As I continue to do my coffee house reading, the more my heart is burdened for the so called Christian's and the church across the world. The further I read through "Follow Me", the more I realize how far off Christianity is from who God's people ought to be. Are we just another religion or are we a people with a direct relationship with our savior? Let me say this, when we are truly saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, we must be compelled to pursue Christ's calling and follow him. We cannot sit back and allow Christianity to become a mere religion. We must be active, as disciples of Christ, and go out making disciples of Christ. If this does not happen, we fall back in line with every other religion! "I realized that they all shared one common denominator: in every religion, a teacher (or series of teachers) prescribes certain paths to follow in order to honor God (or different gods) and experience salvation (however that is described)."
The only aspect that sets us apart from every other religion is this: "When Jesus came on the scene in human history and began calling his followers to himself, he did not say, Follow certain rules. Observe specific regulations. Perform ritual duties. Pursue a particular path. Instead, he said, Follow me". What we have different, we have a savior who came to be human, to call us, invite us into a personal and saving relationship with him, not on our own merit, but all based upon his love and mercy. He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. The call of Jesus was, Come to me. Find rest for your souls in me. Find joy in your heart from me. Find meaning in your life through me." Matthew 11: 58-60: "all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
As it seems, we have let Christianity become a mere religion. Superficial religion consists of only believing certain truths and doing certain things. The curse of this religion is the constant attempt to do outward things apart from inward transformation. You desire to do good, live a solid life according to these rules, but it has no affect on your heart. "Jesus did not come so that we might live a life of superficial religion. He came so that we might receive new life through super natural regeneration." To do this, we have one great need: A new heart, which is only provided through salvation. "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3,5). "This new heart would first and foremost be cleansed of sin, (cleansed) from all your impurities" (Jer. 31:33-34; Mt. 1:21; Jn. 1:29; Is. 1:18; Ps. 51:2; 1Cor. 6:11; 1 Jn. 1:9). Such cleansing as this is a gift from God not based on your merit, but soley upon God's mercy. "As we turn from our sin to trust in Christ, we receive a new, clean heart, and God in his grace remembers our sins no more".
With this new heart, comes a new spirit, the spirit that dwells with our Savior. Ezekiel 36:26-27: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.... I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." When you are saved, when you come to follow Jesus, he put the source of his life inn the center of your life. Romans 8:10-11: "If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies though his Spirit, who lives in you."
Once you are save, you are given a new heart and spirit, you may now follow Christ as his disciple, but it doesn't stop there. Your growth and life as a disciple is vital, but you must turnaround and begin making disciples of Christ.
It's funny, if you notice, in Jesus' invitation to follow him, he does not tell his disciples what he will call them to do. Instead, "Jesus tells them what he will cause them to do. The commands he would give to them could only be accomplished by the work that he would do in them. As these disciples followed Jesus, he would transform everything about their lives: their thoughts, their desires, their wills, their relationships, and ultimately the very purpose for which they lived." As a result of being a disciple, they would make disciple of Jesus. For every one of these disciples, following Jesus would lead to fishing for men. "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt. 28:19-20).
"Having been forgiven of their sin and soon to be filled with God's Spirit, they would give their lives not simply to being disciples of Jesus, but sacrificially to making disciples of Jesus." "The overflow of transformation in these disciples was multiplication through these disciples. As Jesus transformed their minds, they became convicted that people needed to hear the gospel. As Jesus transformed their desires, they longed for people to hear the gospel. As Jesus transformed their wills, they were compelled to give their lives to proclaiming the gospel. As Jesus transformed their relationships, they loved people enough to share the gospel with them, even though it cost them everything they had. Jesus had transformed their very purpose for living - every disciple was sacrificially committed to making disciples - and the trajectory of their lives was never the same."
Christianity cannot remain a mere religion for that is not it's purpose. It's purpose is to be a people of God in relationship with Himself and each other. Devoted as His disciples, devoted to making disciples. "If you are truly a disciple of Jesus, you will be supernaturally compelled to make disciples of Jesus. True followers of Jesus do not need to be convinced, cajoled, persuaded, or manipulated into making disciples of all nations. Everyone who follows Jesus biblically will fish for men globally."
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
The Reality of Repentance
Repentance is a vital building block for the Christian life. It is the first step of salvation and in accepting the offer of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins. It is such a foundational aspect of a disciples life, that the first word out of Jesus' mouth in his ministry in the New Testament was "Repent" (Matthew 4:17). "Repentance is a rich biblical term that signifies an elemental transformation in someone's mind, heart, and life." In thinking of what repentance looks like, it is taking a person who is headed down one path, but suddenly they turn and sprint back up the path they were headed. From the instant a person repents, truly repents, they act different, they live different, talk different, feel different, everything about that person has changed.
