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What does “Son of God” mean?

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I often get Bible and Theology questions sent in from readers of this blog. I recently decided to start posting some of my answers to these questions so that if others have similar questions, they can be helped, and so that you, the readers of this blog, can help answer them as well. This question relates to the meaning of the the phrase “Son of God.”

Question:

I found your invitation of having a cup of tea with you thank you very much, but alas I live in Pakistan. you asked me to tell you about me. I am 27 years old. I am an Ahmadi Muslim. I am student of comparative study of religions. I am married. And devoted my life for God.

You said I can ask you questions. So I want to know that when Jesus is said to be the son of God or God himself what is the source of this in Bible?

Secondly many people in Bible are called son of God but aren’t taken literally and Jesus himself said to Jews that because revelations of God come to me only in that sense I am a son of God as early Godly people were called. This is mentioned in John 10:34.

My Answer

I would love to join you for that cup of tea sometime, though I doubt I will ever make it to Pakistan! But who knows….

son of God
I guess there is a movie title “The Son of God” coming out this month. I had no idea until I started searching for images for this post. I think this is some art for this movie…

Please forgive me for not fully understanding the second half of your question…. the part about the Jews and revelation. I seem to understand the first part as a question about Jesus being the Son of God. You also reference John 10:34-36 where Jesus argues that it is not wrong for Him to call Himself the Son of God when in the Law it is written, “You are gods.”

Let me try to answer this part of your question about Jesus being the Son of God, and hopefully that will help answer the other part of your question as well.

So, regarding the title “Son of God,” many Christians believe that this is a reference to the divinity of Jesus, that is, that this title proves that Jesus was God in the flesh.

While I personally think that such an idea can be read into this title, I don’t think that the title “Son of God” meant “God” to people in the first century. Of course, nobody (back then or today) believes that “son of God” means that God gave birth to a son or had a son after intercourse with a human female. Such an idea is foreign to reason, tradition, and Scripture. Some people accuse Christians of believing this, but I have never heard or read of any Christian who does.

So what does it mean when Jesus is called the “Son of God”?

To find the answer, we actually have to ask is what would it mean for any human to be called the “son of God”? Why do I say this? Because Jesus didn’t make up this title out of thin air.

As you have pointed out, others in history bore this title. The term “Son of God” was used occasionally for angels (Genesis 6; Job 1:6), for Israel (e.g., Exod 4:22), and sometimes for the king (such as 2 Sam 7:14, Ps 2:7 and Ps 89:27). Many in the Qumran community used the title to refer to the coming Messiah, even though none of them believed that the Messiah would be anything other than a specially-anointed human. All of these uses show that the term “Son of God” is not equivalent to “God” but is closer to meaning “of God’s family” or “having divine authority and purpose.”

However, it is also critical to point out that there was one person alive at the time of Christ who was famous for having taken the title “Son of God” for himself, and it wasn’t Jesus.

Who? The Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. He had taken for himself the title “son of god” (Latin: imperator Caesar divi filius). Not only that, the title “Augustas” is a religious title meaning “Majesty” or “Illustrious One.” He also claimed to be “the firstborn head” of the Senate gathering (Latin: primum caput). During his reign, he began requiring Roman citizens to pay homage to him, not only through taxation, but also through pledging their allegiance with the phrase “Caesar is Lord.”

Anyone who has read the New Testament should recognize the parallel claims of Jesus. The New Testament everywhere portrays Jesus to be the son of God, the firstborn head of the church, and those who follow Jesus are called to proclaim “Jesus is Lord.”

In this way, when using terms like the “son of God” about Jesus, the New Testament writers were certainly making theological claims about Jesus, but more than that, were making political claims about Jesus. In using titles like “the Son of God” for Jesus, the early church was saying that everything Caesar claimed for himself was actually only true in Jesus Christ. In taking these titles from Caesar and giving them to Jesus, the early church (and Jesus Himself) was subversively mocking the power claims of Caesar and the Roman Empire.

So does this mean Jesus Wasn’t God?

Now, does any of this mean that the term “son of God” does not imply that Jesus is God? No. To the contrary, the phrase “son of God” came to be understood by Paul and later New Testament writers as referring to the divinity of Jesus.

But I don’t think it necessarily meant this initially. No Jewish person would think that an angel was God, or that Israel was God, or that a king was god, but the term is used of them all. But through the ministry, life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus, people came to see that Jesus was more than just a man. He was God in the flesh. He was Immanuel, God with us. As such, they added additional meaning to the term “Son of God” so that it now refers to Jesus being God incarnate.

