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
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:37-38
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 14:26-27, 33-35
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Jesus taught his disciples that they must love God, love their neighbor, and love one another. He taught them that this is what is required to follow him and that they would be identified as being his disciples because they did them. He taught them that assurance of passing from death to life comes through love for one another.
He taught them that whoever wants to be his disciple must deny himself and take up his cross, and if they do so, then they can follow him, but if they don't, they are not worthy of him so they cannot be his disciple. He taught them that whoever loves their mother, father children, brothers or sisters more than him are not worthy of him and cannot be his disciple. He taught them that whoever loves their life more than him cannot be his disciple. He taught them that whoever does not bear their cross and come after him cannot be his disciple.
This is very different than what is taught in church gatherings today, which remove the restrictions that Jesus placed in order to be his disciple, and have added regulations that Jesus never required to be a Christian and to be included in their churches.
In some cases today, people are taught that Jesus requires nothing from his followers and that anyone can be his follower. As the passages above show, this teaching is not true.
In other cases, people are taught that in order to follow Jesus, you must have a correct understanding of the Trinity, of God's character, of eternity, and of the end times. However, as far as we know, Jesus did not teach his disciples these things or require his disciples to understand them.
He also did not teach them to segregate based on what they believe about these things. He did not teach them that they all had to have the same beliefs in order to be a member of their group. He did not teach them to practice or keep the Jewish law or traditions. He did not teach them to condemn sinners or make those who are outside of the church comply with his commandments. He did not teach them to call their political nation to repentance or to develop Christian nations (however, he did teach them to call those of God's nation to repentance).
Jesus taught his disciples to Love God, to love their neighbor as themselves, and to love one another. This is how his disciples will be identified by the world and how some who are of the world will choose to become his disciple.
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