to tell those who have already believed how to be delivered from the “wrath of God” coming against those who practice unrighteousness.

Paul’s gospel in Romans is a message about how all people, whether Jew or Greek, can escape the temporal devastation caused by sin in this life. And how does that occur? Unbelievers must believe in Jesus for justification (Romans 2–4). Believers must live a life of faith under the cross of Jesus Christ (Romans 5–8). But Paul’s gospel does not stop with chapter 8. He wants believers to live a life of faith, whether they are Jewish believers or Gentile believers. And so in Romans 9–11, Paul addresses some particular concerns that Jewish believers face concerning the wrath of God, the ingrafting of the Gentiles, and the future of the Jewish people as God’s chosen nation.

To be delivered from temporal wrath, it is critical to see that Romans 9–11 are just as much a part of Paul’s gospel as Romans 1–8. His gospel explanation does not stop at Romans 8:39, but is only half finished.

This is also true for Romans 12–16. Just as Romans 9–11 helps Jewish believers grasp the gospel as the power of God for delivering them from temporal wrath, Romans 12–16 similarly helps all believers (including Jewish believers) live in a way that will bring deliverance from temporal discipline. As evidence that the entire letter is part of Paul’s gospel, near the end of what he writes he reminds the Roman Christians that what he has written to them, though strongly stated in some areas, is so that he can be a faithful minister of the gospel of God (Romans 15:16, 19-20).

Even in his concluding remarks, he says something almost identical to what he wrote in 1:5, 16-17, that what he writes is the gospel which is for obedience to the faith (Romans 16:25-26).

So the gospel in Romans is the same gospel we have seen elsewhere in the New Testament. It is a message for both unbelievers and believers. Unbelievers should place faith in Jesus for justification and eternal life; believers should live a life of faith so that the power of God can deliver them from the power of sin in their lives. The gospel message in Romans includes a vast array of truths and ideas to accomplish these goals.

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What is the Gospel in the Four Gospels?

By Jeremy Myers

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What is the gospel message in the four Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? How can you know which points of the gospel need to be shared with others? This article briefly examines these questions. It shows you why the Gospel accounts were written, what gospel message the Gospels contain, and how you can know what truths of the gospel to share with others.

The Gospel in the Gospels

There is no better place to define the gospel than the four Gospel accounts about Jesus as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When beginning to study these Gospel accounts, it is critical to remember that at the time the New Testament was written, everybody would have recognized and understood the genre of literature known as “gospel” (or euangelion).

In Greek and Roman culture, the imperial cult produced a new “gospel” every time a new emperor gained the throne. When new emperors were inaugurated, one of the first things he would do is spread Caesar Gospels about himself across the entire empire.

In the context into which Paul was speaking, “gospel” would mean the celebration of the accession, or birth, of a king or emperor. Though no doubt petty kingdoms might use the word for themselves, in Paul’s world the main “gospel” was the news of, or the celebration of, Caesar.

Caesar demanded worship as well as “secular” obedience; not just taxes, but sacrifices. He was well on the way to becoming the supreme divinity in the Greco-Roman world, maintaining his vast empire not simply by force, though there was of course plenty of that, but by the development of a flourishing religion that seemed to be trumping most others either by absorption or by greater attraction. Caesar, by being a servant of the state, had provided justice and peace to the whole world. He was therefore to be hailed as Lord, and trusted as Savior (see this article by NT Wright).

These Caesar Gospels would include stories of the miraculous birth of Caesar, how he was visited by foreign dignitaries, and how the sun, moon, and stars helped announce his arrival. These stories might contain some of the amazing things he said and did as a child, and might also include some of his victories at war. The stories would also be filled with promises of peace and prosperity for all during this emperor’s reign. As such, the Caesar Gospels were propaganda tools to convince the citizens of the empire to swear fealty to the new Caesar (with the statement “Caesar is Lord!”), and worship him as the newest member of the divine pantheon.

[In the imperial cult], the ruler is divine by nature. His power extends to men, to animals, to the earth, and to the sea. Nature belongs to him; wind and waves are subject to him. He works miracles and heals men. He is the savior of the world who also redeems men from their difficulties. … He has appeared on earth as a deity in human form. He is the protective god of the state. His appearance is the cause of good fortune to the whole kingdom. Extraordinary signs accompany the course of his life. They proclaim the birth of the ruler of the world. A comet appears at his accession, and at his death signs in heaven declare his assumption into the ranks of the gods. Because the emperor is more than a common man, his ordinances are glad messages and his commands are sacred writings. What he says is a divine act and implies good and salvation for men.

… Caesar and Christ, the emperor on the throne and the despised rabbi on the cross, confront one another (Friedrich, in Kittel, ed., II:224-25).

So the Gospels of Jesus Christ, while historically accurate, are more than just records of His birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. They are subversive political documents for the fledgling Christian community, showing them that Jesus Christ is Lord and Caesar is not, so they should follow and worship Jesus alone. The Gospels contain the good stories about Jesus which encourage and inspire His followers to live for Him and obey His instructions.

The Gospels of Jesus, therefore, are stories about Jesus for the benefit of believers. These are not books for “evangelism” but books for “discipleship.” While unbelievers can benefit greatly from reading the Gospel accounts of Jesus, they are primarily intended for believing audiences.

The Gospel in John

The Gospel of John is somewhat of an exception.

Though his account of the life of Jesus is referred to as a “gospel,” John never once uses the word in his account, and his narrative of the life of Christ is missing most of the typical “gospel” elements that would be found in a typical Caesar Gospel, which are included in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Furthermore, based on the content, message, and theme of John’s account, he seems intent on showing what a person must believe to receive eternal life (John 20:30-31). Believing in Jesus for eternal life is one of the prominent messages throughout the book.

So if there is one book of the Bible which is geared more toward unbelievers, it would be the Gospel of John.

Having said this, however, I believe that even John’s Gospel is intended primarily for believers. There is enough instruction in the book about discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus, that this book also, along with the other three Gospels, can safely be categorized as a book for the discipleship of believers.

Luke 1:19 and the Gospel

When we look at Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see some surprising elements that are explicitly mentioned as part of the gospel.

For example, in Luke 1:19, the angel Gabriel declares the “gospel” to Zechariah. Most translations say that the angel is declaring glad tidings, or declaring good news, but the Greek word is euangelizō; the angel declares the gospel. The content of the angel’s gospel message is that Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, will be the mother of John, who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

When you are telling people how to receive eternal life, is this a fact which you have ever thought to share? Probably not.

I have never heard any evangelist or preacher talk about the birth of John in their gospel presentations. But according to Luke and Gabriel, it is gospel truth that Elizabeth would bear a son in her old age and he would be the forerunner for the promised Messiah. It is probably safe to say that this is one of those “fringe” truths of the gospel which are part of the biblical gospel, but which rarely gets shared with unbelievers and which may not do a whole lot for believers who are trying to become better followers of Jesus Christ. However, we cannot deny that the birth of John is part of the gospel, for Scripture says it is.

