Following Christ is Living in Him (28 of 31)
Series: Grace-Energized Men
John Barnett
June 29, 2008
Christ's first words, to His first disciples, should be our first priority as His disciples today. "Follow Me" is still the essence of Biblical Christianity.
Those two words were what He spoke to Peter, Andrew, James and John as they fished (Matthew 4:19) and to Matthew as he sat at the tax office (Luke 5:27); and those two words are what He still calls for as He walks through this world.
But the sad part about the history of the church is that it seems like after a few years most believers in most churches have gotten inoculated by Christ's words and seem to take them less-and-less seriously. Inoculations are when a powerful virus is injected, and some irritation, or redness occurs, but then it goes away; it was a slight annoyance but nothing like the actual disease.
"We have all been inoculated with Christianity, and are never likely to take it seriously now! We are on Christ's side, we wish him well, we hope that He will win, and we are even prepared to do something for Him, provided, of course, that He is reasonable, and does not make too much of an upset among our cozy comforts and our customary ways.
But there is not the passion of zeal, and the burning enthusiasm, and the eagerness of self-sacrifice, of the real faith that changes character and wins the world."
Living Life by Following Christ
Paul as he wrote the New Testament epistles (or letters) to churches and individuals, he was just expanding and illustrating that life of following Christ. In Galatians 2:20 Paul explained that as believers, following Christ means we do not live our own lives. We live the life of another--or, more accurately, another lives His life through us. Look again at those words:
I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who ...
Series: Grace-Energized Men
John Barnett
June 29, 2008
Christ's first words, to His first disciples, should be our first priority as His disciples today. "Follow Me" is still the essence of Biblical Christianity.
Those two words were what He spoke to Peter, Andrew, James and John as they fished (Matthew 4:19) and to Matthew as he sat at the tax office (Luke 5:27); and those two words are what He still calls for as He walks through this world.
But the sad part about the history of the church is that it seems like after a few years most believers in most churches have gotten inoculated by Christ's words and seem to take them less-and-less seriously. Inoculations are when a powerful virus is injected, and some irritation, or redness occurs, but then it goes away; it was a slight annoyance but nothing like the actual disease.
"We have all been inoculated with Christianity, and are never likely to take it seriously now! We are on Christ's side, we wish him well, we hope that He will win, and we are even prepared to do something for Him, provided, of course, that He is reasonable, and does not make too much of an upset among our cozy comforts and our customary ways.
But there is not the passion of zeal, and the burning enthusiasm, and the eagerness of self-sacrifice, of the real faith that changes character and wins the world."
Living Life by Following Christ
Paul as he wrote the New Testament epistles (or letters) to churches and individuals, he was just expanding and illustrating that life of following Christ. In Galatians 2:20 Paul explained that as believers, following Christ means we do not live our own lives. We live the life of another--or, more accurately, another lives His life through us. Look again at those words:
I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who ...
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