"You are slaves to the power you choose to obey" (cf. Rom. 6:16).
"People are enslaved by whatever defeats them" (cf. 2 Pet. 2:19).
"Through him we received grace and apostleship; to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake" (Rom. 1:5, NIV).
"[S]o that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith--" (Rom. 16:26, NIV).
"[A]nd every tongue [shall] acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:11, NIV). ALL EMPHASIS MINE.
Jesus was crowned Lord of all by the Father when he was raised. The way up is down in God's economy--what a paradox! Jesus began in humility to increase as He entered His ministry when He was baptized by John who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John did away with his ego and didn't let it get in the way; likewise, our egos must die and we must say "No" to self before we can say "Yes" to Christ. It's a contradiction to reply "No, Lord!" For that would be breaking faith! That's what faith in the Lord is: giving up, surrendering, committing, and trusting--that's much more than acquiescence or simply easy-believism." It is said: Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences!
God never grants cheap grace which justifies the sin, not the sinner. We become Christians with our prayer of relinquishment giving over ownership of our lives to the Lord of All. Yes, this was also Jesus' motto of life: "Thy will be done!" The problem is that we are all volitionally defiant and have a will of our own--even our wills are depraved and in need of salvation. It has been said justly so that Jesus "will not barter away His right to be Lord" and "will save no one whom He cannot command," according to A. W. Tozer. When we address Him as Lord, it implies we are His servants and subject to His authority. We must not be control freaks or enthusiasts over our lives!
We must obey our Lord for "to obey is better than sacrifice" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22). Heb. 5:9 (cf. Acts 2:39), NIV, says, "...[H]e became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him [italics mine]." Jesus also said that if we love Him we will obey Him. But it's not a legalistic attitude of having to, but a new change of heart of wanting to please our Lord. This is accepting Christ for who He is--Lord and Master! He has been exalted with all authority granted Him. The more in bondage we are to our Lord, the more freedom we experience! Any other belief in Jesus is rejecting Him. He is worthy of our submission for we are not our own and have been bought with a price (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20). This is interpreted as meaning that we undergo a reorganization of our life priorities.
We must never forget that true Lordship entails the flip side of faith which is repentance--we have a believing repentance or a penitent faith, so to speak. This radical change in our life is from the inside out--not turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge. We must own up to our sins and come clean with God, doing a 180-degree turnaround, a U-turn, or about-face, having a complete change of heart concerning sin as well as our sins. Christianity has nothing to say to the unrepentant. It's not always how big your faith is but how thorough your repentance. The call to repent was the first word of the gospel from John and then Jesus and they must be made manifest by fruits worthy of them.
We must learn to "trust and obey" as the hymn says and "walk in a manner worthy of our Lord" (cf. Eph. 4:1). He is worthy of our worship as well as our allegiance! Remember, we have the power to live in the Spirit, not the permission to live in the flesh; that is, our sins show our slavery, they don't demonstrate our freedom. Saving faith (not dead faith) is manifest only in obedience as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." To call Him Lord and to disobey are contradictions (cf. Isa. 1:19, Heb. 3:18-19)! We must never dichotomize Christ's offices as Lord and Savior: we submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior, we must receive Him as Lord and Savior; i.e., the whole package!
Gal. 2:20 sums up our new life in Christ or our walk of faith showing we live a substituted, inhabited, exchanged, and surrendered life. Finally, do you see yourself as Jesus' sidekick or colleague to be befriended, or as the Personage you own as Lord? In sum, acknowledging Jesus as Lord is what our faith is all about--all else pales in comparison. Soli Deo Gloria!
"People are enslaved by whatever defeats them" (cf. 2 Pet. 2:19).
"Through him we received grace and apostleship; to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake" (Rom. 1:5, NIV).
"[S]o that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith--" (Rom. 16:26, NIV).
"[A]nd every tongue [shall] acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:11, NIV). ALL EMPHASIS MINE.
Jesus was crowned Lord of all by the Father when he was raised. The way up is down in God's economy--what a paradox! Jesus began in humility to increase as He entered His ministry when He was baptized by John who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John did away with his ego and didn't let it get in the way; likewise, our egos must die and we must say "No" to self before we can say "Yes" to Christ. It's a contradiction to reply "No, Lord!" For that would be breaking faith! That's what faith in the Lord is: giving up, surrendering, committing, and trusting--that's much more than acquiescence or simply easy-believism." It is said: Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences!
God never grants cheap grace which justifies the sin, not the sinner. We become Christians with our prayer of relinquishment giving over ownership of our lives to the Lord of All. Yes, this was also Jesus' motto of life: "Thy will be done!" The problem is that we are all volitionally defiant and have a will of our own--even our wills are depraved and in need of salvation. It has been said justly so that Jesus "will not barter away His right to be Lord" and "will save no one whom He cannot command," according to A. W. Tozer. When we address Him as Lord, it implies we are His servants and subject to His authority. We must not be control freaks or enthusiasts over our lives!
We must obey our Lord for "to obey is better than sacrifice" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22). Heb. 5:9 (cf. Acts 2:39), NIV, says, "...[H]e became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him [italics mine]." Jesus also said that if we love Him we will obey Him. But it's not a legalistic attitude of having to, but a new change of heart of wanting to please our Lord. This is accepting Christ for who He is--Lord and Master! He has been exalted with all authority granted Him. The more in bondage we are to our Lord, the more freedom we experience! Any other belief in Jesus is rejecting Him. He is worthy of our submission for we are not our own and have been bought with a price (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20). This is interpreted as meaning that we undergo a reorganization of our life priorities.
We must never forget that true Lordship entails the flip side of faith which is repentance--we have a believing repentance or a penitent faith, so to speak. This radical change in our life is from the inside out--not turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge. We must own up to our sins and come clean with God, doing a 180-degree turnaround, a U-turn, or about-face, having a complete change of heart concerning sin as well as our sins. Christianity has nothing to say to the unrepentant. It's not always how big your faith is but how thorough your repentance. The call to repent was the first word of the gospel from John and then Jesus and they must be made manifest by fruits worthy of them.
We must learn to "trust and obey" as the hymn says and "walk in a manner worthy of our Lord" (cf. Eph. 4:1). He is worthy of our worship as well as our allegiance! Remember, we have the power to live in the Spirit, not the permission to live in the flesh; that is, our sins show our slavery, they don't demonstrate our freedom. Saving faith (not dead faith) is manifest only in obedience as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." To call Him Lord and to disobey are contradictions (cf. Isa. 1:19, Heb. 3:18-19)! We must never dichotomize Christ's offices as Lord and Savior: we submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior, we must receive Him as Lord and Savior; i.e., the whole package!
Gal. 2:20 sums up our new life in Christ or our walk of faith showing we live a substituted, inhabited, exchanged, and surrendered life. Finally, do you see yourself as Jesus' sidekick or colleague to be befriended, or as the Personage you own as Lord? In sum, acknowledging Jesus as Lord is what our faith is all about--all else pales in comparison. Soli Deo Gloria!
No comments:
Post a Comment