Friday, April 19, 2013

Cost of Discipleship Pt 39 - God's Grace With Us


Chapter 5- Discipleship and the Individual

Today I want to review yesterday's study and hopefully by the grace of God, expound on it some more.

Bonhoeffer- 'This is the second way of becoming an individual--to be a follower of Christ in the midst of society among our own kith and kin and in the enjoyment of all our worldly wealth. But note that it is Abraham who is called to this manner of life. Abraham who had already known what it was to make a visible breach with the past, Abraham who in the New Testament became the example of faith.

We are easily tempted to generalize the possibility that was granted to Abraham, to understand it as a spiritual principle and without hesitation to apply it to ourselves. We would like to think that we had the same call to a Christian life, as a specially called follower of Christ who yet retrained the enjoyment of his worldly possessions.

Yet the outward breach is most certainly easier than the hidden one.

Unless we have learnt this from the Bible and from our experience, we are indeed deceiving ourselves.

We shall fall back on our direct relationships and forfeit our fellowship with Christ.

It is not for us to choose which way we shall follow.

That depends on the will of Christ.

But this at least is certain: in one way or the other we shall have to leave the immediacy of the world and become individuals, whether secretly or openly.

But the same Mediator who makes us individuals is also the founder of a new fellowship.

He stands in the centre between my neighbour and myself.

He divides, but he also unites.

Thus find the new and only real way to him-- the way which passes through the Mediator.'

Mar 10:28  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
Mar 10:29  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mar 10:30  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first

*******

My thoughts-

Jesus said, There is no man that has left house, there is no man that has left brothers, there is no man that has left sisters, there is no man that has left father, there is no man that has left mother, there is no man that has left wife, there is no man that has left children, there is no man that has left lands-  FOR HIM, for HIS SAKE, and for the SAKE of the GOSPEL- the message of eternal life found only in Him- No man has left all that who will NOT receive an HUNDREDFOLD now in this time.

How do we equate with doing that and not receiving an hundredfold? Do we even really know? Is it possible that we are LEAVING all those things, or even some of those things, amiss? Selfishly? We do so much - with more self interest than Christ interest.

Are we striving to leave these things in hopes for receiving that hundredfold? That would be striving amiss, wouldn't it? We have to live for CHRIST, only for CHRIST. All our works, all our actions, all our leavings mean nothing if they aren't by Christ's will.

It goes along these lines- Jas_4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

God knows our hearts, we can't fool Him for a second. 

Bonhoeffer talks here of a SPECIAL servant, Abraham. He had the faith necessary to be truly God's. He heard and he obeyed God.

We tend to want to put people like Abraham upon pedestals, imagining them to be something more than merely human with human faults like our own. As if perhaps they had some magical power that we don't have, power than enabled them to be God's. They didn't have any magical power at all. They had this…
 
Gen 6:8  But Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the LORD.
Gen 6:9  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was A JUST MAN and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

1Co 15:10  But by the GRACE of God I am what I am: and his GRACE which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the GRACE of God which was with me.

Exo 33:12  And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found GRACE in my sight.
Exo 33:13  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found GRACE in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find GRACE in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

Psa 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give GRACE and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Psa 84:12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Psa 145:20  The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

Tit 2:11  For the GRACE of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Tit 3:7  That being justified by his GRACE, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of GRACE, that we may obtain mercy, and find GRACE to help in time of need.

These men found grace.
These men LOOKED OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES FOR SALVATION!

To be Christ's true disciples we have to be willing to give up everything if we are called to do so. And truly it is being called to do so that matters, not us doing it thinking we will be rewarded for it.  God has to convict the hearts of His followers, if we presume to give up everything and put on sackcloth and ashes it could all be in vain because we are not following the path God desires of us.

And yes, we are now all asking how do we know what God calls us to? What if we don't even spiritually hear a call to do anything at all? 

We HAVE GOD'S WORD.  We have to read God's word and know this ultimately--

Joh_17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Jesus prayed to the Father that we wouldn't be taken out of the world, but that we would be kept from evil!

We are all called to shun evil. Over and over our Savior tells us that we are called to LOVE not to the strife of the world. We are NOT to promote evil in any way from the smallest bit to the greatest. We are to REPENT of any evil and seek to follow Christ in all things.

Bonhoeffer said this--

'Yet the outward breach is most certainly easier than the hidden one.
Unless we have learnt this from the Bible and from our experience, we are indeed deceiving ourselves.
We shall fall back on our direct relationships and forfeit our fellowship with Christ.
It is not for us to choose which way we shall follow.
That depends on the will of Christ.
But this at least is certain: in one way or the other we shall have to leave the immediacy of the world and become individuals, whether secretly or openly.
But the same Mediator who makes us individuals is also the founder of a new fellowship.
He stands in the centre between my neighbour and myself.
He divides, but he also unites.
Thus find the new and only real way to him-- the way which passes through the Mediator.'

To don that sackcloth and ashes and to live a visible life of self-denial is easier because to live as Christ's with all the temptations of the flesh around us is a much harder walk, and I imagine few are called to that walk fully as Abraham was.  How much easier it is not to have to deal with the temptation of tremendous wealth.  Even as a person struggles horrifically with their poverty it is an easier walk than rightly using tremendous wealth.  Also, our outward actions are easier than our internal struggles, true?

If we do fall back on our OLD ways, we are in a lot of trouble. I brought these verses up yesterday-

Luk 11:24  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
Luk 11:25  And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
Luk 11:26  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Truth!

We do NOT want our last state to be worse than our first state!  We cannot deceive ourselves have to recognize what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ's- THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP-COSTLY GRACE!
We truly do have to take steps, to take actions, to actively choose our path, not simply sit back and let come what may. We have a hand in our lives!  We have to sacrifice self and if that means giving up things and people, it has to be done. We cannot be ATTACHED to this world or anything in it. Our attachment has to be CHRIST and all other things through HIM.  Our love for our husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters all has to be a love that comes from CHRIST. We cannot put our love of ANYTHING or ANYONE before the LOVE of CHRIST.

Bonhoeffer's words-  'Thus find the new and only real way to him-- the way which passes through the Mediator'

Every relationship that exists for us MUST Go through CHRIST FIRST!

It might be shocking to take stock of our lives and ask if we are truly putting Christ before the things and the people in it.

Truth-  ALL things must be viewed in the light of CHRIST, all things, not just things we pick and choose.

By the GRACE of God may we live as just before Him, through Him, for Him, in Him as wholly HIS.

In HIS LOVE ALWAYS!

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