What is Jesus saying in John 10:34-36?

sons of God John 10 34So what about John 10:34-36? Jesus is quoting from Psalm 82:6. To understand Jesus, we must understand Psalm 82.

Essentially, Psalm 82 is where God, the judge of all, sits in judgment on corrupt human judges. Human judges have authority to judge, but their authority comes from God. In that sense, they can be called “sons of God.” They are sent with His authority.

In legal terminology, it is called de jure authority. It is derived authority. It has been delegated to them by someone with greater authority. The one with the greater authority has de facto authority. It is authority inherent within the person. Ultimately, only God has de facto authority.

So anyway, in Psalm 82, God, the de facto authority, shows up to condemn and judge the human judges, who have been using their de jure authority to make unjust judgments. They have not been helping the poor and fatherless, or the afflicted and needy. So God judges them, and says that although they are “sons of God,” that is, although He has given some of His authority to them to make judgments, they will still die like mere men (82:7).

This helps us understand what Jesus is saying in John 10:34-36. The religious leaders of His day also had de jure authority. Their authority derived from God. But they were misusing it and abusing their position of authority to make unjust judgments.

So Jesus challenged them on their judgments, and when they God upset, and asked Him by what authority He was doing and saying these things, He said that He had authority as a “Son of God.” What authority is that? Interestingly, it is the de jure authority! I believe He could have claimed de facto authority, but in this case He does not. Why not? For many reasons, but one is that Jesus knew His opponents were trying to bait Him, and He refused to take the bait. Instead, He claimed to have the same de jure authority that they had, but insisted that they were misusing and abusing their authority. He still made His point, but without falling into their trap.

This answer is probably more than you thought you would get, and I apologize for that.

I just feel that there are lots of Christians going about teaching sloppy ideas and careless theology, which then gets us in trouble when thinking people of other religions challenge us on our beliefs. For this reason, I try (but am not always successful) to be extremely careful in how I word things. But that usually leads to long and wordy answers like this one…

How do you understand the title “Son of God”?

So have you studied or read much about the title “Son of God”? What do you think it means? How do you understand it? How would you answer the questions posed above? Weigh in below!

Jesus is Too Busy for You

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I thought this picture was kind of funny…

Jesus is too busy

It is an advertisement put out by some Christian organization to encourage people to think about their eternal destiny rather than put it off until tomorrow. Yet the designers of the advertisement messed up a bit, and put the texts of Jesus on the wrong side.

If you have a cell phone which shows those bubble texts, you know that your texts are on the right in the green bubbles, and the texts you receive are on the left with the grey bubbles and the name of the person sending the text is at the top of the screen.

But in this picture, the designers of the advertisement reversed the bubbles so that it looks like Jesus is saying He is too busy to talk…

It’s a simple oversight, but still a little funny. Nevertheless, it kind of reminds me of a time I watched a video about how to study the Bible, and the creators of the video were talking about how important it was to use Greek and Hebrew in your study of Scripture. The video showed images of Greek and Hebrew text, and ironically, the Hebrew text was upside down! It obviously showed that despite the teacher’s claim that he used Hebrew in his study of Scripture, he didn’t even know which way was “up” when it came to Hebrew.

Does this mean that everything we do as Christians needs to be perfect? Of course not. Nearly every post I write on this blog has typos. (If you ever see one, please let me know about it in the comments or send me a note with that “Ask a Bible or Theology Question” section on the sidebar.)

But anyway, back to the subject of the image…

Is Jesus too Busy?

Most of us probably feel at times that Jesus seems too busy to talk to us. But the exact opposite is true. Due to the fact of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that God is everywhere all the time, God is able to treat each of us as if we were the only person in the world, the only one He needs to listen to, the only one He needs to care for.

God is never too busy or too distracted to listen to you. He is always with you, and always interested in what you are doing, thinking, and feeling. So talk with Him! When you rise up and when you lie down, when you eat your meals and when you drive to work, when you work out and when you watch a movie, remember that God is present with you, and loves to be part of your every conversation.

Praying to the Unbusy God

I think one of the great disservices of the church is how we teach children to pray with their heads bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded. I know why we do this — to help avoid distractions when praying — but it gives the impression that this is the only way we can pray. 

