Here is a truth that will help you unpack many tricky and often-misunderstood Bible passages:
Though all believers have eternal life,
Not all believers are disciples, and
Not all disciples are believers.
It seems a little confusing at first, but if we think through each statement a little more slowly, it all makes sense.
Let’s unpack the statements one at a time:
All believers have eternal life
We know from numerous Bible passages that anyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life.
Jesus makes this claim over and over in the Gospel of John (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).
There should be nothing too controversial about this statement by Jesus, but strangely, many Christians don’t agree with Jesus on this matter. Many say that faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is not enough, for we also need to submit our lives to Jesus, obey Jesus, follow Jesus, and perform all sorts of good works to prove that we truly belong to Jesus.
But if you look at all of the Bible passages which contain instructions for these sorts of things, they ALL are talking about becoming a follower, or disciple, of Jesus. They are NOT talking about receiving the free gift of eternal life from Jesus.
This leads to the second statement from above:
Not all believers are disciples
Ancient discipleship was very close to what we call apprenticeship. A person would follow and learn from a master teacher or craftsman in order to become like him and do what he did (Matt 10:25; Luke 6:40).
This usually progressed in four stages: First, he listens to the master’s instructions. Second, he watches the master perform the action. Third, he performs the action with the master’s help. Fourth, he is able to perform the action on his own, and starts teaching it to others.
A mathētēs (disciple) who only listened to the master teach but never progressed out of the classroom, would never be considered a true disciple, even if they could recite from memory everything the teacher had ever said.
While “classroom” teaching and learning was part of the discipleship process, it was only the very first part. A student who never progressed past the classroom would not be considered successful. While learning was important, putting into practice what had been learned was the most important.
A true disciple not only learns what the teacher knows, but also practices what the teacher does (cf. Luke 6:40).
All of this means, of course, that true discipleship is a lifelong process, especially when we think of being a disciple of Jesus.
Since no person can ever fully learn everything Jesus has to teach, and no person can ever fully resemble and practice everything that Jesus leads us to do, all who are disciples of Jesus will spend their entire lives learning from Jesus and following in His footsteps.
Since this is so, is should be immediately obvious that there are major differences between believing in Jesus for eternal life and being a disciple of Jesus.
For example, once a person receives eternal life through faith in Jesus, they have eternal life forever. They receive the free gift of eternal life immediately upon believing in Jesus, and nothing they can say or do in the future will cause God to take away this eternal life from them.
Discipleship, however, is not instantaneous, is not a free gift of God, and has numerous ongoing conditions.
While a person cannot lose their eternal life, they can stop being a disciple if they fail to meet the conditions.
Therefore, as you can see, it is possible to believe in Jesus for eternal life, but fail in several aspects of discipleship. Such a person is still part of the family of God, but they are not properly participating in the activities of the family of God.
God will not kick them out of His family for such inactivity, but will continue to seek to teach, train, call, and maybe even discipline these children so that they will grow up from infancy and become productive members of His family.
But this leads to another surprising insight … the third statement from above:
Not all disciples are believers
Just as it is quite possible for someone to believe in Jesus, but not become a fully-committed follower of Jesus, it is also possible for someone to follow Jesus as a disciple, but never actually believe in Him for eternal life.
Judas Iscariot might be one example, but there are other examples in the Gospel accounts, such as those who follow Jesus for a while, but then leave Him when the going gets tough (cf. John 6). It appears that many of those who left didn’t believe in Jesus for eternal life.
Even in modern times, we all know people who consider Jesus to be a good moral teacher, and try to follow His example and teaching, and yet who still believe that their own good works and moral living is how they will earn eternal life for themselves.
Such people are certainly disciples of Jesus, for they listen to much of what He says and follow His example, but they do not have eternal life because they have not believed in Jesus for eternal life.
Mahatma Gandhi repeatedly said that he did his best to follow the teachings and example of Jesus, especially what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. It is too bad we Christians do not follow the example of Gandhi in this regard! However, as far as we know, Gandhi never believed one of the main things that Jesus taught, which is that God gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Jesus for it.
