I’ve discovered that I am an extreme procrastinator and very big in self-doubt. I still need to publish three posts that involve research, but I doubt whether or not I should post them. After talking to a friend I was advised to do so. While those are in progress, I’d like to share something that has been burdening my heart.
What are we called to do as Christians?
Jesus didn’t come to give us another religion with rules and regulations, where legalism and societal expectations seep through. Instead, He came to set us free from religion by giving us a new lifestyle. One song that came to my mind was Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone.
How are we to serve Him?
Here were the verses that came to mind:
- Philippians 4:8
- Matthew 22:35-40
Additional thoughts…
Luke 6:48-49; Matthew 7:21-27
Although there are many, many more scriptures that parallel Matthew’s account, I will use these two for the sake of the conversation. First, Luke 6:48-49 have five points that struck me while reading. Here they are:
- v. 48 ~ heareth and doeth
- “digged deep” – the truth was sought
- “on a rock” – it was acted upon and pursued until application was found
- “flood… the stream” – water is powerful and the life of this man was found strengthened by the Rock to withstand the culture of the world
- v. 49 ~ heareth but doesn’t do
- “on the earth” – nothing was sought… the truth was given and no further study was committed to
- “flood… the stream” – the house, being founded on earth, was unsafe and the water eroded the morals and values of the foundation
Further above in v. 46, we see something very important. We aren’t able to call Him Lord, Lord (Master) when we do not “doeth”. If we are truly saved, it is a constant dying to oneself and a constant surrender to the Holy Spirit. For Matthew’s account, it shares something in addition. If we call Him Master and do mighty acts in His name, if we do not do the will of GOD, it doesn’t count. Read those passages yourself with an open heart and comment on anything extra you find below. Until then, I’d like to leave a word.
We’ve been called to do something higher. Christianity isn’t a membership card you get at grocery stores for discounts. It is an active living breathing registrar that keeps “members” only when they prove themselves through obedience. Yes, Christ is for all. However, He is for all those that commit to Him. Checking the box of allowing Jesus to control and sit on the throne of our hearts requires us to WHOLE-HEARTEDLY follow Him. We aren’t to sit around, but to surrender to the Master. Jesus gave His life. God gave a Son. Don’t you think we should give our lives? If not we are walking hypocritical contradictions. Christianity is indeed a race of life, but we have running teams — we aren’t alone. Stop living an individual faith and grow in community with Jesus! Jesus is the vine and is we separate from His life, we die too (see this post of a friend). Satan is a lion. Lions devour by slowly stalking their prey and waiting until the drift from the pack. Think about that.
The Wanderer 
Good words. Today, many deny that submission to Christ is necessary for salvation, and they deny the possibility of apostasy, though Christ preached that we must commit to following him, and that we must abide (continue; a choice) in him. Many preachers have taken Paul’s words that we are not saved by the works of the law to mean that any “doing” on our part is antithetical to the gospel. Nonsense. He preached that the works of the Mosaic law can save no one, nor can the works of perceived self-merit, but “doing’ is necessary for salvation. As Paul said, external works profit us nothing, only “faith which worketh by love” (see also Romans 6:16). “Faith without works is dead”, said James. A mere intellectual belief that omits obedience to Christ is not saving faith. We know well that we can err after first yielding to Christ, but we press forward, repenting when necessary, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, for without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
Keep on sharing your research! We look forward to the information that you share. As for the hesitancy we may encounter because of uncertainties, sometimes the sharing of information (research, doctrinal studies), helps us (and others) to refine our theology or our worldview, even if we can’t make definitive claims about the information (yet).
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
Greg and Kari
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