Influence of the the disciples on my life

Martha. Stephen. Peter. Phoebe. Paul.
Can you truly say that your life mirrors these men and women of faith? Can you test your faith against the faith of the men and women above?
If yes, good. If no, why not?

One of the things I struggled with after I newly accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour, was a certain doctrine, if one may call it that, that was being peddled by some believers.
I'd lost my appetite for anger and revenge, two things I was extremely good at and wanted to live according to the scriptures. But some people were telling me something different, something I'd found weird, even when I wasn't a believer.
"My sister forget all this holy-holy; man sees the outward appearance, but God sees at the heart."
"Even that girl that is doing ashawo, you don't know that she may be a Christian and enter heaven before you."
"The guy is smoking and womanizing but will even enter heaven before you."
These statements made me wonder; are they undercover spies in Christ? Outwardly acting like unbelievers but inwardly heirs of promise? How was that possible?
So, I searched the scriptures for answers.
It didn't take me long to find the 16th verse in Matthew's 7th chapter.
"By their fruit you will recognize them. For people cannot pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles."
In the 5th chapter of the same book, Christ said:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
I dug further, and in Peter's first letter I read:
"Be careful to act with honour among those who do not believe, so that even when they slander you with evil accusations, they will, because of your good actions, glorify God on the day he returns."
I was convinced that if I am truly a believer, everything about me MUST point to God and will reflect Christ in very noticeable ways. I knew that I can't live one way, and claim that 'God sees the heart,' as an excuse for behaviour that is not Christ-like.
These attributes which signify a person living according to the Holy Spirit's direction must be seen in you. The fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
It is not sufficient to do 'moral' works that every other good human being is capable of; Christ must be seen in them.
Body language must match our words.
"Go into the world and preach the gospel to all mankind, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Christ summarised it by saying in Matthew 7:21:
"It is not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' who will enter into Heaven. Only those who do my Father's will."
When you love the Lord and believe in him, you're excited about doing the things that please him. You will not want your relationship with him to be lukewarm.
Let no one deceive you to live one way and claim another. Or tell you that a non-believer is also an heir to the promise.
You're either in or out. No undercover spies allowed.