Sadly, there are probably many who call themselves Christians who do their best to follow Jesus, and yet who have not believed in Jesus for eternal life but instead continue to trust in their own good works and effort to earn everlasting life for themselves.
Seek to be BOTH a believer AND a Disciple
If you want the full experience of the Christian life, you should not only believe in Jesus for eternal life, but also seek to follow Jesus in the path of discipleship. This way, you not only have eternal life from Jesus, but the abundant life with Jesus.
You not only get to be part of the family of God, but also get to join in the thrilling adventures that God goes on with His active family members.
Let me provide one example of how this helps us understand Scripture.
Matthew 10:37-39 is about discipleship; not eternal life
Matthew 10:37-39 contains several more costly and difficult conditions for the person who would be a disciple of Jesus.
In the previous context, Jesus said that His teachings would create division and strife between family members (Matt 10:34-36). Jesus says that if this happens, His disciples must choose to follow Him rather than stay committed to their family. In the parallel passage of Luke 14:26-33, Jesus says that His disciples must even “hate” their family members.
These passages have been widely misunderstood, primarily because we do not live in the honor and shame culture of Jesus’ day. In a culture that was governed by honor and shame, turning away from family business, family traditions, and family culture to follow other traditions was akin to hating your family.
In that culture, there was no greater way to bring shame on your family. If a person told their family that they were going to give up the family inheritance, not follow through on the family business, and not following the family traditions, the other family members would feel slighted, insulted, shamed, and even hated. They might say, “Why do you hate us so much to turn your back on your traditions?”
Jesus is saying that in such situations, there might not be anything one of His followers can do.
We should never hate our family members or treat them in unloving ways, of course. Such behavior has nothing to do with following Jesus.
But when we follow Jesus, other family members are likely to misunderstand. They might even (wrongly) feel that we hate them.
And while we are to always show our family members love, and invite them to follow Jesus along with us, if they force us to choose between Jesus and family, Jesus is saying that His disciples will choose Him.
This is not easy. It will feel like dying, which is exactly what Jesus says.
He invites His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him. Following Jesus is following Him into the death of our old life.
We will die to old habits, old traditions, and old beliefs. We will lose our old life. But in the process, we will gain a new way of living with Jesus Christ. When we lose our life for the cause of Christ, we gain a new life with Him (cf. Matt 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26).
This discussion in Matthew 10:39 about finding a new life with Jesus has caused some to think that Jesus is referring to eternal life. But typically, when Jesus is referring to eternal life, He refers to it as such. When He is simply talking about life, He is referring to the temporal, physical life here on earth, as is the case here.
This world has a certain set of values and goals, but they always and only lead to death. So when we try to hold on to our life in this world, we lose it. However, when we give up the values and goals of life in this world, and instead adopt and accept the values and goals of Jesus, it is then that we discover how to properly live this life with God and with others.
So do you want to follow Jesus on the path of discipleship? It won’t be easy. It might even cause some of your family members to condemn and hate you. But the life you will gain as an active member of the family of God will make it all worth it.
Matthew 10:37-39 is not telling you how to receive eternal life, but is telling you what you can expect if you truly follow Jesus on the path of discipleship. Following Jesus can be quite costly, but it is more than worth the cost.
A chart showing the differences between believers and disciples
| Eternal Life | Discipleship |
| Free Gift | Costly |
| Received through faith | Received through commitment and obedience |
| Not by works | By works |
| Instant justification | Life-long sanctification |
| Jesus paid the price | The Christian pays the price |
| Believe in Jesus | Follow Jesus as Lord |
| Believe in Jesus | Obey the commands |
| Cannot be earned | Earns reward |
Are you a believer AND a disciple?
So … have you believed in Jesus for eternal life? Good! Now listen for where Jesus wants to lead you…
Are you trying to follow Jesus, but you are not sure you have eternal life? That’s a good start … but let me be one of the first to invite you to believe in Jesus so that you can KNOW that you have eternal life, and so that you can better follow the leading of Jesus in your life.
