The failure to recognize the distinction between being a believer and a disciple will result in missing many important aspects of the Christian life.  The truth is found in God’s Word which is why we’re told to study it.  Working at organizing God’s word is how you learn about the full scope of this great salvation He has purchased for us.  Not by studying the words of Pastors and Theologians.  They do contribute to our knowledge of God, but only as long as what they teach matches up with what God has revealed in the Bible. 

That said, I want to break down the passage I quoted in my previous post to give an example of how I approach study.  Romans 5:9 & 10 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  

To start with I need to verify the Biblical meaning of the words justified and reconciled.  In Romans 3:21-26 & 4:5 & 7-8 Paul explains justification a being acquitted of all charges of sin and declared righteous.  He went on to say it also includes peace with God, Romans 5:1.  2 Corinthians 2:18-19 applies those same results to the word reconciled.  God has reconciled us to Him.  So, Paul was confirming a believer has by faith in Jesus Christ been delivered from the penalty of sin while at the same time indicating salvation includes much more. 

Romans 5:9 adds deliverance from wrath.  Since justification has already resolved the issue of eternal damnation this wrath must be something else.  Most likely he was referring to the wrath mentioned in Romans 1:18. My reason is that Romans 1:16-18 identifies the overarching theme of Romans, escaping God’s present-day wrath against sin.  The salvation Paul mentioned in Romans 1:16 & 17 was much more expansive than our final destiny, it included being spared from His present wrath against sin and a wasted life.  Christ still lives! And because He does, we, by the power of His resurrection can lead a sanctified life now (saved by His life).

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  Paul wrote that about 10 years before Romans.  Now after 10 years he is giving us an in-depth explanation of what it means.  I personally believe this is the life of freedom Jesus Christ offers disciples, believers who continue in His word (John 8:32).      

Starting in Romans 5:1-12 Paul lays out how his discovery of the truth set him free.  Chapters 6 & 7 appear to be his personal journey to the full realization of our release from the condemnation of sin.  Which he proclaims in Romans 8:1-4 - There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  (NKJV)
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Does this make sense to you?  Did I miss something? 

I want to point out some things about John 8:30-32 that you might not have had a Pastor ever show you before.  Hopefully, you’ve already figure them out on your own and if you have I think that is great.  You’re a Bible scholar.  But go ahead and read these verses.

John 8:30-32 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

The main idea in v. 30 is that some of the people listening to Jesus Christ believed in Him.  What does that mean?  John told us in John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. So, v. 30 is saying that some of the people who were listening to Jesus just received everlasting life! 

So, what does v. 31 say?  It says people with everlasting life who abide in His word are disciples of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is making a distinction between believers, people with everlasting life, and disciples.  Disciples being people with everlasting life who are abiding in His word.  I’m pointing out that distinction because a lot of Bible Teachers tend to conflate being saved (having everlasting life) with being a disciple and Jesus Christ says they are not the same. 

Why that’s important is because most of the N.T. is not evangelistic. It was written to disciples.  Did you know that the Greek word for saved (Sozo) appears 111 times in the Greek N. T. and only 33 of those usages pertain to being saved from eternal death.  In fact it is not used at all for saving from eternal damnation in the Book of Romans.  Instead, Paul used it in the sense of sanctification and deliverance from God’s present-day displeasure with sin.  His wrath towards sin in the here and now. 

Look at Romans 5:9-10 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Notice Paul makes a distinction between being justified and reconciled and being saved.  Justified and reconciled are being used to signify his readers have everlasting life.  In v. 9 saved is applied to avoiding the wrath of God which is being “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” Romans 1:18. In v. 10 saved is used in regards to redeeming one’s remaining life in this present world. 
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I trust you can see how confusing this could be if it’s being taught from an evangelistic point of view.  It would likely make the next 3 chapters, Romans 6,7 & 8 almost impossible to understand.  I believe it is one of the reasons people lack the assurance of their salvation.  They likely truly believed they had everlasting life when they first believed in Jesus Christ.  But then they became confused by teachers who assume every time you see the word saved it must be deliverance from Hell.  And now they are not so sure.  They’ve been robbed of the joy that comes from knowing truth, the truth that Jesus said would make us free.  

The Holy Spirit used the Apostle John to write 4 of the books in the New Testament.  The 2 that most people are familiar with are the Gospel of John and 1 John.  The subject matter of the Gospel of John is everlasting life.  John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

The subject matter of 1 John is living in fellowship with God, being a disciple and making the most of our everlasting life now.   Something Jesus Christ spoke about often.  Fellowship is born out of getting to know someone, building a close relationship with them.    

John 8:30-32 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Jesus spoke this in His prayer to the Father on the night He was betrayed and arrested.  If you want to know God you have to know His word.  Knowing His word is key to fellowship and freedom.

Knowing God is a repeated theme in 1 John because knowing Him is necessary to experience fellowship with Him.  And fellowship was the main theme of John’s letter as he explained in his opening paragraph.  
1 John 1:3-4 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

There is just one catch, God is perfectly holy and pure in every respect.  1 John 1:5 & 6 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. In other words, if we walk (live) in darkness we cannot experience the fellowship and fullness of joy that John wants us to have.  That is why the very first instruction John gives us is to confess our sin. 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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He knows we really don’t understand how sinful we really are.  That is why He graciously says to confess the sins you know about and He will cleanse you of the rest.  Confessing your sins is necessary for fellowship with God. 
Is it part of your daily prayers?   

One thing that I’ve learned as a pastor is that the exegetical approach to Bible teaching will provoke questions from those who attend your Church.  It really should not be a surprise because God has said things that are hard for us to grasp.  Look at the number of denominations that make up the spectrum of what we call the “Christian” Church.  These exist because we have disagreements, not about what the Bible says but about what it means.  That is the major influence on how Pastor’s teach and also on the word choices made by the Translators of our English Bibles.    

My responsibility as a pastor is to accurately present what the Bible says.  Hopefully, I can do that without injecting my preferential meanings to the text.  Those who are listening are responsible to verify what they are hearing matches up with what they are reading.  Because every Christian is responsible for their own beliefs.  Which means each of us must read the text for ourselves and have a sound methodology for resolving differences in interpretations.

My experience has been that most people go with comparing what different Pastors and Bible teachers say and then choose the one they like the best.  The problem with that approach is one Pastor might be correct in his teaching and the other wrong, but both could also be wrong.  In the former case you have a 50/50 chance of being right.  In the latter you are left with choosing the doctrinal error that sounds the best to you.  In other words, you would be 100% wrong. 

The Bible is the only touch stone we have for verification of spiritual truth.  It is the rationale behind 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Paul wrote that under the supervision of the Holy Spirit who knows all about human nature.  Paul’s letters have the authority of the Holy Spirit backing them up and yet the Spirit knew what future generations would do with the Scriptures. 
 
In Acts 17:10-11 He, the Spirit of God, gave us an example of what 2 Timothy 2:15 means.  Acts 17:10-11 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Paul and his team were not troubled in the least by the Bereans checking out what they had taught against what the Scriptures actually said.  That is the model for every Christian to follow.  It is after all your personal destiny that is at stake.  Speaking for myself as a Pastor, I am pleased when people double check my teaching against the Text of the Bible.  And there have been more times than I like to admit that I’ve had to correct a long held understanding to the Bible that was wrong.  
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When you stand before the Lord saying “but that was the way my pastor taught it” won’t get you a pass.