Besides, once we begin to think about it, there are many helpful and wonderful truths that can be drawn from Gabriel’s gospel message to Zachariah. I myself have taught some of these in the past when I preached through Luke. Few people, however, would ever list the prophecy about the birth of John as part of the gospel essentials. But just because few would list it, this does not mean it is not part of the gospel. It is. There are several other examples in the Gospels of this sort of gospel truth—truths which the Gospel writers include as elements of the gospel, but which are rarely, if ever, included in any list of essential gospel truths or “evangelistic” message.

But such minor “fringe” truths are not the primary gospel truths in the Gospels. Of course, most of what modern evangelicals think of as the major “central” truths of the gospel are not included in the synoptic Gospels either. Truths about justification and believing in Jesus for eternal life are, for the most part, simply ignored.

Instead, the primary gospels truths in Matthew, Mark, and Luke center on Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. The central gospel truth in the Gospels is that God’s kingdom has arrived on earth in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel in Matthew 4:23

Matthew 4:23 is one example. In this passage Matthew records that Jesus “went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” Using the six questions above to help determine what the gospel message was, who it was spoken to, and what the expected result was, it can be quickly discovered that Jesus was preaching to the Jews in the region of the Galilee, and He was telling them that the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matthew 4:17).

These Jews would not have understood Jesus to be saying that if they believed in Him, they could go to heaven when they died. Such a thought never would have entered their minds. Instead, they would have understood Jesus to be saying that the Old Testament promises to Israel were coming true. To them, this meant that the Messiah would rise to power and would lead the nation of Israel to throw off Roman occupation so that Israel could become the leading nation of the world.

For Jews living under Roman occupation, this was good news! It was exactly what they were praying and longing for. The condition for the reception of this promise was the national repentance of Israel (Matthew 4:17). Jesus said that to receive the kingdom, the Jewish people had to repent of the way they had perverted and destroyed the law of God, and return to a right relationship with Him in true obedience to the law.

As an indication of their repentance, they had to be baptized, symbolizing their death to the ways of Judaism and accepting the new way of life as prescribed by Jesus.

Yet when many of the Jewish people tried to crown Jesus as king to launch the rebellion against Rome which they knew must come, Jesus rebuffed them.

When they tried to crown Him king, He refused (John 6:15).

When Jesus predicts His suffering and death, they try to talk some sense into Jesus (Matthew 16:21-22).

When they believed that Jesus was about to begin His campaign for the kingdom, they wanted to know who would sit on His right hand and who on His left (Mark 10:37).

So apparently, the gospel message that Jesus preached about the kingdom of God was not exactly the same as the gospel message that the Jewish people heard. The gospel they wanted and the gospel Jesus preached used similar terms and ideas, but Jesus defined these words completely different than how the multitudes defined them.

Time and time again, Jesus is expected to take a stand against the Romans and begin the Jewish revolution which would result in their national independence and restoration as the leading nation of the world. Yet Jesus consistently turned away from such actions and denied that this was why He came.

Even near the end of His ministry, when challenged by Pilate about whether or not He was a threat to Rome, Jesus stated that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). By this, Jesus does not mean that His kingdom was not for this world, for it was. What Jesus meant is that His kingdom would not look or function like an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of God is for this world, but it would not advance the same way as the kingdoms of this world. The kingdom of God was not built upon power structures and violence and military might, but on love, service, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice.

When we understand the kingdom of God in this way, we see that, despite the opinions of some, Jesus was not unsuccessful in launching His kingdom.

To the contrary, through His life, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God in this earth and it has been spreading around the earth ever since. Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that He was setting up a kingdom, and that this kingdom would be over the entire earth, and it would result in peace and justice for all. But it would not be a kingdom that would rise to power like the other kingdoms of the world. It would be given to the weak, the poor, the outcast, the despised, and the rejected, and would be built upon the principles of humility, grace, mercy, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, service, and love.

This sort of message was too much for the average Jew. Though they wanted the Messiah, they did not want this kind of a Messiah, and so they rejected the instructions of Jesus, and instead of receiving the kingdom He offered, killed Jesus upon the cross. But three days later He rose from the dead as further evidence that His gospel message about the arrival of the kingdom was indeed true.

The resurrection of Jesus vindicated the message of Jesus, proving once and for all that His way of running the world was God’s way. When the Gospels contains gospel truths about the birth, life, teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Mark 16:15; Luke 1:19; 2:10; 3:18), such truths are not presented as requirements to believe in order to receive eternal life, but are instead presented as gospel truths to vindicate and validate the person, identity, and message of Jesus Christ.

And while it is only hinted at in the Gospels, one of the accomplishments of the life and ministry of Jesus was that the offer of the kingdom of God was made available not just to Jewish people, but to all people of the earth. This becomes much more obvious in the book of Acts and in the letters of Paul and the Apostles.

What is the Gospel Message in the Gospels?

So note something important about the ways the gospel is presented in the Gospels. In the Gospels, the word “gospel” is rarely (if ever) used in connection with how to receive eternal life and go to heaven when you die. This is not the point of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, nor is it part of the gospel message which they are presenting. They have different goals and audiences in mind, and so when they write about the gospel, they include the truths and elements from the gospel which help make their point.

The “gospel” in Matthew, Mark, and Luke emphasizes kingdom truths about how God’s people are to live on earth as a reflection of God’s rule and reign (e.g., Matt 9:35; 11:5; 24:14; 26:13; Mark 1:14-15; 13:10; Luke 4:18; 4:43; 7:22; 8:1; 9:6; 16:16; 20:1). That this offer will be opened to Gentiles as well as Jews is hinted at in various places, especially in Mark and Luke, where Jesus and the Apostles minister to mixed multitudes (cf. Mark 14:9).

Frequently, in these gospel offers, commitment, discipleship, and cost are required of those who will respond. But in these instances, it is not everlasting life that is offered, but blessing, reward, and inheritance in the kingdom (cf. Mark 8:35; 10:29). Discipleship, obedience, and life transformation are never the conditions for receiving eternal life, but are instead presented as conditions for experiencing the rule and reign of God in one’s life.

Even when the Gospels contain calls to “believe the gospel,” (cf. Mark 1:15; 16:15-16), these are not invitations to receive eternal life, but are once again invitations to enter into and experience the rule and reign of God in one’s life while avoiding the opposite (described as “wrath”). Wrath, by the way, is not hell or eternal separation from God, but is instead the temporal disastrous and destructive consequences of ignoring God’s instructions and living instead according to your own will and selfish desire. In this sense, living in the rule and reign of God (the kingdom of God) is the polar opposite of experiencing wrath.

