Following Christ

Just "as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him [as Lord!]" (cf. Col. 2:6). We are to walk in fellowship and in the truth, as "the truth is in Jesus" (cf. Eph. 4:11). The whole concept of our ethics in Christ is to follow Christ in discipleship, taking up our cross we bear, deny ourselves, and follow on to know Him as Lord and Savior. We are to follow the example of pious believers and teachers and consider the outcome of their faith. The faith is not so much imitation as inhabitation! We turn over a relinquished life at salvation, live an exchanged life, and enjoy a substituted life while we surrender constantly to His will, and walk in fellowship. The Christian life is not knowing a creed, but a person.

We don't need to get educated or enlightened but transformed by the Word's power to change lives. We shall know the truth that shall set us free, by growing in Christ and believing God, not just believing in God. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto righteousness! Lots of believers think some saints have a surplus of the Spirit or a monopoly on His grace, but all Christians are anointed and have the fullness of the Spirit. It's not how much of the Spirit we have, but how much of us the Spirit has. No one has cornered the market on the gifts of the Spirit and doesn't need the body to complete the ministry and mission of the church.

Two believers can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue! It is important to look for commonalities, instead of division and areas of dispute. No one can follow Christ solo or as a spiritual Lone Ranger or lone wolf! All Christians are under authority through the body of Christ and no one has the right to throw his weight around or lord it over the flock. The body is in it together and must learn to interact and grow as a body corporately, as well as individually.

Do good deeds in the Spirit (we are a people "zealous of good deeds" per Titus 1:16), and not because you're a do-gooder or trying to gain the approbation of God by good behavior. The whole summation and goal of discipleship is to follow Christ--to know Him and make Him known in a relationship of love. The Christian walk is a matter of faith, but anyone can say he has faith, but faith isn't something you have as much as you see in action: Paul would say I'll show you my works by faith, and James would say I'll show you faith by works. Paul said to the Galatians that the only thing that counts is "faith expressing itself through love" (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV).

The only test of faith is obedience per Heb. 3:18-19! Oswald Chambers said that the value of spiritual life isn't measured by ecstasies, but by obedience; Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." They are correlated and go hand in hand, not to be divorced. Faith without works is a guise and not the real thing, but a dead faith that cannot save; the Reformers taught the formula: "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

We must validate our faith by a Christian testimony and life of good works (we are saved unto good works, not because of them). We are not saved by works, but not without them either--our faith is manifest only in obedience, for Christ said that, if you love Him, you will obey Him (cf. John 14:21).

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Focus Of Relinquishment

We all must face a crisis in our faith whereby we will have our "moment of truth" regarding our faith in God's will versus our own way--we are all like sheep gone astray, each one to his own way (cf. Isaiah 53:6).  If you've never grappled with the will of God, you probably haven't surrendered; once you have made the once-and-for-all relinquishment of control and ownership of your life, it only becomes a renewed effort on a continual, progressive, ongoing basis, even with day-by-day re-commitment.

We may one day be backed by God's will that clashes with the way we see things.  Once we have made this initial surrender that Romans 12:1 mentions as "our reasonable service," it becomes a pleasure to walk in the Spirit as we desire God's will (cf. Psalm 40:8:  "I delight to do thy will..."), and actually inquire as to what it is, whereby before we never even wondered about it.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, we learn that even Jesus had a will of His own, but He interposed it with the Father's will throughout His life, coming to a climax here; even at age 12 He said, "I must be about My Father's business [doing  His will]."

We are rebellious at heart and God has to work on us to mold us in His image, someday we end up backed into a wall and will make that decision to "follow Jesus."  This is the summation of our ethics: to follow on to know the Lord (cf. Hos. 6:3), doing His will to His glory.  Even Jesus had His time of testing and trial in the Garden of Gethsemane and surrendered to the Father's will, which He knew was something He didn't want in His humanity and was actually relating to our struggle with relinquishment.  Christ never asked us to do anything He didn't do Himself; in fact, our so-called crosses pale in comparison to His and He relates completely, even sending the Comforter to guide and lead us.  Jesus surrendered voluntarily and our surrender is the same, God wants us to want His will, not to feel that we have to submit to something we don't want.  In the end, all that counts is not how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you the Spirit has; i.e., re your surrender!

