Biblical Clarity | Biblical & Theological Research | Est. 2026
Est. 2026  ·  biblicalclarity.org

Biblical Clarity

Biblical & Theological Research

"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher."

Luke 6:40  ·  ESV

Featured Research  ·  Hermeneutics
Research Hermeneutics Discipleship Second Temple Judaism

The Marks of a Disciple: A Hermeneutical and Practical Recovery

Recovering the talmidic model from its Second Temple Jewish context to identify five constitutive marks of discipleship for the contemporary church

FP
Fernando J. Padron
John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University
April 12, 2026
Abstract

When believers speak the word "disciple" in any modern Christian church, what laypeople understand it to mean depends on their religious background and the lessons they learned during their formative years. This paper argues that the Western church's inability to fully grasp the historical context of discipleship is a hermeneutical failure before it is a practical one. When Scripture is examined w…

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Research Ecclesiology

A Comparative Analysis of Attractional and Missional Church Paradigms

Defending the attractional model as the more biblically grounded framework for fulfilling the Great Commission

Fernando J. Padron  ·  John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University  ·  February 2, 2026

Scholars and church leaders often center on two competing approaches to the Great Commission — the missional and attractional church models. This paper argues that the attractional model offers a more biblically grounded approach, demonstrating that from Solomon's Portico to Pa…

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