So what is the gospel in the Gospels?

While it does contain some truths which were primarily significant for people living at that time (such as Elizabeth’s pregnancy), the vast majority of the uses of the word “gospel” in Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to truths about the birth, life, teaching, miracles, parables, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how all these events and ideas help His followers (which include us) to live within the kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus Christ.

The gospel in the Gospels focuses on discipleship truths about how to follow Jesus so that His rule and reign expands in our lives and upon the earth.

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Does Jesus FULLY reveal God to us? Or just one side of God? (Colossians 1:15; Colossians 2:9)

By Jeremy Myers

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Colossians 1:15 and Colossians 2:9 invite us to understand God (and ourselves) by looking at Jesus. Jesus is the core and central revelation of God. If you want to know what God is like, just look at Jesus.

What does Colossians 1:15 teach about the Character of God?

Colossians 1:15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

This statement from Paul clearly reveals that he understood the truth of the revelation of God in Jesus. In saying that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, Paul states that Jesus perfectly reveals God to us.

The idea that Jesus is the image of God points the reader back to Genesis 1:26-27 where God creates humans in His own image. This image of God in mankind was marred, however, when Adam and Eve chose to go their own way rather than follow the instructions of God regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But now, God has sent another image of Himself, the perfect image, Jesus Christ.

On a related side note, since humanity was originally made in the image of God, and now we see that Jesus is the image of God, this means that Jesus not only reveals what God is truly like, He also reveals what humanity should truly be like, and what we will be like when we reach glory.

Jesus shows what it looks like for a human to live and function as the image of God on earth. So Jesus not only reveals God to us, He also reveals humanity to us.

The fact that God is invisible means that we could not have known what God was like unless He revealed Himself to us. But this is exactly what God has done in the person of Jesus. Jesus truly reveals God to us. Jesus makes the invisible God visible. We can see God by seeing Jesus. This is exactly the same truth Jesus said at various times during His earthly ministry (cf. John 14:9).

It is also helpful to talk about the second commandment, in which God said that His people should make any idols, or graven images (Exodus 20:4). One reason for this is because God Himself had an image in mind that He wanted to reveal to the world. And this image is Jesus. Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

The fact that Jesus is called the firstborn over all creation has nothing to do with chronology. Paul is not saying that there was a time in which Jesus did not exist. Just like God, Jesus is eternal, without beginning or end. Yes, His incarnation had a beginning at His birth to Mary, but this is not what Paul is referring to either. The reference to being the firstborn is Jewish terminology for preeminence. The firstborn of a family always received the inheritance of the father. The firstborn was always the heir. This is what Paul is saying. Jesus was preeminent. He is the heir of God.

So Colossians 1:15 invites us to understand God (and ourselves) by looking at Jesus. Jesus is the core and central revelation of God. Jesus is the primary place we should turn to when we seek to understand the nature and character of God. This is extremely encouraging and comforting for us today.

If you are ever fearful of God, just look at Jesus and see if you are afraid of Him. If you ever feel that God is angry about you for something you have done, just look at Jesus to see if He would be angry at you. If you ever wonder if God loves you, cares about you, or forgives you, just look at Jesus to see what He thinks about you.

The image of God in Jesus is what we must cling to as we seek to understand the thoughts and actions of God toward us. A similar idea is taught in Colossians 2:9.

What does Colossians 2:9 teach about God?

Colossians 2:9. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily …

This text clearly states that Jesus not only reveals God to us, but He reveals all the fullness of God to us. This cannot mean that every aspect and fact about God is revealed in Jesus, for God is infinite and beyond complete revelation to the finite minds of humanity. However, Paul seems intent on stating that there is nothing essential about God that was not revealed in Jesus.

To put this another way, every critical and central attribute and characteristic of God was revealed in Jesus during His earthly ministry. This text teaches that if we do not see something in Jesus, then it does not exist in God. Jesus is the fullness of God. That is, as much as is possible for the human mind, Jesus fully revealed God.

The ramifications of this are staggering, especially when it comes to the violent portrayals of God in the Hebrew Bible and the violent imagery of Jesus in Revelation. Since Jesus was supremely nonviolent during His earthly ministry, this means that we must develop new and different ways of understanding these violent portrayals of God in the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the violent imagery found in the book of Revelation.

If Jesus fully revealed God to us during His earthly ministry, and if Jesus was nonviolent during His ministry, this means that God has never been violent either, has never commanded violence, and never will. It means further that when Jesus returns, He will also refrain from violence at that time. There was no violence in Jesus, and so there is no violence in God, nor will there ever be.

Colossians 2:9 says that Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead. This means that He fully reveals God to us. He didn’t reveal just part of God, or the loving side of God. Jesus did not reveal the loving and gracious side of God while the Old Testament revealed the wrathful and vengeful side of God. No, Jesus reveals all of God. Jesus revealed the fullness of God. If it is not revealed in Jesus, then it is not of God.

So once again, we are left with a choice. If we think that there is a violent and wrathful side of God that is not revealed in Jesus, then we must also think that Paul was wrong when he wrote Colossians 2:9 (and Col 1:15), and that Jesus was lying when He stated that when we see Him, we see the Father also.

If Paul was right and if Jesus was telling the truth—and they were—then Jesus truly is the full revelation of God, and God acts just like Jesus in all of His love, grace, patience, forgiveness, and mercy, without a single act or word of violence against anyone.

If you want to see what God is like, just look at Jesus. In Him all the fullness of Godhead dwells in bodily form.

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What does Jesus Reveal to Us about God? (John 5:19)

By Jeremy Myers

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The truth presented in John 5:19 is that Jesus perfectly reveals God to us. Jesus says that He only does what He sees the Father doing. In all of the earthly ministry of Jesus, Jesus did nothing that God was not already doing, and which God would not do. Jesus imitates God and only acts in the manner that God would act.

What does John 5:19 Show Us About the Character of God?

John 5:19. Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Though one central theme to the New Testament is that Jesus reveals God to us, the Gospel of John stands out as one of the premier books in the New Testament to reveal this theme. The Gospel of John, more than any other New Testament book, seeks to show that Jesus was God incarnate, and therefore, can be trusted when He invites people to believe in Him for eternal life (John 3:16; John 5:24; John 6:47). Throughout the Gospel of John, we see Jesus say over and over again that if people want to know what God is like, all they have to do is look at Him. Jesus reveals God to this world.

It is important to note, however, that when Jesus says this, He is not talking about the physical appearance of God. Since God is “spirit” (John 4:24) He does not have a physical body the way Jesus does. Although Jesus is fully God, this does not mean that God Himself is a Middle-Eastern Jewish man in His mid-thirties, who (likely) has a beard, dark brown hair, and calloused hands from working long days as a carpenter. So while it is true that “God looks just like Jesus,” it is more theologically accurate to say that “God acts just like Jesus.”