Make sure you understand the differences between believing in Jesus for eternal life and following Jesus on the path of discipleship. They condition and results of both are completely different, but both are necessary to experience ALL that God wants for us in the life.
Once you understand the differences, however, many troubling texts in Scripture will make a whole lot more sense.
If you want to learn more about this topic, join my online discipleship group and take the Gospel Dictionary online course:
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If you want to be a disciple of Jesus then you have to follow the resurrected Jesus through the teachings of Paul. Trying to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry means you have to follow the mosaic law. We are not under the law, we have never been under the law. The law has been nailed to the cross.
This sounds like an extreme form of dispensationalism. Jesus didn’t teach the law, exactly, but the spirit of the law which is indeed a guide for humanity.
Jesus did teach the law~but we are free from the law by what he did on the cross…he paid the pentality and freed us. We are now saved through faith in Jesus…that faith will result in works~not our works but him doing the work through us. We can be holy through our faith in Jesus and what he did on the cross for us. (By his wounds you have been healed.) So if we have any chance at being holy~ it’s through our faith in Jesus.
This happens by true faith~are people saved who don’t do this~perhaps and yes…but it’s the hope that we would be this way! Pretty amazing!
Also, the book of John closely resembles the teachings of Paul…a wonderful book to read!
Amen! 100% 🎯
Jeremy: I have not read this perspective before. Very thought provoking. It makes sense. God does not love you based on your obedience. What parent does that! Pursing being a disciple has wonderful blessings aka a close relationship with our Creator.
Yes, viewing God as a parent, and looking at how we parent is a very helpful comparison.
John 14:21 clearly says otherwise! As do the surrounding verses! Please read them.
Excellent as always. Very clear and makes a lot of sense! Love your teaching.
Thank you, Suzanne! Thanks for the comment!
That was a really helpful explanation of the concepts of eternal life and discipleship. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them broken apart like that before. It adds context to some confusing parts of the new testament and they now make a lot more sense.
Thanks, Norm. Glad you found it helpful. It really does help make sense of a lot of texts.
Isn’t there any superiority or inferiority between disciple or believer in the sight of God?. Anyways this was a lot of knowledge to gain.
if you remain in my word you are truly my disciple
you will know the truth and the truth will free you
(the heavenly father through Jesus)
(recorded in John 8:31,32)
I have to thin you are right. One thing nags me:
How about in Matthew 25, where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, based on how they have treated His brethren?
Hello, Paul
Have you ever considered that “His brethren” are the believers and disciples? The judgment does not entail the human race, but “nations.” This parable is a continuance of Matthew 24, which describes the end of the Jewish age.
If you are interested in this topic, I suggest pages 101-108 of J. S. Russell’s “The Parousia.”
https://archive.org/details/parousiaacritic00russgoog
There are also some issues with the translation of Matthew 25:46. You can get a hint by looking at Young’s Literal Translation. Or, check my website if you want more a more in-depth explanation on this verse.
If what you say is true, why are all the people who comprised the early church in the book of Acts referred to as disciples?
I am still researching this concept myself. But, read Acts 16:1 to see an example of different language used to describe those who are God’s faithful (“disciple” in regards to Timothy, but “believer” in regards to his mother). This holds in the Greek and is quite interesting.
I agreed with some of your statements….I’ve had some questions myself that I’m trying to learn. However, I do not think you can be a disciple of Jesus and not a believer….you aren’t actually following Jesus (then.) You might think you are~or say to others and yourself you are…you might go to church….you might “act” or “appear” that you are…but you are not! You can only follow Jesus and know him through faith~real, true faith!
While I do think God uses certain people more than others. A true believer in my mind would be transformed into a new creation (when they believe) are also being made holy, and being taught by God himself and in close communion with him. Now, are people saved who aren’t experiencing this? This has been a big question of mine…because I believe you do all the above through faith in Jesus…that’s it! He does all the rest in you! So true faith results in being made new…you don’t have to do anything…you are free~yet, you are made new and you want to do these things and you are in fact doing these things in Jesus…it’s amazing…you are free, yet holy at the same time! You are saved and covered~yet, you are being made new and you naturally now love others and do these things…all through real faith in Jesus. Yet, you are free~you don’t have to feel like you have to do anything to be saved~he is the one changing you through faith…yet, you have also died to your old self and you are in fact an actual new person~who loves others~you now have joy, peace, fruits of the spirit, and freedom…etc etc.