But prayer should be similar to talking to a friend who is standing right next to you. When talking to a friend, do you close your eyes, bow your head, and fold your hands so that you can focus 100% on what you are saying and what they tell you in return? No, probably not. If the conversation is serious, you might turn to face them and drop what you are doing, but for normal, average, everyday stuff, you can have a good conversation with someone while you are doing your work, watching TV, going for a walk, driving your car, or eating a meal. 

So also with prayer. If you can imagine God by your side all day every day, then you can also begin to hold conversations with Him in your head as you go about your day, just as you do with any other friend or family member. 

This is the way I have been trying to pray for the last 10 years or so, and find it extremely helpful. It has gotten so that I sometimes find that it is hard to differentiate between prayer and my actual thoughts.

Rather than thinking, “I need to remember to stop by the store today after work,” I think, “Lord, help me to remember to stop by the store today after work.” 

Rather than thinking, “What am I going to do about this bill I can’t pay?” I think, “Lord, what am I going to do about this bill I can’t pay?”

Rather than thinking, “What is wrong with my daughter’s throat and this pain she is experiencing? Should I take her to the doctor? Should I wait some more? Should I give her ibuprofen?” I think, “Lord, what is wrong with my daughter’s throat and this pain she is experiencing? Should I take her to the doctor? Should I wait some more? Should I give her ibuprofen?” 

You see how this works? 

I am not saying this is the way you have to pray. It is just something that has worked for me over the years. I think there are thousands of ways of praying, and each person prays a little bit differently. The key is to find a way that is natural, normal, and helps you develop your relationship with God, and talk with Him regarding the things that concern and interest you. 

How do you pray? If you feel like sharing, leave a comment below.

Bible and Theology Questions 1

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I get a lot of Bible and theology questions sent in to me from the “Ask a Bible and Theology Question” section in the sidebar. Though I am not always able to respond by email to all that I get, I do try to respond to most.

I decided that as part of my response to these Bible and Theology questions, I would post my answers on this blog. I will probably do this once a week or so, and put some (but not all) of the answers I provided so that you can weigh in on them as well.

Bible and Theology questions

Question: If all life – human, animal, plant, angel – is in Christ, why didn’t all life come to an end when Christ died on the cross?

First, I am not sure it is correct to say that everything was in Christ. Being “in” Christ is a special New Testament concept for people who have believed in Jesus for eternal life. It refers to being spiritually identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.

I do think that Jesus died, buried, and rose again to redeem all things, but that is slightly different than being “in” Christ.

Furthermore, even for those of us who were “in” Christ, it is a spiritual identification, so that when He died, was buried, and rose again, we also died, were buried, and rose again with Him — spiritually. Romans 6 talks some about this.

It’s kind of like being “in” a country as a citizen. If we are citizens of that country, we are identified with it. But if that country ceases to exist, we continue to live, but our identity changes. Did you ever see the movie “The Terminal” with Tom Hanks? His county disbanded, but he continued to live.

That’s a really bad analogy, but it helps get at the point. Also, I am not trying to say that Jesus ceased to exist when He died…

My answer is getting off track pretty quick…

The bottom line is this: Being “in”Christ is a special theological concept in the New Testament which takes some study to comprehend. It means that we are identified with Christ in His life, death, burial, and resurrection, and as such, receive certain spiritual blessings and benefits as a result.

Oh, and one more thing. You asked why all life didn’t come to an end when Jesus died. Interestingly, it could be argued that it was through the death of Jesus that all life truly began.

Question: I turned my back on God and fear I cannot be fully-restored. How can I find out if it is possible or not? I was a Spirit filled born-again believer and I turned my back on God and entered into some very terrible sins. I keep living this lifestyle and fear my salvation is at risk. Even though I read scriptures on confessing, etc.. I do not feel any better.

Please help me.

There is a lot about your situation I do not know, but let me try to answer what I can from the little you have told me.

First, if you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, you are already fully restored. As a child in God’s family, you are loved, forgiven, accepted, and reconciled to God. You have been regenerated, indwelled, baptized, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

However, your sins may have caused some broken fellowship between you and God. Think of your relationship with God like any other human relationship. If you are born into a family, you are a child of your parents and brother to your siblings no matter what. These bonds cannot be erased or undone. However, even though you are part of the family, you may not have contact with your parents or with your siblings for years on end. This means that you are out of fellowship with them. You are still in the family, but fellowship is broken. To restore that fellowship, you would have to maybe confess some sin to them, humble yourself and return to them, or simply get on the phone and call them up.

