Have you ever heard someone’s testimony and thought, “Wow, that’s radical”?
Or maybe someone told you your own obedience, forgiveness, or love is “radical” or “extraordinary.”
Here’s the truth—and it might be a hard truth to hear.
The Problem with “Radical” Christianity
Radical obedience.
Radical faith.
Radical surrender.
Radical forgiveness.
Radical love.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the truth, and it might be a hard truth to hear, but it’s the truth, nonetheless.
No such thing as radical obedience, radical faith, radical surrender, radical love, or radical forgiveness exists in the Church.
If you believe in and follow Christ, you simply have obedience, faith, surrender, forgiveness, and love.
From the vantage point of the world—the vantage point of the sinner separated from God—these things may indeed seem “radical.” But to the born-again child of the Most High God, they form the standards by which we all live our lives.
Adding the word “radical” to these pillars of the Christian life makes them seem unattainable. It gives us an excuse for our lack in one or all of these areas. It opens the door for comparison, envy, and jealousy.
The Standard is Just…The Standard
The Christian must obey the Word and the Spirit, in small things and large (John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-6). If Christ leads us as Lord, obedience becomes the only acceptable response to His leadership.
The Christian receives forgiveness, so the Christian must forgive (Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:32)—no matter how heinous the sin seems in our eyes. Christ died and forgave that sin as much as all others. Therefore, since Christ crucified us with Him (Galatians 2:20), we too must forgive just as He forgave us.
The Christian must live by faith (Hebrews 11:6, Romans 1:17). Faith provides the only way to live, move, and have our being in Christ (Acts 17:28). Only faith pleases God, and anything not of faith becomes sin (Romans 14:23).
The same holds true for love. No “radical love” exists for the Christian. Christ gave us this new commandment—not to love our neighbor as ourselves, but to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34-35). To Him, this isn’t radical love. He doesn’t consider it unusual or uncommon. Instead, He sets it as the expectation.
If we can grasp this truth, it will change our lives.
The one who surrenders to Christ to the point of obedience to His Word does nothing more than what God expects of the believer. In fact, the believer offers a reasonable act of service when presenting themselves as a living sacrifice to the One who gave His life for them (Romans 12:1).
What Discipleship Actually Looks Like
Here’s the thing—these things will look different in each and every one of our lives. We’ll see some similarities, but we’ll also witness incredible diversity in how we walk out our relationship with Christ. We’ll grow and mature in Him differently. We’ll bear fruit at different times and in different ways.
Life in Christ operates as a process of continually growing from glory to glory. We may look at someone further along in one area and feel amazed, but we must remember: you’re not seeing anything “radical.” You’re seeing the manifestation of Christ in and through their life.
To someone else, our lives might appear just as amazing. But these observations should encourage us. They should draw us closer to Christ, help us know Him more, and inspire us to walk in greater obedience, faith, surrender, and love.
These things should invite us to celebrate the faith and obedience of our brother or sister in Christ. They should inspire us to continue growing up in all things in Christ as we observe the example of their life.
That defines what discipleship actually means.
How can we possibly disciple others if we don’t follow Him ourselves? How can we disciple others if we view the basic tenets of Christian life as somehow “radical” and unusual?
The truth is, we cannot. We can only invite someone else to follow us as we follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) if we follow Him ourselves and live lives that set an example of surrender, obedience, forgiveness, faith, and love. If we don’t live that life, we point the ones we seek to disciple toward someone other than Christ.
When Someone Else’s Obedience Convicts You
The idea that surrender, obedience, forgiveness, faith, and love qualify as “radical” leaves many people hurt in the church. It stops them from growing. Why?
Because in their pursuit of God and walking in His ways, the Church herself condemns them as “holier than thou” or “self-righteous.” Why? Their heart to follow God and His Word brings conviction to those who call themselves by the name of Christ but don’t walk in His ways.
If someone’s walk with God puts you off, keep your mouth shut. Turn to Him and find out why someone else’s devotion to Him might rub you the wrong way.
Ask yourself: Do you struggle with disobedience in an area where their obedience reminds you of your own shortcomings? Do you harbor a secret sin that their behavior reminds you of? Rather than acknowledging your sin, do you turn on someone who reminds you that you’re doing wrong simply by their lifestyle?
This marks the point where iron sharpens iron. But not all who call themselves Christians qualify as “iron.” Their response to the way other believers live for Christ proves what they’re made of.
Do you celebrate their development, obedience, faith, and love—or do you resent it? Do you feel inspired to run after the things of God with greater abandon and surrender—or do you feel bitterness and loathing? Does conviction lead to genuine repentance—or does it trigger anger and frustration?
One grows sharper. The other exposes itself.
My Story: “Radical” Forgiveness That Wasn’t Radical at All
I’ve shared pieces of my testimony with different believers and received chastisement for forgiving and loving someone who abused me and caused excruciating pain. They told me that God could not expect that of me.
Yet God not only commanded it—He empowered me to do it. God worked in me both to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
They called it “radical forgiveness.” Some even said I could not possibly have forgiven. They suggested that if I did, maybe things weren’t what I claimed—because “no one could forgive that.”
To me, the forgiveness flowed naturally from the love of my crucified Savior shed abroad in my heart. The rebukes—and that’s what they were—made me not want to share what God had done. They made me question the sincerity of my heart.
But when I turned back to the Lord and took my eyes off well-meaning but uninformed opinions, I saw the truth. This was an area God had worked hard and long on in my heart. My journey with Him differed from theirs.
That forgiveness didn’t negate what happened. Rather, it acknowledged that I don’t have the right to hold anything against anyone because of the cross of Christ. This, like every other part of the Christian life in the Kingdom, grows in us all at a different pace.
The Invitation
I don’t mean this as criticism in any way. Rather, I offer an invitation to look at those things you tend to call “radical” or “extraordinary” in the lives of other believers. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how He sees them (not the person, but the action, behavior, or belief).
Perhaps you see them as radical and extraordinary because they mark areas where He wants to mature you. He’s pointing them out to get your attention.
God calls us to be different from the world. In it, but not of it. Part of this means understanding that the things of the Kingdom appear radical and extraordinary to the world—but not to us.
Let us live in the light as He lives in the light (1 John 1:7). Let us raise our standard of living to the standard of Christ—not the world, and not even the best Christian we know.
Let us embrace who He has made us to be and our journey, while we celebrate and draw encouragement from who He made others to be and their journeys.
The Bottom Line
What the world calls radical is normal in the Kingdom.
Obedience, faith, surrender, forgiveness, love—these aren’t extraordinary acts that God reserves for “super Christians.” They’re the standard. They define what it means to follow Jesus.
Yes, we’re all at different places in the journey. That’s okay. But let’s stop calling it “radical” when someone actually lives what Scripture commands. Let’s celebrate their growth, draw inspiration from their example, and press forward ourselves.
Let’s live as Kingdom people—not as the world lives, or even as the best Christian we know lives, but as Christ lives.
Scripture References
John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-6 — Obedience to Christ
Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:32 — Forgiveness
Galatians 2:20 — Crucified with Christ
Hebrews 11:6, Romans 1:17 — Living by faith
Acts 17:28 — In Him we live, move, and have our being
Romans 14:23 — Whatever is not of faith is sin
John 13:34-35 — Love one another as Christ loves us
Romans 12:1 — Living sacrifice
1 Corinthians 11:1 — Follow me as I follow Christ
Philippians 2:13 — God works in us
1 John 1:7 — Walk in the light
