NOTE: Originally published on Tuesday, October 31, 2006
at [Subversive Underground].
BELIEF AND PRACTICE
What does Jesus mean when he says, "…whoever
believes in (me) will not perish but have eternal life"? Is he talking
about doctrine and theology? I doubt it. Specifically because, when he spoke
these words, the New Testament had not been written yet, in fact, it was being
lived out as he spoke these words, and this is my point. I believe that what
Jesus was trying to communicate in John 3:16 is the importance of living out
what you say you believe, not simply saying what you believe.
One way to express this is to ask yourself what it is you
do each and every day of your life. I would suggest that Jesus could be
paraphrased here, and in numerous other passages, as saying, "Show me what
you do, how you behave, and that is what you really believe".
Again, I'm not against doctrine and this article is not
in any way attempting to suggest that doctrine and theology are useless. Far
from it. In fact, what I'm saying is that your doctrine and theology are a lie
if you don't act out the principles contained in your doctrine and theology.
I am also not suggesting that our actions affect our
salvation, which is 100% the work of Christ and his act of sacrifice upon the
cross.
Dallas Willard, one of my spiritual heroes, has a great
quote about this. He says, "What you really believe about Jesus is
revealed by what you do when you realize that you cannot do anything (to earn
your salvation*)".
So, what do you really believe about Jesus? It's revealed
in the way you live your life. It's revealed in the way you treat people. It's
revealed in the way you think of yourself. It's revealed in the way you behave
when you think no one is looking.
If you have really confessed and believed that Jesus is
Lord, then your life will reflect that reality as you submit to the rule and reign
of God in your life. It will be revealed as you search the scriptures for
wisdom and in the way you apply it to your everyday life. If you have confessed
it and yet continue to rule your own life as you see fit, then in reality it is
you in control and not Jesus, therefore, Jesus is not Lord.
There is a wonderful passage in a book called
"Follow Me" by Jan David Hettinga (which I whole-heartedly recommend)
where the author relates a counseling session between himself and a dear friend
who is undergoing turmoil in his life. The author listen to his friend complain
about his life and then challenges him about whether or not Jesus is really in
charge of his life. At first this friend is angry at him for suggesting such a
thing, but then the author calmly points out every event in his life where he
has blatantly followed his own lusts and desires and kept Jesus out of control.
At the end of the conversation the author asks his
friend, "What would your life look like if you really gave Jesus control
over everything today?" His friend is quiet for a moment and then starts
to say, "I guess I’d stop drinking so much and I’d have to cancel my poker
night with the guys every week. I know I’d have to be a lot nicer to my wife
and spend more time with my children, etc."
The author then asks his friend if he's willing to start
allowing Jesus to be the Lord of his life or not.
As I've said before, one of the greatest challenges to
living in the Kingdom of God is that most of us here in America have never been
presented with the Gospel that Jesus preached throughout his ministry;
"Repent for the Kingdom of God is near." (Matt 4:17,Luke 4:43, Mark
1:5, Matt 9:35, etc.)
The Gospel most of us have heard all our lives is the
"Repeat after me" prayer and the pronouncement of instant salvation
as a free gift. We never hear the "Live after me" message that Jesus
taught and our lives suffer for it.
Because the part about surrendering to Christ is left
out, most of us have never thought about it very much. But Jesus talked about
it all the time. It's impossible to read the Gospels and to study the words of
Jesus and miss the fact that he most definitely intended for his disciples to
hear his words and to put them into practice.
A. W. Tozer (another of my spiritual heroes of the faith)
has a great insight into this most recent neutering of the Gospel for American
consumers. He says, "a notable heresy has come into being throughout
evangelical Christian circles—the widely—accepted concept that we humans can
choose to accept Christ only because we need Him as Savior and that we have the
right to postpone our obedience to Him as Lord as long as we want to!"
(From his book "I Call It Heresy")
He goes even as far as to suggest, "that salvation
apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures."
I had to come to grips with this in my own life just a
few years ago. After living for over two decades as a born-again Christian,
licensed and ordained into the ministry of the Gospel, I came face to face with
the reality that I had misunderstood the essence of the Gospel that Jesus came
and died to preach. It shook me to realize that I had been trying to follow
Jesus all that time without carrying my cross and dying to myself each day. The
foolish thing was that Jesus specifically told us in scripture that we cannot
follow him unless we take up our cross daily.
(see Luke 14:27)
I had to repent and to start over with Jesus as my Lord
and my Savior. It has been a long process where Jesus patiently and lovingly
reveals this truth to me over time...and I'm still learning!
The most challenging, and life-changing, part has been
the daily walk with Jesus as I attempt to learn how to actually die to myself
and surrender to his perfect plan for my life.
So, it is about belief, and it's also about how we
practice what we believe, and that is where the real Christian life begins.
-kg
*From the book, "Subversive Interviews"
available at my blog.
4 comments:
Great insight. Thank you much.
Jan was my pastor for a bit.
John G
Yes you are so right when you say...that is when the real Christian life starts
Good stuff Keith.
Obedience is such an easy word to say and such a hard thing to embrace!
Post a Comment