It is the same with God. If you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, you are in the family. Nothing can break that bond. However, sin can break fellowship with God and with other believers. This is why confession and repentance are important.

forgiveness of GodSo some of the issues you are facing may simply be some misunderstanding about the nature of your relationship with God. Once you understand that He loves and forgives you completely, and that you are in His family forever, this liberates you to love Him in return and not be worried about sin making God angry at you (He was never angry at you in the first place).

Remember that when Jesus died for your sins, all of them were future to Him, and He died anyway. Not one of your sins surprised Him or made Him wish He had not died for you. He loves you infinitely, forgives you completely, and wants to be restored into fellowship with you.

As for not feeling better, this is one of the negative consequences of sin. Sin does not take us out of God’s grace or forgiveness, but it does damage us emotionally, psychologically, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. But you will not be able to break the habit of sin on your own. You need to first realize how much God loves you–even in the midst of your sin. Until you understand the love of God, no victory over sin and temptation will be possible.

So focus on God’s infinite love for you. Over time, you will begin to see that sin no longer has the temptation that it once did.

I have written about some of this in my book, Why You Have Not Committed the Unforgivable Sin. Feel free to get it from Amazon.com.

Question: When the so-called Reformation happened all it did was reform the same old religion and not the church. There is no such thing as popes, priests, and pastors. If you think about it they’re all the same thing.

I agree with you. The Reformation did little to change much about the “Christian religion.” I think it did help to remove some of the abuses of religion, but it introduced a whole host of others.

I am glad, however, that Martin Luther helped remind the church that eternal life is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Anyway, regarding pastors and priests, I have written several posts on the topic of pastors, and will be putting out a book about this in the next year or two… To get it for free, make sure you have subscribed to the email newsletter.

All Religions Are the Same

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all religions are the sameIt’s true what they say: all religions are the same.

And make no mistake, I am including the Christian religion in with that. All religions are the same, including the Christian religion.

All Religions are the Same

All religions have at their core the idea that God is mad at the world and people have to do certain things to make God like them again. Usually, the good things that God wants us to do involve wearing silly hats, eating certain foods, and listening to some person talk for an hour before we give him money. This is true of any religion, whether Jewish, Muslim, Rastafarian, Santeria, Moorish Science Temple, Hindu, or… dare I say it? …Christian.

If you took away the hats, the robes, the names on the buildings, and some of the titles for “God” that different groups use, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between most of the world religions, …including Christianity. 

The objection to the claim that all religions are the same is that “Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a relationship! It’s a way of life!”

Right.

Few Think They are Religious

But do you know that this is what almost every person of every religion says? Almost nobody of any “faith group” thinks they are in a religion. If you ask the average “religious” person if they are in a religion, no matter what “religion” they follow, almost all of them will say, “No, I am not not in a religion, I practice a way of life.” 

Nevertheless, almost everybody is in a religion, including most Christians. Most people believe God is mad at them for something they did or said, and they are doing certain things to try to make God happy again. The core of religion is that we can somehow pleas or appease God by our own good behavior or beliefs. If you believe that, then you are part of a religion, even you bear the name “Christian.” 

Of course, I do consider myself a “Christian” in the sense that I am a follower of Jesus. I just think there is a vast difference between what has come to be known as Christianity, and what Jesus actually intended.

And when it comes down to what Jesus intended his followers to be and do, and what the religions of the world do (including the religion of Christianity), there are a few major differences. There are things that sets Jesus and His followers distinctly apart from all religious groups in history, including those religious groups that bear the name “Christian.” 

What Separates Jesus from All Religions?

So what sorts of things separate Jesus followers from all other religions in the world?

all religions are the sameWell, I will tell you one thing that doesn’t separate us…. good works. You sometimes hear Christians say, “We are more generous, loving, kind, and forgiving.” That’s crap.

Sure, it’s true sometimes. But in my experience, some of the most forgiving, kind, and generous people I know are of some religion other than Christianity. Many of them are atheists.

You can always find another religious group that is behaves better than many Christians. 

So, it seems to me that the main difference between Jesus and every man-made religion in the world (including the Christian religion) boils down to one word: grace. But not the watered down grace you hear preached from pulpits and described in books.

No, the one thing  that separates what Jesus revealed to the world and what we see in all religious groups is one thing: indiscriminate, scandalous, shocking, outrageous, senseless, irrational, unfair, irreligious, ridiculous, absurd, offensive, infinite grace.

