Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus
There’s been a debate raging among Christians for a long time about whether we are saved by faith or by works. On one side of the debate are those who say that we simply need to believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord of our life. In the other camp are those that say we must earn our salvation by the things we do. I submit to you that the Biblical model is not a question of faith or works, but rather the combination of faith and works.
I recently heard a talk by Christine Cain where she made the statement, “Why do we need the devil when we’ve got Christians?” It is very sad how true this remark actually is. While we are encouraged in the Bible to be a unified body of believers (John 17:11, Ephesians 4:1-3), the reality is that we have become anything but that; the modern church is a fragmented body of denominations marked by warring factions of worship styles, missional focuses, and political agendas. We no longer rally around the commands of Jesus, but rather flock to like-minded individuals or comfortable surroundings.
An Indian college professor once told a Christian student of his that, “If you Christians lived like Jesus, all of India would accept Christ”. How undeniably tragic; if those of us who professed to follow Jesus Christ actually did so, the world would be changed and rocked to its core. This raises a baffling question for me. Why would someone choose to be a Christian and then live as if the choice was never made? Why is it so many surrender their lives to Jesus only to walk in ways that are diametrically opposed to His teachings? What is it they hope to gain?
Perhaps the Western Christianity of the past couple hundred years is to blame. We have taught a salvation possible with minimal effort and even less commitment. Pray this magic prayer and save yourself from a fiery hell, no further action on your part will be necessary! The notion of such teaching conjures up images of a carnival barker yelling out to every passerby. But this is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ; this is not the Good News we are to take throughout the world. It is not the message and mission of Jesus that we find in the Bible.
Becoming a Christian, a little Christ, one who looks like Jesus, requires action and a lifelong commitment to carrying out the instructions given to us by the very Son of God. Jesus is not simply a commodity, or a lucky ticket out of Hell. Rather He is a priceless gift, the means by which we can experience life as it was meant to be lived both here on earth and in His presence for eternity. If we see Christ as an escape route from pain and suffering, we will never understand what it truly means to know Him; He will simply remain a distant Savior who we claim to know in a casual sense. If instead we see Him as a loving Lord who is worthy of all our honor and effort, we will come to know Him fully and find rest in His comfort and peace.
It is only by becoming intimately familiar with His heart and His ways that we be able to become true followers of Christ. Until our heart breaks for the things that His does, until we see every person as a valuable and special creation, we will not be able to carry out His mission. This is what it means to follow Jesus: to know Him, to love Him, and to imitate Him. This is so much more than simply praying a prayer and claiming to now be a “Christian”. Until it means something, it means nothing. Going to church won’t save you, saying a prayer won’t make you a Christian, and reading the Bible will not get it done. Becoming a follower of Christ requires putting your entire life and trust in Him alone. It requires doing the work He created you to do; it means loving Him above all else and sharing His love with the world.
Following Jesus means we must walk the path that He walked. You can’t follow someone by heading in an opposite direction. We must do the things Christ did; He has specifically gifted us in unique ways to do work that only we can do (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 2:10). Beyond our belief in Him, a true follower of Christ does what Christ did; we live as He lived. If you aren’t serious about surrendering absolutely everything to Jesus, don’t waste your time becoming a lip-service Christian. This is not a path for the faint of heart; it’s a road of suffering, a life of intense highs and excruciating lows. As followers of Jesus we are on an unstoppable mission. We do not faint and we will not turn back. This is as serious and real as it gets. You can keep your so-called “Christianity”. I choose to follow Christ.
Understanding the concept of freewill (see “Freewill and the Sovereignty of God, Part I”) makes it easier to comprehend why evil occurs in our world and to interpret God’s plan for our lives. If we perceive God before the beginning of time planning out every detail of every life, we are left with no other choice but to think that God plans and thus approves every atrocity that has befallen man. It then becomes impossible to reconcile a God who loves us beyond measure with a God who would allow barbarities such as the attempted extinction of the Jews by Hitler, the genocides in Rwanda and Sudan or the everyday abductions of children around the world. The best way I know of determining truth in a given matter is to compare it to the character of God. Therefore, since the thought that God would plan and approve of evil is in direct contradiction with the God we see revealed in scripture, we can reason that the teaching that God has preordained evil and calamity is simply not true.
[Read more…] about Freewill and the Sovereignty of God, Part II
As you go throughout your days, are you pursuing a life of holiness? Are you consciously striving to be the person God created you to be, a person who is consumed by the love of Jesus? This isn’t a new concept, but it has been brought to my mind in fresh ways through recent teachings by Bill Hybels and David Platt. Not only has God placed a unique combination of passions and skills in each of us in order that we might do the work He created us to do, but He has also charged us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to Him (Philippians 1:27).