Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Discipleship

The Fear of the Lord

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The fear of the Lord has always been a bit of a conundrum for me. On the one hand, I understand what it means, but in some ways, it is a mystery. We know we should fear the Lord because He is holy and His wrath is terrifying. At the same time, His love and mercy are comforting and we know those who love Him are safe in His arms. The paradox of fearing and loving God has led to a lot of thought, study, and confusion for me.

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Perhaps you are in the same boat. Thankfully, the Lord cleared all this up for me in an instant this week. I was reading in the book of Proverbs, one of my favorite books in the Bible, and one I have read countless times. Yet for the first time, I saw something I’d overlooked before.

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The Cost of Following Jesus

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Many Christians seem to be confused about the cost of following Jesus. I blame the watered-down preaching that has invaded our pulpits over the last century. Particularly in the age of the celebrity pastor, the truth of the gospel and all it implies has been distorted, perverted, and sometimes outright ignored. Know that following Christ will cost you everything. It won’t require you to give up a few things but to abandon everything (Matthew 16:24-26).

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You cannot follow Jesus without cost. If living for Christ does not result in a radically different life, you aren’t following Jesus. If serving Him costs you nothing, you aren’t serving Him. You are fooling yourself for any number of selfish reasons because the cost of following Jesus is noticeable, and it is significant.

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What Does Good Friday Demand of You?

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What Does Good Friday demand of you? Do the events of two thousand years ago have any bearing on your life today? The purpose of this brief discussion is not to convince you they crucified a real historical figure named Jesus on the cross. Entire books have been written proving the historicity and authenticity of Jesus’s death and resurrection.

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My assumption is if you are reading this, you already believe Christ died on your behalf to save you from the eternal consequences we all deserve. I want to focus on what Good Friday demands from the lives of all who believe. The cross of Jesus is more than a historical fact, more than just another moment in time. No, the cross of Jesus demands many things from us.

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Lord or Judge?

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Every man and woman must decide whether Jesus will be their Lord today or their judge in the future. There are no other options. No one gets to create a third alternative. Jesus is Lord or judge; those are your only choices. That probably seems a bit narrow to you, and indeed it is. Jesus said few will choose the narrow path (Matthew 7:14).

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Most will rebel against their perceived confinement to these two options and will walk away from the narrow path. The road they will choose is wide, free to be walked as they choose, but it leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). The narrow path is a submission to the Lordship of Jesus, while the wide road is a destination ending with the terrifying judgment of God.

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Types of Sin

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Most people think of sin as something they intentionally do. Those a little more mature in their faith recognize sin can also be things we intentionally do not do. Traditionally, we refer to these types of sins as sins of commission and sins of omission, respectively. There are, however, other types of sin. We can sin based on what we allow into our lives. There may be no active commission or omission in the circumstances, but simply allowing certain influences and voices into our lives can condition and predispose our hearts to sin.

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The same goes for what we tolerate. If we refrain from engaging in sinful behavior or attitudes but tolerate it in others, we sin by not upholding the righteous standard of our King. Recognizing that sin comes in the forms of what we allow and what we tolerate will close almost every loophole we’ve created in our lives regarding sin.

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