If you don’t hold to this kind of grace, it might be because you are part of a man-made religion, even if you call yourself “Christian.” 

I am someone who came out of the Christian religion and now follows Jesus on the way of grace.

As a reader of this blog, you are probably similar. Together, we challenge some of the ideas and practices of Christianity. We raise questions about what Scripture really teaches, what God is really like, and what it means to be the church in the world today. We look for ways to reveal the scandalous grace of God to the world, raising questions about justice, righteousness, forgiveness, and love. 

All religions are the same, which is partly why I am not part of any religion. I do follow Jesus, but try to do so in a religionless way. How about you?

I Support a Woman’s Right to Choose…

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womens right to chooseI am not talking about abortion. …Not yet anyway.

I support a woman’s right to choose between paper and plastic at the grocery store.

I support a woman’s right to choose what kind of light bulb she uses at home.

I support a woman’s right to choose whether or not she and her family have health care.

I support a woman’s right to choose what kind of food to put her children’s lunchbox.

I support a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a gun.

I support a woman’s right to choose when, where, and how to discipline her children.

I support a woman’s right to choose her religion and whether or not to talk about it in public.

I support a woman’s right to choose how she defines marriage.

I could go on and on about all the ways I support a woman’s right to choose.

But what I find so sadly ironic is that the same people who support a woman’s right to choose about whether or not to terminate her pregnancy are often the same people who do not support a woman’s right to choose all the things listed above. They want to give women the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, but they don’t want to give women the right to choose between paper and plastic.

You know a great business idea for somebody? A puppy abortion clinic. Or maybe a kitten abortion clinic. You know how many stray dogs and cats there are on the world? Wouldn’t it be great if a pet owner could take their pregnant cat or dog into a clinic and have all the little puppies or kittens aborted? Then they wouldn’t have to deal with the mess of delivery, and standing outside Walmart for hours on end trying to get rid of puppies and kittens to strangers.

I am jesting of course, but do you know what would happen if somebody started an abortion clinic for puppies and kittens? There would be outrage! You might even get arrested for cruelty to animals. Who knows? Maybe someone from PETA would come and bomb your clinic.

And yet most people think nothing of it when we talk about aborting children. A woman has a right to choose what to do with her body.

But that’s just it. It is not her body. It is someone else’s body. A child’s body. It’s a little girl or a little boy. Do not they have the right to choose what happens to their body? Tell you what…. I support a woman’s right to choose as long as that same right is extended to the little girls and little boys. Let them be born and then when they are old enough to understand, give them a choice about whether they want to live or die.

People talk about how conservatives wage a war on women. I think it is time to start talking about the war on children. And unlike the so-called war on women, the war on children has millions of casualties.

Millions of babies have been killed, slaughtered, burned, and destroyed.

In this ongoing war on children, more children have been killed than all the Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Are you “Pro-Choice”? This post probably won’t convince you to change your mind. But if you want to remain “Pro-Choice,” please start to be consistently “Pro-Choice” and let women (and the rest of us) have the right to choose in the other areas of life as well.

Stop Saying “God Bless You”

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Stop Saying God Bless YouOne of my pet peeves is how some Christians use “God Bless you” as a sort of greeting and salutation. This is how the conversations often go:

Christian: Hey, Jeremy! God bless you!

[We talk about something…]

Me: Well, I gotta run.

Christian: Okay! God bless you!

Me: Uhh. Yeah. Thanks.

I know. I know. They want me to say, “God bless you” back. But I don’t do that. (I might say “Bless you” after someone sneezes, but that is something I learned from my wife… which I heard goes back to some old wive’s tale about losing part of your brain when you sneeze…)

How Do You Respond When People say “God Bless You”?

When someone says, “God bless you,” what I want to say is: “He has. And He’s blessed you too. So let’s stop talking like religious nuts and have a conversation like normal people.”

I mean look, if you only say God bless you because you want someone to say God bless you back, is that really going to be much of a blessing for either of us?

Also, can we really call down the blessing of God upon our lives by appending every conversation with the words “God bless you”?

I always wonder if men who say this greet their wife and kids the same way when they leave for work or get home in the evening. “I’m leaving for work! God bless you!” or “Honey, I’m home! God bless you!” I really doubt it. But then, since I’m not a “God bless you” sayer, I don’t really know what happens in “God bless you” homes.