This is the truth that Jesus presents in John 5:19. Jesus says that He only does what He sees the Father doing. In all of the earthly ministry of Jesus, Jesus did nothing that God was not already doing, and which God would not do. Jesus imitates God and only acts in the manner that God would act.

It follows similarly, that God does not do anything that Jesus would not do. If Jesus only does what He sees the Father doing, then Jesus always does what the Father is doing. Therefore, whatever the Father does, Jesus also does. And if Jesus does not do something, that is because the Father does not do it either.

So when Jesus refuses to burn down a city because they rejected Him and His message (Luke 9:54-55), this means God would not do such a thing either. When Jesus refuses to condemn sinners, but forgives them instead (Matt 9:5-6; Luke 7:48; 23:34), this reveals that God behaves similarly toward sinners. He also does not condemn, but freely forgives.

When reading Scripture and trying to understand what God might think about a particular subject or how God might behave toward a particular person, it is always helpful to think of Jesus. Consider how Jesus might act in that situation or how Jesus might respond to that person. Once this is understood, you now also know what God thinks or how God would act. Jesus reveals God to us, showing us how God behaves and acts. If you cannot imagine Jesus doing or saying something, then God would not do it or say it either.

What does John 10:30 Show Us About the Character of God?

John 10:30. I and My Father are one.

Not only are actions of Jesus a perfect guide for how God acts, but in John 10:30, Jesus also indicates that He and the Father of one mind and purpose. When Jesus says, “I and my Father are one,” He is not necessarily implying anything about Trinitarian theology (though that is part of it). Instead, Jesus is saying that His goals, values, purpose, mission, and vision are perfectly aligned with those of the Father. They are not at odds with each other in how they think and feel about humanity, sin, or redemption.

This is a significant truth because there have been some in Christianity who argue that the “God of the Old Testament” was a God of law, vengeance, and warfare, who wanted blood sacrifice to appease His wrath and bloody violence against His enemies. But Jesus never reveals any such tendencies in the Gospels, and so some have argued that Jesus reveals a “new” side of God, or a “different” aspect of God than what is revealed in the New Testament.

But if God the Father approached the world through violence and bloodshed, while Jesus approached the world through love and forgiveness, would not these two approaches be at odds with each other? They would. God the Father and Jesus Christ do not play a “Good Cop, Bad Cop” routine with humanity. They are of one mind and purpose, and behave in one way toward humanity, specifically, the way revealed in Jesus. There is no schism in the Godhead; no schizophrenia in the Trinity. God is One, with one mind, goal, and purpose.

What does John 14:9 Show Us About the Character of God?

John 14:9. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

The disciples, just like many followers of Jesus, wanted to know God on a more intimate level. Yet the disciples, just like many followers of Jesus, did not realize that Jesus was fully revealing to them what God was like. So in these final hours with Jesus before He want to His death, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them clearly what God was like, and even show God to them. They wanted to see the glory of God, just as Moses did in Exodus 33:18.

Jesus responds by saying, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” In other words, Jesus says, “What do you think I’ve been showing you these last three years? I’ve been showing you what God is like. If you have listened to Me, you have been listening to the Father. If you have seen what I do, then you have seen what the Father does. If you want to know what God is like, just look at Me!” It is unclear if the disciples understood these words of Jesus, but it is clear that most Christians today have not yet grasped these shocking words.

The disciples were confused by the words and actions of Jesus, because much of what He said and did failed to match up with what they thought God said and did in the Hebrew Scriptures. Whereas God in the Bible seemed to strike down His enemies and demand that His people separate themselves from sinners, Jesus forgave His enemies and frequently dined with sinners. Whereas God in the Bible seemed to require strict adherence to laws, regulations, and sacrificial systems, Jesus tended to avoid and eschew such things.

So it is understandable that the disciples finally asked Jesus, “When are you going to start doing the things that God does? I mean, you say you are going to show us what God is like, but so far, what you’ve been doing looks almost nothing like the God we though we knew from the Bible.” The words of Jesus are a gentle rebuke and correction to this way of thinking, both to His disciples then and to His followers now. Jesus basically tell them that what they have seen and heard in Him is the true revelation of God, and if it clashes with what they thought God was like, they need to change what they think about God.

During His ministry, Jesus perfectly revealed the Father to them, so if they want to see the Father, they should not begin by looking to the Hebrew Scriptures, but instead begin with looking at Jesus. If they look at Jesus, they will see the Father.

Note carefully what this means. If God truly has a dark and violent side, and this side never appears during the earthly ministry of Jesus, then Jesus would be lying to say that He reveals the Father to us, for Jesus never revealed the “dark side” of God. In this way, we are face with a choice when it comes to what Jesus claims regarding His revelation of God. Either the words of Jesus can be trusted so that God is non-violent just like Jesus, or God does have a violent streak which is not seen in Jesus and therefore, Jesus is lying. The choice is simple. Jesus does not lie; and nor does God.

Jesus is telling the truth about the extent of His revelation of God. He fully reveals God to us. If we want to know what God the Father is like, all we have to do is look at Jesus. Therefore, since Jesus does not reveal a dark and violent streak in God’s nature, this means that God does not have this violent streak.

Once we come to this realization, we are then able to reconsider and re-study the “violent” portrayals of God in the Hebrew Scriptures with new eyes. We do not need to write them off as hopelessly in error, but can instead read them through the lens of the crucified Christ to see what the Hebrew Scripture actually teach about God, about sin, about humanity, and about God’s rescue plan of redemption.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

The theme of glory in the Lord’s Prayer of John 17

By Jeremy Myers

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In John 17, Jesus prays for Himself, for His disciples, and for all who would believe in Him. One constant theme throughout His prayer is glory. What is this glory, why is Jesus praying for glory, and how do we receive this glory?

What is the Glorification in John 17:1-5, 10, 22-24

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

“And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

John 17 contains the true “Lord’s Prayer.” It is divided into three parts. In the first, Jesus prays for Himself (John 17:1-5). In the second, He prays for His disciples (John 17:6-19), and in the third, He prays for all who would believe in Him (John 17:20-26).

The theme of glory is found in all three sections. In each section, the references to glory do not follow the normal New Testament usage of radiance and majesty, but instead follow the normal usage outside of Scripture, referring to having a high opinion among others.

Jesus’ Prayer for Himself (John 17:1-5)

In the first section of His prayer, Jesus asks that He Himself would be glorified so that He can bring glory to the Father (John 17:2). Jesus says that He has already glorified God by completing the work which God sent Him to do, and now asks that He be returned to the glory He had with God before the world came into existence (John 17:4-5).