Are people who aren’t living this way saved~perhaps….but it was the hope that people would be made righteous and be this way…and it’s the best thing to be….everything is better this way….so it’s a gift for those who walk and put their faith in Jesus this way~everything is better with Jesus.
I also believe you are saved by believing in your heart that Jesus is Lord~all must believe this to be saved! Is baptism important? This is another big question of mine~I don’t see why a believer wouldn’t want to be baptized…you’d think a real believer would have a desire to be baptized…and it’s a simple thing to do~why not just do it?!
I believe it’s a free gift~but he still gives rewards and blessings for good works…that we now do through him~not ourselves…the gift of salvation is a free gift~we are covered and saved…but that does not mean we won’t do things…in fact, we can do far more through Jesus (by our true faith and tranformation in him.)
My thoughts~have a great day!
I heard this podcast and wondered are all believers called to make disciples? I understand the concept of some not being actually born again disciples but what if the case is the person is a genuine believer are they called to make disciples?
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What about Revelation 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Does this verse imply lukewarm Christians aren’t saved/aren’t on the narrow road?
“Take heed what you hear”. Mark 4:24
“There’s a way that seems right to a man” Proverbs 14:12, 16:25
Those that do not find it will be as the sand of the sea. Rev 20:8-9
“Let no MAN deceive you.” MT. 24:4
We are all on a journey, but at the final trump there will only be two groups of people; the faithful and the unfaithful. Whatever we choose to label them will not change who they are. We either do the will of God out of honor and reverence to Him, or we live as we please, but “love seeks not its own”. 1 Cor 13:5
“Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom, but he that DOES the will of my Father” MT 7:21
Let us seek HIS will as we deny ourselves. Luke 14:33
The difference between believer and disciple has the same difference as between light and truth which is none.
In James 2, the Lord tells us through the apostle that even the demons believe, so how do you incorporate that into your thinking that someone can be saved as a believer even if they are not a committed disciple who willingly obeys His commandments unlike the demons?
Also, Jesus clearly says that His family (mother, brothers, and sisters) are those who know the will of the Father and DO it, so how to you incorporate that as well to someone who believes apart from being a committed disciple?
And, lastly, The Prophet as Sentinel or Watchman part of Ezekiel 3 makes it quite clear that we are responsible for getting a sinning brother or sister to stop lest we be held responsible for their blood (death due to serious sin), so do you really think that applies for us to believers who aren’t willing to repent after receiving a biblical admonishment from one or more others in God’s family?
In Christ,
Andrew
I love how you explained the terms between the difference of believers and disciples. I am actually preaching on a series for my sermons on this.
I would to quote some of your comments.
Jesus says my sheep listen to my voice I know them & they follow me. You are saying you can believe but not be one of Jesus’ sheep who follow him. Your theology would be incorrect. Also read James 2:14-26 talking about faith & good works.
I believe too this explanation is proper because Jesus said many will say we cast out devil’s and did many wonderful work’s and yet they didn’t do his will meaning they were disciples but they didn’t believe in him because his will is that every man believes in Christ Jesus in that John 6:28-30
First of all, the Bible teaches no where that we are to, “believe in Jesus for eternal life”, as if we believe in Him for eternal life but don’t first believe in Him in all of His glory, majesty, grace, mercy, authority and power! In John’s gospel it is all Jesus, God incarnate, Lord, Savior, King, Servant, etc. If we believe-truly believe-in the Jesus of the Bible (which the NT makes unmistakably clear involves genuine repentance, whole-hearted obedience, etc. THEN we will have eternal life! Eternal life is not some “thing” apart from Jesus Christ the Lord! Jesus defines eternal life in John 17 as knowing the true God and knowing Jesus Christ whom He has sent!