God Bless You and Other Christian Lingo

Worse yet are the conversations that not only begin and end with “God bless you” statements, but are also full of statements like, “What a blessing! …An answer to prayer! …God is so good. …That just blesses my heart. …Oh, bless your soul! …Praise Jesus! …Amen!”

I am not much of a conversationalist, but my conversations with people like this usually end much quicker than normal. I have written about this before in a post called “This Video Really Spoke to My Heart.”

Maybe this is just the “overcritical me” coming out to snarl at the super-spiritual Christians again. If so, I’m sorry. 

But what about you? Do you say, “God bless you”? Why or why not? Am I making too much of this? (Probably so) 

God is like a Cosmic Cowboy

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God a Cosmic CowboyThe following comes from an email that was sent in to me through the “Contact Me” form on the right sidebar. I asked the sender if I could post it on this blog for others to respond to, and was given permission.

If you were talking to someone, and they said something like this, what would you say?

Most days I feel like I’m being herded. By the church. By politicians. By my job.

Especially by God.

God is like a cosmic cowboy herding me toward certain death, and I am the only one who seems to know it. I keep telling myself that I’m wrong. That this cowboy God can be trusted. But I’ve heard rumors about where he leads cows, and I’m not sure I’m going to like it. I certainly don’t like it now.

He pushes and prods me in one direction, which is a direction I don’t want to go. So far it’s been nothing but dust and barren, windswept landscapes.

Behind me is the clear water, cool shade, and green grass. Why couldn’t I have stayed there? Now I’m surrounded only by tumbleweed, gritty sand, and glaring sun.

God herding cows

I don’t mind if the cowboy is leading me to greener pastures. You know, Psalm 23 and all that. But it’s been ten years of desert so far, and there is no end in sight. I can’t go back, because I don’t know the way. But if I have to stay here in this desert till I die, well, the slaughterhouse is preferable to that…

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I wandered off into the woods to die.

Can I trust God? I mean really trust Him?

If so, how come it seems like He’s playing some game with my life? Like God is playing Russian roulette, but it’s my head at which the pistol is pointed?

So what would you say? The person said they would read the comments, but would probably not respond.

Discipleship and the Unbeliever

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We often think about discipleship being only for believers, but what about discipleship and the unbeliever?

Is there such a thing as discipleship for the unbeliever? Can unbelievers be discipled?

discipleship and the unbeliever

To hear some Christians and pastors talk about it, discipleship begins the moment a person believes in Jesus for eternal life. One of the first steps of discipleship, we are often taught, is baptism, and disciples of Jesus should also get involved in a community of believers, tithe, pray, and attend a Bible study. These sorts of things are what often characterizes a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Since most unbelievers do not do such things, it makes no sense to talk about discipleship and the unbeliever.

I want to challenge that idea. I believe unbelievers can be discipled and should be discipled. Though most of discipleship is for believers, there are also numerous aspects of discipleship for the unbeliever.

Reconsidering Discipleship and the Unbeliever

If current followers of Jesus sought to engage in more methods of discipleship with the unbeliever, I think we would see more people believe in Jesus for eternal life, and thus, more people become fully devoted followers of Jesus. But when we say, “Our first task to to convert people, and after that, the process of discipleship begins,” we neglect a vital and critical element of the evangelistic process.

Here are three reasons why we should practice discipleship with unbelievers.

The Definition of “Discipleship” and the “Unbeliever”

When it comes to the issue of discipleship and the unbeliever (and almost any other issue of theology as well), it is essential to define the key terms. In this case, what is meant by “discipleship” and the “unbeliever”?

Discipleship is the process or act of learning to become like someone else. It is roughly equivalent to the terms “student, learner, or follower,” though my favorite synonym is “apprentice.” When we think of discipleship as only being a student or learner, we usually think of sitting in a classroom or auditorium and listening to someone lecture at us while we listen attentively and take notes.

The idea of “apprentice” however, includes not just learning about something, but also doing or practicing what is learned.  Discipleship is following someone around to learn from them, observe them, so that the learner can ultimately do the same things as the teacher. The disciple, when fully trained, is just like the teacher. The word “apprentice” carries this idea best.

Notice, of course, that apprenticeship can begin before a person really knows anything about the trade or craft they are trying to learn. Someone can even be an apprentice even if they are not certain they want to practice that trade or craft for their entire life. Some people become an apprentice as a way of testing the waters.

