Jesus called and trained disciples. He expected to see changed lives, to see changes in behavior, in personal character traits: a disciple’s belief had to produce fruit, otherwise, it was in vain. For example, a disciple of Jesus had to be a servant of all (Luke 22:24-30). A disciple had to forgive those who had sinned against him or her (Matt 18:21-22), but, on the other hand, a disciple was obligated to reprove a sinning brother or sister (Luke 17:3-4). Identifying the moral demands Jesus made of his disciples and understanding their implications within a first-century Jewish context helps twenty-first-century disciples of Jesus live victorious Christian lives.
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