What Does God Want? by Michael S. Heiser

Author:Michael S. Heiser [Heiser, Michael S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blind Spot Press
Published: 2018-10-31T07:00:00+00:00

Summary and Preview

Now you know what the Bible is really about. It’s an amazing story.

You’re probably wondering where we go from here. There are some important concepts to think about in light of the story.

Early in the story, I wrote this about Abraham:

The apostle Paul used Abraham as an example of believing loyalty (Rom 4:1-12). Abraham believed and was accepted by God before he obeyed any rules. The rules were about showing he believed. They did not replace belief. Belief (faith) was the one essential thing. Loyalty to that belief—to that God—is something we’ll talk about later. Today we call it discipleship. Belief and loyalty are two distinct things. They are related but not interchangeable. The same is true of salvation and discipleship.

That paragraph is our road map the rest of the way. The phrase “believing loyalty” will be our guide. Let me illustrate:

“BELIEVING”

In the next section, we’re going to talk about the gospel. We’ll talk about what it is and isn’t. We’ll learn what it means—what the content of the gospel is according to the Bible. That’s important because believing the gospel is how we become members of God’s family. It’s how we are saved. Salvation is by faith. It is the way God has provided salvation, the path he has created for joining his family. That all centers in what Jesus did.

“LOYALTY”

In the last section of the book, we’re going to learn about discipleship. “Disciple” is a term that means “follower.” Being a disciple of Jesus means following him—imitating him. Jesus said “he that has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:7, 9). Jesus lived in a way that showed he loved God—that he was loyal to his Father and his plan. Discipleship is how we show we love Jesus and love God. It’s not about earning God’s love. It’s how we thank Jesus for accomplishing God’s plan to save us. It’s not about replacing or supplementing what Jesus did for our salvation. It’s how we show we believe in what he did for our salvation (James 2:14-26).

As I said earlier, belief and loyalty are two related, but distinct things. They are not interchangeable. The same is true of salvation and discipleship. We believe the gospel for our salvation. We show loyalty to our Savior by being his disciple.

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