What does a disciple know? A true disciple knows that God's love is not earned or deserved.
One of the major purposes of the discipleship process is to convince the believer they have a loving Father in Heaven. In this, the Father's love is not earned. Christianity is not a performance-based religion. That is why Romans 5:8 says, "But God is continually recommending his own love towards us, in that while we were yet continually sinners, Christ died for us." Notice very carefully the word recommending. God is, throughout the day, in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and while we are sleeping, continually recommending to us the quality of love that He has for us.
It is the best kind of love. It is like romantic love. In romantic love, the lovers are absorbed in delight with one another. They don't try to earn love from the other; instead they continually experience the love of the other. Such is God the Father's love. He points out to us that, when we were utterly undeserving, Christ died for us. His love for us was not based on our character or on what we did, because we are continually sinners. His love is based on the affection that He has for us. He is in love with the person who has the disease of sin.