So when it comes to discipleship and the unbeliever, it seems logical that an unbeliever could seek to learn from Jesus and become more like Jesus in his or her life, before they ever make the commitment to follow Him completely, and definitely before they come to believe in Jesus for eternal life. Discipleship can be a way for an unbeliever to try to figure out who Jesus is, what He teaches, and what it means to follow Him.

This becomes even more true when we seek to define the term “unbeliever.”

The term basically means “someone who doesn’t believe.” Based on this definition, no one is technically an “unbeliever” for everybody believes something. When speaking about “unbelievers” we need to ask “Unbeliever about what?”

Yet even when it comes to issues related to God, Jesus, sin, the Bible, and a whole host of other Christian teachings, there is nobody is a true “unbeliever.” Even someone who is an atheist is likely to believe that there was a man named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago who died on a cross at the hands of the Romans.

Obviously then, he term “unbeliever” is relative. Everybody believes something.

The Twelve Disciples

So again, when we talk about discipleship and the unbeliever, we can see that no matter what a person believes or doesn’t believe about God, Jesus, sin, Scripture, and  a whole host of other Christian teachings, there is always room for us to talk with a person about what they believe (or don’t believe) and hopefully bring them to a place that is somewhat closer to the truth revealed through Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures.

And if we help someone to believe a truth about Jesus (or God, Scripture, etc) that they didn’t believe before, does this not cause them to learn about Jesus and follow Him a little closer than before? Is this not a form of discipleship? Of course it is!

In some sense, it could be argued that everyone is following Jesus.

But the fact that we can engage in discipleship with the unbeliever is also seen in the very life and ministry of Jesus Himself.

Jesus Engaged in Discipleship with Unbelievers

Jesus is the best example of how to perform discipleship, and it is fairly obvious from a quick reading of the Gospels that Jesus engaged in discipleship with unbelievers.

Don’t believe me?

Judas the disciple
Judas was a disciple of Jesus and an unbeliever

Tell me, was Judas a disciple of Jesus? Of course he was! He is frequently referred to in the Gospels as a disciple, and specifically, one of the Twelve.

Then there are all the multitudes of people who followed Jesus around to listen to His teachings and receive His healing and observe His miracles. John 6:60-66 (and other texts) reveals pretty plainly that many of these people who followed Jesus — who are called “disciples” — did not believe in Jesus, that is, they were not “believers.” They were disciples and unbelievers.

This alone should show us that it is not impossible to talk about discipleship and the unbeliever. Jesus discipled unbelievers, and let them follow Him, and taught them, and trained them, and called them to an ever-increasing faith and obedience to Him and His way. Some turned away and stopped following, while others continued to follow Him.

Even then, none of His disciples fully believed everything Jesus said. Judas, of course, we have already talked about, but prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, not even Peter, James, and John believed that Jesus would die and rise from the dead. So in a sense, when it came to the death and resurrection, all of the disciples were “unbelievers.” (See my message on the Six Denials of Peter.)

Discipleship is a Process

All this points to the fact that when it comes to discipleship and the unbeliever, there really is not “beginning” point of discipleship, just as there is no end point either.

No honest disciple of Jesus ever thinks they have “arrived” and have become a perfect and fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is always a process. It never ends.

It also seems that discipleship never really begins either. The only real “beginning” of discipleship is the moment of physical birth. At that point, the Spirit of God begins to draw us, pull us, and woo us toward Jesus. Our parents, whether they were “Christians” or not, begin to teach us things about God and this world (even if they weren’t around and even if they taught us horrible things, they still teach us). This too is an aspect of discipleship.

As we grow, we adopt a worldview about the universe, humankind, what is important in life, and what happens after death. All of this is an aspect of discipleship.

It’s not a matter of who is in and who is out, but is an issue of proximity to Jesus. Someone is a disciple of Jesus if they are being drawn closer to Him daily.

One book I read a while back which presents this idea well is The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich. They somewhat argue that the journey of faith doesn’t really begin until a person recognizes the existence of God, but even then, this point of faith is long before a person actually believes in Jesus for eternal life and becomes what we might call a “Christian.”

Another book I have read on this is Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden. Here is a chart that comes from his book which shows the connection between discipleship and the unbeliever.

Stage of Discipleship - Ogden

You can see that he refers to people who haven’t believed as a “Pre-Disciple” but the point is fairly clear that to get a “Pre-Disciple” to become a disciple, you need to engage in discipleship. In his chart, you want a Pre-Disciple to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. How would you get a person to believe that? Through discipleship!