Jesus doesn't ask us to die for Him, by and large, but to live for Him, to dedicate our lives to Him as living sacrifices, which is only a reasonable service of worship (cf. Rom. 12:1-2).  We are in the serious business of seeking God's will and obeying it; a genuine sign of a believer is that he wonders about God's will and submits to it gladly.  We are not Christians at all if we have never prayed our prayer of relinquishment, like Christ did Himself, and have given over the ownership of our lives to live them for His glory and not for ourselves.  It should be noted that often our surrender occurs after a good time or even a time of anxiety or stress (there's good stress).  And we are most vulnerable to testing after a victory or a "spiritual high," just like Jesus was tempted after His baptism by Satan.

Trusting Jesus is no less daring and brave than getting married and we must not run from God or avoid the corner we are backed into, but face the dilemma with the courage of God in our hearts.  Remember that He gives the Spirit without measure and some believers don't have more of the Spirit, they are just more surrendered and walk closer with the Lord.

Jesus had a divine as well as a human side; we have a flesh as well as a spirit and we must surrender our spirit to God's to overcome our flesh.  We may be facing some pet sin or a sin that easily besets us, but we can be reassured of victory only after our surrender. This initial surrender is often accompanied by a fear of the unknown, since the seeker may wonder if God is going to make them do something they don't want to do, like go to Africa, but if we realize the love of God and how He establishes us in the faith with all the provision to do His will, we can have faith in Christ despite our fears.  We must overcome our fears and get the courage to obey by having a heart fully surrendered, holding nothing back and having no reservations--then we will be able to walk with God and live in the Spirit day by day.  That is, we face our fears head on without running from them or dodging the bullet.

It may be as easy as just starting by making confessions of all fears and reservations, and having a person-to-person or one-on-one talk with God to resolve the areas of doubt and what your fears are.  God only reveals His will to the willing believer; it's only personal fears that keep a person from surrender and God will give you the courage to obey His will if you are surrendered--those who are rebellious will never know! We must trust God to only give us crosses we can bear and that He will give us the power to do His will, as well as the provision needed per Heb. 13:21 (NASB):  "[Equip] you in every good thing to do His will...."

According to Rom. 12:2 we have to surrender to know God's will, that is the divine order of events and link.  A true believer ultimately delights to do God's will, though he may falter or fail at times, deep inside he wills or yearns to please God and live for His glory (Psalm 40:8, KJV, with emphasis added, says plainly, "I delight to do thy will...").  Paul's prayer for the Colossians was to "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding"  (Col. 1:9, NASB).  We must bear in mind that God is able to overcome our wills (cf. Rom. 9:19), and make us willing to do His will, by taking our heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26) and, according to Psalm 51:12, will give us or sustain us with a "willing spirit."  We are to imitate or emulate Christ's example and motto of His life:  Thy will be done!

You can always discern those who haven't ever made the prayer of relinquishment:  They don't know God's will or wonder about it; are apathetic about it; have reservations or something they're holding back on God with; or they aren't seeking God or walking with Him in a growing faith and relationship as they "learn to love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly, and know Him more clearly" (Richard of Chichester).  Usually, upon salvation, one is cognizant of God's will in the short term, but no one knows His will in the long- erm because it isn't rolled out for us in a life plan, but the "course of our life is in [His] hands" (Psalm 31:15, HCSB).  God makes us willing to do His will progressively per Phil. 2:13 (NASB):  "[F]or it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." In the final analysis, it's not how much of the Spirit that you have, but how much of you the Spirit has!   Soli Deo Gloria!