There are four significant truths in this part of the prayer.

prayer of Jesus — Is this what it looks like to pray?

First, although all glory comes from and belongs to God, Jesus prays that God would be glorified even further through the actions of Jesus. Jesus wants to bring further glory to God, and this is to be accomplished through God giving glory to Jesus. God’s glory, therefore, appears to be something that only increases as He gives it to others. The glory of God increases as He gives it away. This may be partly why God chose to not only share His glory with Jesus, but also with those who would believe in Jesus. The reputation of God increases as those who bear His name grow their reputation among others.

Second, this seems to be an example of where the original meaning of doxa shines through. Jesus has already been glorified on the earth, and prays that He will be glorified further, so that He can bring even more glory to God. What does all of this glory look like? The glory Jesus refers to is not primarily seen in radiance, splendor, and light, but in having a good reputation and positive opinion among the people of the earth. This is the primary meaning of doxa outside of the Bible, and this meaning also seems to apply here. Jesus wants people to think highly of God, and Jesus prays that this would be accomplished by having people think highly of Himself. The implication is that when Jesus lives as God wants Him to live, people will think highly of Jesus, and in this way, will also come to think more highly of God.

Third, Jesus says that He has already glorified God by finishing the work which God gave Him to do (John 17:4). This is a surprising statement from Jesus, since He has not yet gone to the cross. Furthermore, while Jesus is on the cross, He cries out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). How can Jesus say here in John 17:4 that He has finished everything God sent Him to do when Jesus had not yet finished His work upon the cross?

The answer is found in the references to glory that Jesus mentions back in John 13:31-32. Jesus had just declared that one of His disciples would betray Him, and after identifying Judas as the betrayer, Judas went out into the night (John 13:30). This began the inexorable chain of events that would take Jesus to the cross. Immediately following Judas’ departure, Jesus says that He will be glorified, and God will be glorified in Him, and this glorification would happen very soon (John 13:31-32).

So when Jesus says that He has completed everything God has given Him to do, Jesus is saying that the steps are all in place for the events that will take Him to the cross. Indeed, immediately after completing His prayer, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas found Him, kissed Him, and betrayed Him (John 18:1-11). This betrayal then led directly to the crucifixion of Jesus.

So is all of Jesus’ work finished? Yes and no. Jesus still need to go through the crucifixion, but Jesus Himself has done everything that He needs to do. The crucifixion itself is something that happens to Jesus, rather than a work He Himself performs, and the necessary steps are already in place for the crucifixion to occur.

Yet even then, the crucifixion cannot even be properly referred to as “a work of God,” for it was not of God. The crucifixion of Jesus was the result of human religion partnering with political power to use the scapegoating mechanism of the Accuser, Satan, to put Jesus to death. This ancient practice was revealed through the death of Jesus, but cannot properly be described as the will of God or the work of God. So in this sense also, Jesus can say that He has completed all the work that God sent Him to do.

Fourthly and finally, Jesus says that glory He seeks is the same glory He had before the world came into being (John 17:5). Jesus is not receiving new glory which He did not have before, but is simply returning to the glory which He shared with God for all eternity. The new aspect of glory, which was unknown in Scripture prior to Jesus, was the idea of imputed glory, in which God shares His glory with humanity through Jesus. This is the idea that Jesus prays about next.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples (John 17:6-19)

In the second part of the prayer, where Jesus prays for His twelve disciples, He also mentions glory. Just as God was glorified in Jesus, Jesus says that He was glorified in His disciples (John 17:10). They brought glory to Him in the same way that Jesus brought glory to God. They followed Him, obeyed Him, and did what He commanded.

Therefore, here as well, the concept of glory does not seem to include the idea of radiance or bright splendor, but rather the traditional concept of doxa found outside of the New Testament, which is the good reputation and high opinion that others have toward Jesus. Not all had a good opinion of Jesus (such as many of the religious leaders), but many people who interacted with Jesus and His disciples began to think highly of them because of how they acted.

Jesus Prays for All Believers (John 17:20-26)

The final part of the prayer, in which Jesus prays for all believers (which includes us), also contains numerous references to glory. Jesus asks that all who believe in Him will share in the glory that He shares with God (John 17:22-23). And what does this glory look like? It looks like unity and love (John 17:23-24). As we live in unity and love with Jesus and with each other, the world will come to know God (John 17:25-26), which will bring further glory to God.

These conditions for glory parallel the introductory commands from Jesus in John 13:33-35. Just as Jesus will bring glory to God through obedience to Him, and God will give glory to Jesus, so also, the disciples can receive glory from God and give glory to Him by loving one another. It is this love that allows them to be recognized as a follower of Jesus (John 13:35), thereby gaining a good reputation among others.

In light of John 17, therefore, it seems that glory in the New Testament does not always refer to glorified bodies in the afterlife in which we shine like the sun or have radiant clothes as Jesus did in the transfiguration.

Sometimes, the glory of God, the glory of Jesus, and the glory of Christians follows the common definition in all other Greek literature of the time, which is the idea of having a good reputation among others. In such cases, as seen here, there are conditions for this glory, such as loving and living in unity with each other.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Will you go to hell if you don’t have good fruit? (John 15:1-8)

By Jeremy Myers

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In John 15:1-8, Jesus talks about the importance of the branches abiding in the vine in order to produce fruit. If branches do not produce good fruit, they will be burned. Is Jesus saying that if Christians do not have good works they will be sent to hell? No! Not at all. Listen to the study to see what Jesus IS teaching and why this is important for properly understanding the gospel.

What is the “Good Fruit” of John 15:1-8?

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (John 15:1-8).

The imagery of the vine and the branches in John 15:1-8 has caused many to believe and teach that any Christian who does not have good works will either end up in eternal hell, or will prove that they were never truly a Christian in the first place. This application of the text is based on a misunderstanding of four terms: abide, disciple, fire, and fruit.

The Meaning of the Word “Abide”

The term abide is a term of fellowship and intimacy. When you abide with someone, you live with them, remain with them, and spend time with them.

Such connectedness is not automatic in the life of the believer. Just as it is possible to be related to someone while not being in fellowship with them, so also, it is possible to be in the family of God without remaining or abiding in fellowship with God, with Jesus, and with other believers.

In the context here, Jesus is telling some of His believers why it is important to remain in close fellowship with Him. The only way to be a good and successful disciple of Jesus is to remain in close connection to Jesus.

The Meaning of the Word “Disciple”

The term disciple is not equivalent to believer, but instead refers to all those who have chosen to follow Jesus, obey His commands, and do what He says. Because of this, it is possible to be a disciple of Jesus without having eternal life, and it is also possible to have eternal life without being a disciple.

Eternal life is freely given to anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it. But the path of discipleship has numerous conditions and requirements, which anyone can attempt to achieve. In the context of John 15, Jesus is telling eleven believers—who have also been His disciples for three years—how they can continue to be His disciples after He leaves.

