Many have been led to believe that discipleship is a relentless struggle—a never-ending climb up a mountain of rules and self-effort, hoping to earn God’s approval. This is not the message of the Gospel. True discipleship is not a call to imitate Christ in the flesh, nor is it a summons to strive for righteousness by human effort. It is the call to abide in the Gospel: to trust in Christ’s finished work, to rest in His sufficiency, and to allow Him to live in us by His Spirit.
The Mystery Now Revealed: Christ in You
The heart of New Testament discipleship is not external imitation, but internal union. The Gospel sets our hearts in agreement with Christ and fills us with thanksgiving, creating the very atmosphere in which He makes His home in us. This is the mystery that was hidden for ages but is now revealed: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
This union is not a secondary truth—it is the foundation of the Christian life. To abide in Christ is to have Him abide in us. This is not a mystical ideal, but a present reality for every believer. The Spirit enables us to rest in Christ as our righteousness, sanctification, and reward. As we grow in this knowledge, we discover that Christ is everything, and He does everything in the Christian life.
The Collapse of Legalistic Discipleship
Contrast this with the discipleship presented in the synoptic gospels, before the resurrection. There, Jesus’ call was intentionally impossible: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The disciples were commanded to follow Him externally, to deny themselves, to take up their cross, to hate even their own lives. And every one of them failed. This was not a flaw in the program—it was the point. Legalistic discipleship exposes the utter inability of the flesh, driving us to despair and showing us our need for a Savior.
If you attempt to follow Christ in the flesh, you will find only frustration and defeat. The law’s demands were never meant to empower you, but to reveal your need for grace. If you persist in this error, you lose not only your assurance, but the very ground of your inheritance and sonship. Justification by faith is not a side issue—it is the difference between freedom and bondage, between life and death.
Discipleship in Resurrection: Freedom, Not Burden
After the resurrection, everything changed. In John’s Gospel, discipleship is no longer about external following, but about internal participation. The command is not to strive, but to drink: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). The focus is not on counting the cost, but on receiving eternal life—Christ Himself.
This is why, after Acts, the word “disciple” disappears from the epistles. Instead, we are called believers and members—“bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh” (Ephesians 5:30). By faith, we are joined to Christ. We are not merely followers; we are members of His body, sharers in His life, and heirs of His promise. Abiding in Him, like a branch in the vine, we bear fruit—not by effort, but by His life within us (John 15:4).
The Fruit: Love for the Brethren
True discipleship manifests in love for one another. This love is not sentimentalism, nor is it measured by our emotional state. It is the recognition of fellow believers as sons and daughters of God, accepted on the basis of faith in Christ’s blood. To love the brethren is to acknowledge the testimony of the Gospel in them. We do not judge by outward performance, nor do we withhold fellowship from those whom God has received.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
If you reject this foundation—if you insist on measuring others (or yourself) by works—you fall into the error of Cain, who hated Abel because he could not accept God’s way of justifying sinners by blood, not toil. This is not a minor mistake; it is a rejection of the Gospel itself.
The Only Foundation: Grace Through Faith
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22).
The Gospel is the source and foundation of true discipleship. Through it, we bear fruit, walk in assurance, and are set free from the tyranny of self-effort. To abandon this ground is to forfeit the very power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).
What Is Lost If You Accept the Error
If you accept the error of legalistic discipleship—if you make your standing with God depend on your performance—you lose assurance, you forfeit your inheritance, and you undermine the very basis of sonship. You exchange the freedom of the Spirit for the bondage of the flesh. You cannot bear true fruit, nor can you love the brethren as Christ commands, because you have left the only ground where Christ dwells: the Gospel.
Conclusion
True discipleship is abiding in the Gospel—resting in Christ’s finished work, trusting Him as your righteousness, and allowing His life to flow through you by the Spirit. This is not a burdensome call, but the invitation to freedom, assurance, and genuine love. Anything less is not discipleship at all, but a denial of the very grace that saves.
Keywords: discipleship, Gospel, Christ, righteousness, sanctification, reward, love, sonship, assurance