Why does it matter?

If you have hung here, you might be wondering, “Why does it matter?”

Here’s why:

People make discipleship way too difficult. Discipleship is often thought of as this magical and mysterious process by which a new believer gets transformed into this miracle-working Saint.

But there is nothing magical or mysterious about discipleship. There are no secret steps or secret handshakes. You learn to follow Jesus the same way you learn everything else: you spend time doing it.

And as long as we put up this artificial barrier between “believers” and “unbelievers” we end up focusing most of our time and effort on believers. We hold Bible studies for them. We do training sessions for them. We have get-togethers for them.

But as soon as we dump the barriers to discipleship (“Oh, you can’t come to this group until you become a believer”), then everyone is welcome at any time. As soon as we realize that discipleship is not just for believers, but is for everyone, then we can begin to realize that discipleship is not program or a church activity, but is a way of life.

We are always learning and always teaching. We are engaged in discipleship with unbelievers when we talk to friends at lunch. When we interact with our neighbor over the fence. When we behave with honesty and integrity at work. All of this is discipleship, both for us and for those with us.

In the end, I believe that pondering the issue of discipleship and the unbeliever actually enables us to understand discipleship better, and helps us live as better disciples of Jesus Christ.

What are you thoughts about discipleship and the unbeliever?

Publish your Book with Redeeming Press

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Get publishedWant to get your book published? Do you have a manuscript and are seeking a publisher, or are thinking of writing a book, but don’t know where to begin?

Let me introduce you to Redeeming Press!

Redeeming Press is publishing the way it was meant to be. It is publishing with generosity and grace. It is publishing that focuses on the author rather than on profits.

Almost exactly one year ago, I decided to start a publishing company.

I saw then, and am even more convinced now, that the publishing industry was rapidly changing, and that most publishing companies in the world were not properly adapting to these changes. In fact, most of the publishing companies were actively fighting against and trying to hinder the changes!

So I started brainstorming about how a publishing company could operate which would take advantage of some of the publishing methods in a way that would:

  1. Allow new and undiscovered authors to get published
  2. Allow books to get into print more quickly
  3. Allow authors to receive a larger royalty payment than normal

After several months of brainstorming, talking with others in the publishing industry, doing hundreds of research on publishing methods, and reading dozens of books about publishing, I ended up with a process for book publishing which accomplished all three of my goals.

Benefits of Redeeming Press

PUblishing at Redeeming PressThrough my brainstorming, I think I found a way to “redeem the press,” that is, to remove some of the negative elements of the publishing industry, and add in some elements and principles of the Kingdom of God, specifically, elements of truth, generosity, and grace.

  1. While most publishing companies want authors who have a big “platform,” Redeeming Press primarily cares about big ideas. If you have a book which presents truth in a fresh way, we might be interested in publishing it.
  2. While most publishing companies take a year or more to get your book into print, we can get your book into print within a few months.
  3. While most publishing companies pay their authors 10% royalties, we created a payment structure that allowed authors to make 30% royalty payments on their book (and even up to 45% in certain circumstances).

Redeeming Press

Redeeming Press Projects

Currently, Redeeming Press is working with three authors, and we are talking with about a dozen more. Updates on who these three authors are and what books they will be publishing will be announced soon over at Redeeming Press.com

If you are an author (or want to be one), I invite you to consider publishing your book with Redeeming Press.

Head on over to Redeeming Press.com to get started.

Oh, and while you are there, sign up for the Redeeming Press newsletter. The newsletter will give you updates about authors, newly published books, and some tips and suggestions for writing and preparing your own book for publication. Besides that, in a week or two, newsletter subscribers will get a shortened and condensed version of my Book Publishing Instructions. 

This post is part of the January 2014 Synchroblog, in which we were invited to share some sort of “New Beginning.” One of the options was to share about starting something new, so I chose to share about this new company. Here are the other participants to this month’s synchroblog:

Is there Fear in Faith?

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fear in faith

I know that “there is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear” but is there “fear in faith”?

Some might say that “If you believe in God and believe that God is love, then you won’t be afraid to do what He asks.”

That sounds great, until God actually asks you to do something risky…

Then there is great quaking in the boots.

Have you ever experienced this, or is it just me? What has God asked you to do recently that caused great fear and took great risk?

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