And He not only wants them to continue on as His disciples, but to be fruitful and successful as disciples. Abiding, or remaining, in close fellowship with Jesus is the key to successful discipleship.

But not all disciples are successful. Some fail. Some turn away. Some follow for a time and then stop. Such failure says nothing one way or the other about whether or not a person has eternal life.

Again, eternal life is given by God to anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it. Discipleship is not a requirement for gaining or keeping eternal life.

This does not mean, however, that there are not negative consequences for failing to follow Jesus. There are. Fire is one of them.

The meaning of the word “Fire”

In the context here, Jesus says that those disciples who fail to abide in Him and produce fruit will be thrown into the fire and burned. This does not refer to eternal punishment in the flames of hell, but to some sort of temporal discipline in the life. Their life will be full of emptiness and vain pursuits, with all their dreams and aspirations amounting to nothing but a heap of ash to be blown away by the wind.

The only way to be truly successful in life is to follow Jesus and remain in close fellowship with Him.

The meaning of the word “Fruit”

When the terms abide, disciple, and fire are understood as briefly outlined above, the term fruit makes a lot more sense in context. With this term, Jesus is referring to the good works that His disciples will produce through close fellowship with Him.

In reality, Jesus will produce His good works in and through them. By themselves, disciples can do nothing. Just as branch can do nothing by itself, but must be connected to the vine, so also, a disciple must remain in close connection to Jesus in order to produce fruit.

Note, of course, that they good fruit may not be evident to others. After all, while some good works may be tainted with the invisible sins of pride and arrogance, numerous good works may not be seen by others at all. In fact, much of the fruit that Jesus produces in the lives of His disciples is evident only to Him, as slowly, over time, He changes their inner character. Furthermore, many of the good works that Jesus performs in believers are those that are done quietly behind the scenes, so that even someone’s left hand doesn’t know what their right is doing (Matthew 6:3).

Therefore, while the fruit of John 15:1-8 does refer to good works and positive character qualities, there is still no instruction here for Christians to become fruit inspectors in the lives of other people. We cannot use good works (or their absence) to determine anything about someone else’s (or even our own!) eternal destiny.

Jesus is saying that if you and I want to be a good disciple, a successful disciple, a fruitful disciple, then we should abide and remain with Him, listen to His teachings and instructions, doing what He says and imitating what He does. In this way, we will be disciples that bear much fruit and experience the rule and reign of God in our lives.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Will all True Christians produce good fruit? (Matthew 13:22-24)

By Jeremy Myers

What is the Meaning of Matthew 13:22-23 (Luke 8:14)

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13:22-23).

Many use the Parable of the Four Soils in Matthew 13:3-23 and Luke 8:4-15 as evidence that all true Christians will bear fruit. This understanding is largely due to the use of the word “saved” in Luke 8:12. Many believe and teach that in order to truly be “saved,” people must not only believe, but also have many good works (or fruit) to provide evidence of their salvation.

But this explanation is based upon a misunderstanding of three key terms in the text. To properly understand the Parable of the Four Soils, it is critically important to properly define the terms kingdom of heaven, salvation, and fruit.

The Kingdom of Heaven

The term “kingdom of heaven” does not refer to heaven itself, or to going to heaven when we die, but instead refers to the rule and reign of God here on earth now. Those who enter into the kingdom, inherit the kingdom, or experience the kingdom are those who live in light of God’s way of doing things on this earth so that they can know the blessing, joy, and fulfillment of God’s reign in their life now.

Salvation

Similarly, the term salvation (or saved) does not refer to justification or receiving eternal life. Instead, it means “deliverance” and the context determines while kind of deliverance is in view.

In this case, those who hear the teachings of Jesus and live in light of them can be delivered from a worthless and pointless existence on earth and instead experience the opposite, which is life in the kingdom of God. The cares and troubles of this world steal away the joys of the reign of God, and we can choose which one we experience by how we respond to the teachings of Jesus.

Fruit

These two terms helps us understand the word fruit.

In this context, while the word can refer to correct teaching about God and Scripture which is heard, understood, and taught to others, the term can also refer to good works and a life of fulfillment and joy that comes from following God’s instructions on how to live. The Word of God contains instructions for how we can live the best life possible, and if we hear, understand, and obey these instructions, our lives will produce a great harvest of blessings for ourselves and others (Matt 13:23).

Jesus is teaching that if you want to have a productive life, the ways of this world will lead you into emptiness and deadness, but His ways will lead to a fulfilling and profitable life full of satisfaction and significance.

It is important to note once again that the presence or absence of fruit in the life some other person is not indicative one way or the other about that person’s eternal destiny. Any individual, whether a believer or an unbeliever, can be any of the four soils in this parable.

Just as it is entirely possible for a true and genuine child of God to allow the devil to snatch away the truths of Scripture from his heart before they can take root or to allow the cares and worries of this world to choke out the promises of Scripture, so also, any unbeliever can see the wisdom in the teachings of Scripture and decide to patterns their lives after these teachings.

Does the Parable of the Four Soils Tell Us who is a Christian?

So the Parable of the Four Soils has nothing to do with whether or not someone has eternal life. It instead describes the four ways that all people—believers or unbelievers alike—might respond to the teaching of Scripture.

While the term fruit can refer to good works, even when it does, these good works cannot be used to determine whether or not a person has eternal life.

They might be helpful in determining whether or not a person is following the teachings of Scripture, but since anybody can follow accept and apply Scripture to their life and experience the positive consequences as a result, we must not think that such obedience to Scripture (or a lack of obedience) provides evidence about who is truly justified and who is not.

Even when the fruit of good works can be seen in someone else’s life, such fruit does not help us see into their heart for whether or not they have believed in Jesus for eternal life.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Good Fruit, Bad Fruit, and the Unforgivable Sin (Matthew 12:33-37)

By Jeremy Myers

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In Matthew 12:33-37, in the context of warning the religious leaders about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Jesus talks about good fruit and bad fruit. Is Jesus telling people to look at the lives of other teachers to see if they have good works? No! Not at all. Listen to the study to see what Jesus IS teaching and why this is important for properly understanding the gospel.

What is the “fruit” in Matthew 12:33-37 (Luke 6:43-45)?

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:33-37)

Matthew 12:33-37 (and the parallel passage in Luke 6:43-45) is a key passage for understanding the symbolic use of fruit in Scripture.

The context makes it explicitly clear that the fruit which comes from a person is not the works their life produces, but rather the words that proceed from their mouth. After Jesus says that “a tree is known by its fruit,” He states that the words of a person reveal what is in the heart. In this context, it is extremely clear that the good fruit of a person’s life are the good words that proceed out of their mouth. If these words agree with the rest of Scripture, they are good words, and therefore, good fruit.

