Christ commanded us to follow Him, but what does that mean?
-To join us in our next Follow Seminar -
call for times - 214-221-7648.
We believe there are four distinct aspects of growth in our relationship with Christ. Each aspect is grasped through understanding, experience and practice. Followers and potential followers of Christ struggle greatly whenever
they fail to grasp the importance and order of each of these stages of growth!
To follow Him we need to know Jesus as:
1) Savior – Understanding sin, grace and law.
2) Life – Drawing fulfillment, power and identity from Christ our Source.
3) Lord – Total obedience and surrender to His will.
4) Master – Humble service, expressing our unique gifts to spread His love.
The essentials of each stage:
1) Knowing Christ as Savior:
Only sinners need "saved" so we must first admit our personal sinfulness. An honest look into the holy law of God reveals our absolute failure to live righteously. If we want to approach God on our own goodness, we had better be perfect. As James says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all". One strike and you are out. For more on Christ as Savior, see our brochure "The Two Ways To Get To Heaven" (here).
We must receive His sacrifice of His death on the cross as the only satisfaction of God for our sin. This is the only way of forgiveness. We also must differentiate between grace and law. Do you know how your performance fits into your relationship with God?
2) Knowing Christ as Life:
After a person receives Christ as Savior they are often immediately challenged to make Him Lord and to serve Him as Master. These are truly important growth steps but the emphasis is tragically out of order. We must first be taught to depend upon His Life and power within us. This is not to lessen our commitment to righteousness but rather provides the only reliable path to righteousness. Several New Testament epistles, including Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians and 2 Corinthians all rehearse our riches, power and freedom in Christ before they challenge us to obedient lifestyles. If we place the cart before the horse, we will be discouraged and in bondage to self-struggle. Some Christians simply lower the standard for their lives to compensate for failure but the way to victory is dependence on Christ as the source of our life's power. No one can follow Christ with lasting impact without knowing the power of the inner Christ in and through them. As Paul said in Galatians 2:20 - "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God". Paul lived by faith in the indwelling Christ as the source of his life. How do we live by faith in His life in us?
Another component of knowing Christ as Life is depending on Him for fulfillment and satisfaction. Like the Samaritan woman in John 4 who sought inner satisfaction from multiple relationships, we can look for love in all the wrong places. Jesus said He gives water to the thirsty, rest to the weary, abundant life to the one who is being robbed, the fullness of joy and peace that surpasses understanding. Yet there are many alternatives to drawing from Christ's life. Even good things like a hobby can become a problem if we turn to them instead of Christ. Other substitutes are mood-altering substances like drugs or alcohol, materialism, sex, achievements and entertainment. Are you tapping into Christ's satisfying life? How do we "draw life" from Him?
3) Knowing Christ as Lord:
Jesus requires absolute obedience and surrender to His will yet His commands are not a burden. Through the power of His resurrection life in us, we can do all things. Jesus said to know Him as Lord means death to our self-direction but He promises even then that we will gain our life back as we die daily to independence.
We must know Him as Lord over our money and possessions. Is He in control of our spending? Jesus said money is a small thing. If God doesn't have our pocketbook, He doesn't have us at all. For more on Lordship and money see our Financial Freedom Seminar (here).
Our relationships in the home and at church must also be under His direction. What does He expect of all His followers in every church? Is total commitment to a group of Christians at a church an option?
4) Knowing Christ as Master:
The Bible labels followers of Christ "bondslaves". A bondslave is called to give up his rights and lay down his life for the Master, just as our Master laid down His life for us. We serve Him and others, humbly willing to wash each others feet (which means doing difficult tasks for each other). We also serve in unique ways though the exercise of our own personal spiritual gifts. God has given every believer at least one spiritual gift, a special supernatural ability. We each should discover and use our spiritual gift(s). For more on Spiritual Gifts, see our Lesson on Spiritual Gifts and take our Test (here).
We also are His ambassadors to share His message with a lost and dying world. So we provide training in a simple, non-confrontational presentation of the good news message of Christ called "The Two Ways to Heaven" (here) .
With proper training in how to follow Christ we believe the Christian life is not a burden to be borne but as Jesus said, His "yoke is easy and His burden light and we will find rest for our souls".
call for times of our next "Follow" Seminar - 214-221-7648.
|
