Be A Slave!

             

           
In NT the term “slave” is often used for followers of Jesus.  The term “Lord” (kurios) is a slavery term.  It is given to a master or owner of a slave.

You can’t call Jesus Lord 

without declaring yourself his slave.

We may think of slavery as something your forced into, but Jesus invites you to deny yourself. But why would anyone choose to be a slave?  Who signs up for that?

It’s only by becoming a slave to Jesus that we ever truly find freedom.

Only when we deny ourselves will we truly discover joy of following Jesus.

Let me tell you about my Master who calls you to follow Him…

§  He will provide for you.

§  He will protect you.

§  He has the power to forgive you.

§  He can take the pieces of your life & turn them into beautiful mosaic.

§  He can give rest for the weary.

§  He adopts you as His child.

§  He calls you a friend.

Now, where else will you find that kind of a slave/master relationship?

Instead of raving fans, may our churches be filled with true followers, with slaves!

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”    -Luke 9:23 (ESV)

Think of someone you know who needs Jesus.  What do you think it may be that they need to deny or give up in their life?.

What Is It That You Need To Deny

Or Give Up To Be A

True Follower Of Jesus?

Deny Yourself

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”    -Luke 9:23 (ESV)

We talk a lot about believing in Jesus but don’t say all that much about denying ourselves.   How do you deny yourself in a culture that says it’s all about yourself?

In Matthew 19 Jesus meets the Rich Young Ruler.  “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  (vs.16)

Jesus eventually tells him what he needs to do…

“…sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.”  Luke 19:20

This man can follow the path that leads to materialism or he can follow Jesus; but he can’t do both!

What is the crossroad you are at?  What decision do you need to make whether to follow Jesus or not?   You can’t follow Jesus without walking away from a different path.

Jesus never left open the option for selective commitment.  “I’ll follow Jesus but…”

o   Don’t ask me to forgive the person who hurt me.

o   Don’t ask me to give, my resources are already spoken for.

o   Don’t ask me to save sex for marriage.

o   Don’t ask me to serve, I’m too busy as it is.

They call themselves Christians, but they’ve made some exceptions.  Like the Rich Young Ruler what you are truly committed to is revealed when you refuse to deny self.  He wanted to be close enough to Jesus to have eternal life, but not so close that it required personal sacrifice.

The American Church in large part has been seduced into infusiing the idea of American Capitalism into areas of faith. 

We have a culture of consumers in our churches.  Instead of approaching their faith with a spirit of denial that says, “What can I do for Jesus and His Church?” they have a consumer mentality that says, “What can Jesus & His Church do for me?”

Many congregations have become companies that measure success by the number of customers they have attracted.  And how do we get more customers?  By trying to make the customer feel comfortable, important & happy.

The message of many churches sounds less like “Deny yourself” and more like Burger King’s slogan, “Have it your way.”

So when someone comes in “church shopping” we try and show them what we have to offer.  But it’s not about us, its about Jesus.

"WHATEVER"

“Whatever” is a slang term often expressed with a tone of disagreement meaning "whatever you say", "I don't care what you say" or "what will be will be". The term is used either to dismiss a previous statement or to express indifference. However, the term “whatever” is used quite differently in the New Testament.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”                     -Colossians 3:17

Committing one’s life to God is a lifetime commitment and not merely showing up to an assembly of saints where one passively sits for an hour as part of an audience. When you go to school go and study to honor God.  When you go to the work-place work as if Jesus is looking over your shoulder.   When you eat with your family, acknowledge His presence and honor Him by encouraging your loved-ones.  When you go to the grocery store look up and take notice of those also shopping whom God loves also. 

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” -Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do is to be done “heartily” (enthusiastically) for God. Consider this question: If Jesus came back today, what would He find you doing? Whatever it is, are you doing it for Him or are you pursuing your own agenda indifferent to the opportunities God has prepared for you each day? Will you commit or recommit to honoring God 24/7 or will you simply respond as many seem to do as they leave the assembly of the saints on Sunday morning with an attitude of “WHATEVER”?

FAITH ONLY? WHAT ABOUT WORKS?

 

     So-called main stream evangelical Christianity has and continues to preach that we are “saved by grace not by works.” The Scripture passage often cited is Ephesians 2:9 which reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Using this verse alone we can see that there is a natural and logical conclusion for the underlying supposition that we are saved by “faith only.” However, taking a single verse out of context is not how to properly interpret the original intent and meaning of the Scriptures. Let’s read on in Ephesians and look at verse 10:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.“

         Let’s reconcile these two verses as they were originally intended to be understood. It is true that without God’s grace we would still be in our sins. Accepting God’s grace is the first step that must take place. We cannot earn our righteousness, however, through this grace should come a natural outpouring of “good works” which we were created to do in Christ. Otherwise, we can run the risk of losing the grace we were offered.  Jesus himself on multiple occasions alluded to the fact that we will be judged by our works. For example, in Matthew 25 the parable of the Talents shows the importance of using our gifts for the Lord and the dangers of doing nothing. Jesus immediately follows this parable with an explanation of the final judgment in verses 31-46 where he clearly indicates that we will be judged by our service to him and sharing his love with others in a tangible way. Those who have not demonstrated “good works” of gratitude for the grace they have been offered will not receive an eternal reward.  “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:46)

           The grace God has offered us is not by our works but by the works of Jesus going to the cross in our place. We do not deserve it. We could never earn the grace offered. However, the fruit of our lives or “good works” are in gratitude for that grace and will determine if we keep what God has offered.

          In James 2:14-26 we see some additional insight regarding the relationship between our faith and our works of service.  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? The implied answer to this questions is, “no” faith alone cannot save.  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

          What good is a dead faith?  Can it save?  Again the answer, “No.”  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. The matter of our righteousness and salvation is not a matter of one or the other but of both faith and works.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

          Perhaps the most misunderstood and misused verse in the New Testament is John 3:16 where so many preach that we only need to believe and nothing else. The verse in James 2:19 printed above shatters the popular idea that John 3:16 is the whole of the salvation process. Even demons believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God but it does them no good. Belief alone is not sufficient to become righteous and saved. Belief is a critical first step but it is not the only step needed to become righteous. There is more!  A couple of verses later we see that works are mentioned as part of the process. “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21)

          Let’s return to James 2:21-26 as we consider further the relationship of faith and works in the salvation process. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James uses the Old Testament example of Abraham to show the relationship of works to our faith. Abraham believed God and was righteous in his eyes because his works demonstrated the reality of his faith.

 

                                             

             Regarding the popular “faith only” doctrine that permeates much of so-called Christianity there is only one verse in the entire New Testament that has the phrase “faith only” or “faith alone” and it is this verse in James 2:24 yet it says “…that a person is justified by works and not faith alone.”  Did you catch that, “not faith alone”?

           We are saved by the wonderful grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot earn it or deserve it. Without His mercy and grace we are still in our sins and without hope. God offers each of us a wonderful gift but as with any gift we receive, it is only ours as long as we take care of it and keep it. It can be lost!  Producing fruit worthy of our repentance and doing good works of gratitude for what Jesus has graciously done for us is what keeps us in good standing and righteous in God’s eyes.  Fan into flame the tremendous grace God has given you with works of gratitude so that when you face God you may hear those wonderful words, “Well done good and faithful servant”. 

 

All scripture verses are from the ESV Bible.