Matthew 12:33-37 Primarily has Bible Teachers in View

It is important to point out that all of the teaching in Scripture about the good fruit of good words primarily have Bible and theology teachers in view.

Most of the passages that invite us to look to the words a person says as an indication of whether they should be listened to or not, only have in view the words they say about Scripture and theology, and even then, primarily to professional teachers.

The biblical teaching about good fruit does not apply to the views a person might have about politics, science, current events, or history. If a person has some nutty views about such things, while we might be wise to ignore their ideas, the biblical teachings about good and bad fruit do not apply to such cases. The biblical teachings about good and bad fruit only apply to people who are teaching Scripture and theology.

We can go a bit further as well.

The biblical teachings about good and bad fruit don’t even apply to the average person who is generally uniformed or uneducated about what the Bible teaches. Instead, the warnings from Scripture about good and bad fruit primarily apply to those whose job it is to teach others about Scripture and theology.

In the days of Jesus, it was the religious leaders, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes. Today it would be the pastors, theologians, and seminary professors. These are the ones whose teachings we must carefully analyze to see whether or not their words align with the overall teaching of Scripture.

In regards to their teachings, we are to be noble Bereans, and search the Scriptures to see whether or not what they say is true (Acts 17:11).

Good Fruit is Not about Good Works

One thing we are not invited to do is look at a person’s works.

The Bible reveals that if you want to know whether or not a person is a false teacher, all you need to do is listen to what they say and compare it with the teaching of Scripture.

After all, when it comes to false teachers, actions can be deceptive, but their teachings will rarely lie. It is as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 that false apostles can appear as apostles of Christ and even Satan is transformed into an angel of light. That is exactly what we see here in Matthew 12:33-37.

But what about the Unforgivable Sin?

It is significant that in the immediately preceding context, the Jewish religious leaders had accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub (Matt 12:24). In response, Jesus warns them about speaking blasphemy against the Spirit (Matt 12:31-32).

(#AmazonAdLink) This does not mean that they had spoken blasphemy against the Spirit; only that they were about to. As I explain in my book (#AmazonAdLink) Why You Have Not Committed the Unforgivable Sin, there is no passage in Scripture which clearly tells us what blasphemy against the Spirit is. Though the sin is related to speaking words against the Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 12:10), no passage clearly states what these words are that should not be spoken. It is probably not specific words anyway, but more of general attitude of the heart that is revealed through one’s words.

Nevertheless, although the Bible doesn’t say precisely identify the nature of this particular sin, many pastors and teachers claim to know what this sin is and they use their teachings to create fear in the minds of others by warning them against committing it. Such pastors and teachers should be ignored and avoided, for they are speaking where Scripture has not. Such teachers are close to doing the same thing as the Pharisees in this passage, and it is toward them that Jesus directs the warning about blasphemy!

Matthew 12:33-37 and Good Fruit

This entire context reveals the truth of Jesus’ teaching about fruit.

By verbally challenging the words and teachings of Jesus, the Pharisees revealed the fruit of their heart, showing all that they were bad trees who produce bad fruit, and therefore should not be heeded, listened to, or obeyed. Though by all outward appearances, the Pharisees were the most observant and scrupulous keepers of the Mosaic Law, their accusatory words revealed the true condition of their hearts.

Note, however, that once again, nothing is said in this context about being able to discern the eternal destiny of others. Even when someone speaks falsely, while their words may mark them as a false teacher, this does not mean they are eternally condemned. It is possible that they have eternal life, but are simply confused or deceived themselves.

Though bad fruit from the lips reveals that a bad tree has taken root in the heart, bad fruit reveals nothing one way or the other about whether or not a person has eternal life.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Can we use good works to determine if a person is a Christian? (Matthew 7:15-19)

By Jeremy Myers

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In Matthew 7:15-19, Jesus tells His disciples how to tell good teachers from bad teachers. He tells them to look at the fruit. Is Jesus telling people to look at the lives of other teachers to see if they have good works? No! Not at all. Listen to the study to see what Jesus IS teaching and why this is important for properly understanding the gospel.

What is the Good Fruit in Matthew 7:15-19

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:15-19)

In Matthew 7:15-19, Jesus instructs His followers to look to the fruit of a prophet as a way of determining whether or not that person is a true or false prophet. Good fruit comes from a good teacher and bad fruit will come from a bad teacher. It is clear from the context that Jesus is not talking about their works when He refers to their fruit.

Why not?

Because Jesus reveals that the false prophets have more and better good works than the average person. They prophecy in Jesus’ name, cast out demons, and perform many miracles (Matt 7:22). They even submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Matt 7:21). But Jesus says they didn’t do the will of God and He doesn’t even know them (Matt 7:21, 23). Submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and performing a myriad of good works proves nothing whatsoever one way or the other about whether or not a person truly belongs to Jesus.

Therefore, what is the fruit to which Jesus refers? It is the words of the false prophets and how these words line up with the rest of Scripture. In Hebrew thinking, the fruit of a person’s life is primarily seen in their words. The book of Proverbs frequently reveals that the fruit of our life is our words, that we will live or die by what we say, and that our words reveal what we believe in our hearts (cf. Prov 13:2-3; 18:20-21).

The same is true for deciding who is a good teacher and who is a bad teacher.

Bad Teachers Often Look Good

When it comes to discerning good teachers from bad, the words a teacher speaks are critically important because actions are often imitated and faked by false teachers. Indeed, false teachers often make sure they do their good works in front of a watching audience so that there are many witnesses to their charitable deeds and generous actions.

All false teachers look good on the outside.

Jesus says that although false teachers are ravenous wolves on the inside, they wear sheep’s clothing on the outside. By their behavior and actions, they appear to be part of God’s flock. They look like sheep. But their words betray them. Their words reveal the true condition of their heart. It is their words, not their behavior, which reveal that they are wolves.

It is important to note that this passage, like many of the others about fruit, applies only to prophets and teachers. Jesus is not giving a blanket statement here about judging the average person.

In general, there is truth to the saying that “Actions speak louder than words.” In regards to life-related issues such as parenting, marriage, friendships, and employment, people can say all sorts of things and make all sorts of promises, but it is the follow-through of actual behavior that counts the most. So in most areas of life, the actions of a person are important.

But this is not the case when it comes to Bible teaching.

When it comes to discerning a good and healthy teacher of Scripture from a false and unhealthy one, the best and primary way to make this distinction is to ignore the works and look to the words (cf. 2 Pet 2:1-3, 12, 18; Jude 8, 10, 16). To discover wolves in sheep’s clothing you must ignore the outward appearance, for they look, act, and smell like sheep. To discover a wolf, you must look a wolf in the mouth. You must listen to what comes from their lips and then compare it with the truth of Scripture. When you do this, you will see a wolf for what it is. In the words of Little Red Riding Hood, you will find yourself saying, “My! What big teeth you have!”