Christ was speaking in the New Testament, to people who were rebelling against God and were relying on themselves, not God, for salvation. "Jesus' call to repentance, then, was a summons for them to renounce sin and all dependence on self for salvation. Only by turning from their sin and themselves and toward Jesus could they be saved." Fundamentally, then, repentance involves renouncing a former way of life in favor of a new way of life. This means dying to yourself, and becoming alive in Christ, as was discussed in "The Call". God tells his people in Ezekiel 14:6 to "Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices." Also, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 he says that repentance requires turning from your idols of this world to a new object of worship.
In dying to yourself, or in terminology from this week, renouncing your old ways, some of the object and idols in society today may be materialism, pornography, ungodly television/movies, etc. that you need to cut out or overcome in your repentance. There are aspects of our lives that we need to repent and work on always, we need to do a 360 and start charging to God instead of crawling away from his outstretched hand. Here is a quote that was shared in "The Call" that fits well with repentance: "For every Christian in every culture, repentance is necessary. But this does not mean that when we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. We literally die to our sin and to ourselves - our self-centeredness, self-consumption, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-effort, and self-exaltation. We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us" and that is why we repent. Christ lives in us. Let us see what scripture says specifically about repentance:
In Acts 2:31-38 we are shown Peter proclaiming the good news of Christ's death for sin to the crowd's, when they ask him, "What shall we do?" Peter does not have them repeat a prayer, but he stares the crowd right in their eyes and says, "Repent!"
Acts 26:20 says, "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." We see that works do not secure salvation either before or after conversion, but they are a sign of the reality of repentance. Repentance is the first step and a foundational aspect of salvation and the Christian life, this cannot be overlooked.
2 Peter 3:8-9 says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." It is important to understand that repenting is not just for the saved, but for those who are wanting to come to Christ. It is also equally as important to know repenting is not a one and one deal. It is ongoing in your conversation with God.
Isaiah 30:15 says, "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." We have found the true way to salvation and security! It is repentance and rest, all we have to do is repent and rest.
Jeremiah 15:19 says, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. In verses 20-21 we see God encourages and renews Jeremiah's call for his repentance. Only good will come from your relationship with God if you repent.
This is just some of the verses in scripture that speak to repentance, but they all lead to one thing: A relationship with God through Salvation and a new way of living as a disciple of Christ alive with Christ living in you. This is repentance, without it, you are without Christ.
Christ was speaking in the New Testament, to people who were rebelling against God and were relying on themselves, not God, for salvation. "Jesus' call to repentance, then, was a summons for them to renounce sin and all dependence on self for salvation. Only by turning from their sin and themselves and toward Jesus could they be saved." Fundamentally, then, repentance involves renouncing a former way of life in favor of a new way of life. This means dying to yourself, and becoming alive in Christ, as was discussed in "The Call". God tells his people in Ezekiel 14:6 to "Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices." Also, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 he says that repentance requires turning from your idols of this world to a new object of worship.
In dying to yourself, or in terminology from this week, renouncing your old ways, some of the object and idols in society today may be materialism, pornography, ungodly television/movies, etc. that you need to cut out or overcome in your repentance. There are aspects of our lives that we need to repent and work on always, we need to do a 360 and start charging to God instead of crawling away from his outstretched hand. Here is a quote that was shared in "The Call" that fits well with repentance: "For every Christian in every culture, repentance is necessary. But this does not mean that when we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. We literally die to our sin and to ourselves - our self-centeredness, self-consumption, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-effort, and self-exaltation. We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us" and that is why we repent. Christ lives in us. Let us see what scripture says specifically about repentance:
In Acts 2:31-38 we are shown Peter proclaiming the good news of Christ's death for sin to the crowd's, when they ask him, "What shall we do?" Peter does not have them repeat a prayer, but he stares the crowd right in their eyes and says, "Repent!"
Acts 26:20 says, "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." We see that works do not secure salvation either before or after conversion, but they are a sign of the reality of repentance. Repentance is the first step and a foundational aspect of salvation and the Christian life, this cannot be overlooked.
2 Peter 3:8-9 says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." It is important to understand that repenting is not just for the saved, but for those who are wanting to come to Christ. It is also equally as important to know repenting is not a one and one deal. It is ongoing in your conversation with God.
Isaiah 30:15 says, "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." We have found the true way to salvation and security! It is repentance and rest, all we have to do is repent and rest.
Jeremiah 15:19 says, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. In verses 20-21 we see God encourages and renews Jeremiah's call for his repentance. Only good will come from your relationship with God if you repent.
This is just some of the verses in scripture that speak to repentance, but they all lead to one thing: A relationship with God through Salvation and a new way of living as a disciple of Christ alive with Christ living in you. This is repentance, without it, you are without Christ.
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