It’s Not about Eternal Destiny

Note that even here, the issue is not about a person’s eternal destiny.

Neither words nor actions prove whether or not a person has eternal life. Though Jesus does speak about fire in the context, He is not referring to hell, but to the temporal discipline that comes in a person’s life now. The reference to fire is not a warning about an eternal place of torture and suffering, but a warning about what could happen to those who teach false doctrine and those who listen to it.

The opposite of fire is the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus mentions in context (Matthew 7:21). Entering and experiencing the kingdom of heaven is not the same thing as going to heaven when we die. Instead, entering, or living within, the kingdom of heaven refers to experiencing the rule and reign of God in our lives here and now on this earth.

So neither the reference to fire nor the reference to the kingdom of God have anything to do with eternal destiny, but everything to do with what we experience now in the life based on what sort of teachings we hear and whether or not we follow such teachings.

Teaching the right things, submitting to the Lordship of Jesus, and doing the will of God do not help us earn, keep, or prove that we have eternal life, but are instead beneficial for living under the rule and reign of God in our lives. False teachers miss out on what God wants for their lives because they teach wrong truths for selfish reasons. They will experience fire instead of the kingdom of God. Jesus wants His disciples to stay away from such teachers, and so invites us to look at the words they say as an indication of whether they should be listened to and followed. Those whose words do not line up with the revealed truth in Scripture should be avoided and ignored.

If you want to avoid fire in your life and instead experience the reign of God, be careful about who you listen to and what you teach.

Only listen to those whose words line up with the rest of Scripture, and only teach things to other people that are also in agreement with Scripture.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

What is the good fruit of Matthew 3:8-10? Is it good works?

By Jeremy Myers

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In Matthew 3:8-10, John the Baptist invites his audience to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Is he talking about good works? No, the context indicates that the good fruit does not refer to good works, but to good words that are in alignment with Scripture. This is important for properly understanding the gospel.

What is the good fruit of Matthew 3:8, 10?

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. … And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:8, 10).

Matthew 3:4-12 contains several key terms that have been widely misunderstood by many Christians.

The four terms in this passage are fruit, fire, baptism, and repentance. It is necessary to properly understand all four terms in order to properly understand the text, and if anyone of the four terms is misunderstood, this leads to a misunderstanding of the other three. Since fire, baptism, and repentance are defined at length elsewhere in my online course, The Gospel Dictionary, the meaning of these terms will only be summarized briefly here.

The Meaning of Three Key Terms: Fire, Baptism, Repentance

The term fire in this context does not refer to eternal hell, but to the temporal discipline that would come upon Israel as a result of living in ways that God did not want, intend, or desire.

The baptism of John was not Christian water baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus (for Jesus hadn’t even begun His ministry yet), but was instead a form of Jewish ritual washing which symbolized a death to the past and a new birth to live a different way in the future.

Similarly, repentance refers to a turning away from beliefs and behaviors that were displeasing to God and a turning toward things that are in accordance with His will.

The Meaning of Fruit in Matthew 3:8-10

Understanding these three terms help us better understand what John means when he refers to fruit in this context. John the Baptist went out to the Jordan River to preach about the coming Messiah and invite the Jewish people to prepare the way for Him through repentance (Matt 3:1-3).

Those who sought to make such changes in their life symbolized it by getting baptized in the Jordan River. Jewish religious leaders were among those who came out to hear John preach, and when John saw them, he warned them about the fiery judgment that was about to come upon them and said that repentance was the only way to avoid such judgment.

What is interesting about John’s instructions is that the religious rulers were the must scrupulous law keepers among all the Jewish people of that day. When most people think about repentance, they think about turning away from sin, and specifically, turning away from the sins of breaking biblical laws and commands.

But the religious leaders were not guilty of such sins. They were the most devoted and disciplined law keepers in the land. So when John calls the religious leaders to repent, he is not calling them to turn back to obedience of the law, but to turn away from law keeping as a means of living in a right relationship with God and others.

John’s call to repentance was a call to turn away from a life based on the law and toward a life based on love. In the parallel passage of Luke 3:7-14, John provides several examples of what this sort of loving behavior looks like.

So when John speaks about fruit in connection to repentance, he is inviting the religious leaders to live their lives in a way that reveals this change in focus from law to love.

They are no longer to be scrupulous law-keepers, but must instead become generous love-givers.

And while this love will reveal itself in what the leaders do, John’s first concern is with what the leaders say.

Teach and Believe Differently!

In Matthew 3:9, immediately following his admonition to bear fruits worthy of repentance, John challenges the religious leaders to rethink some of their theology and to start teaching something different. He tells them that they should no longer say, “We have Abraham as our father.”

The Jewish leaders believed and taught that since the Jewish people were God’s chosen people (through His choice of Abraham), God needed them to accomplish His will on earth. They believed and taught that God would never set aside the Jewish people or raise up another group of people to do His will.

John challenges this line of thinking and says that if the Israelites do not start living as God wants and desires, God will bring judgment upon them and will raise up a new group of people to do His will on earth. If necessary, God could even raise up a people for Himself from the very stones at their feet.

But if the people do not repent of their beliefs and loveless observance of the law so that they might instead live as lights of love in this world, God would cut down the tree of Israel and cast it into the fire, before raising up another tree in its place (Matt 3:10). The “fire” of this verse is not a reference to hell, but of the temporal discipline that came upon the Israelite people during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

John’s point is that the religious leaders were wrong in thinking that God could not and would not set them aside. God could, God would, and indeed, God did (temporarily, at least … I do not hold to replacement theology in which the church replaces Israel. God will fulfill all of His promises to Israel).

So John’s teaching about fruit in Matthew 3:8, 10 is in reference to the twin beliefs of the Jewish people that God was primarily concerned with their obedience to the law, and that God would never set aside Israel as His primary means of accomplishing His will in this world. John wanted the religious leaders to change these beliefs, and therefore, change what they taught. Yes, such changes would also lead to a change in behavior, but even then, such changes indicate nothing whatsoever about someone’s eternal destiny.

John challenges the Religious Leaders to Change their Teachings

The fruit of repentance in Matthew 3:8 would be seen in how the Jewish religious leaders started teaching differently about what God expected from them in this world.

God wanted them to turn away from the requirements of law-keeping, and view both themselves and the Gentiles as equally loved, accepted, and forgiven by God. Such teaching is in line with the rest of biblical revelation, and therefore, is the proper fruit that John called the religious leaders to develop.

Their fruit would be the words that come out of their mouths which reveal the beliefs they hold in their hearts.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

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John challenges the Religious Leaders to Change their Teachings

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