Authentic Christianity

What does it mean to Follow Jesus?

³⁴ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.^[1]

Mark 8:34

Lesson 4:  A Single Sign.

                In our previous lesson, we approached the topic of ‘living saved’.  We discussed, again, the importance of understanding that it is only by grace that we are saved through faith, and that this grace is a gift from GOD.  We also reckoned that that this ‘saving’ grace is not a ‘thing’ to be sought in as much as it is a person, and this person is Jesus Christ.  Possessing the grace of GOD means, then, that we embrace a loving and meaningful relationship with GOD through Jesus Christ.  We accept His atoning sacrifice as the only and all sufficient means of our souls’ salvation, and the reality that we can do nothing to make ourselves worthy recipients of such a gift.  We further, however, accept that this grace is living and at work in us!  Grace dwells in us, and abides within us, works within us, transforming us from the inside out! 

The Grace of GOD, even the Spirit of Christ, does not leave us alone!  He is ever at work in us and upon us, so that our lives may grow to reflect His glory and His love to those who have yet to know Him.   Our salvation is complete (positionally) at the hour that we determine to place our faith in Him, but our condition is in a state of constant transformation.  We are renewed day by day.  Our thoughts, our desires, and eventually our actions and our habits will be completely made over, as we submit to the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit.  Does that make sense to you?  What this means, then, is that there will be works that follow GOD’s redemptive work in us through Jesus Christ.  

Inasmuch as we are saved by grace, this grace will also transform us.  As we consider the magnitude of His grace and love toward us, it should trigger within us a spirit of humility and gratitude that facilitates the operation of this same grace within us!  This humility and gratitude should, as we truly reflect on His goodness, be manifested, at the least, in a will and desire to present our bodies as ‘living sacrifices’, both holy and acceptable, as a sure demonstration of our spiritual worship and reasonable service.  Does that sound familiar to you?

I must stress, again, as we stated several times in our previous lessons that these ‘works’ are not prerequisites to our salvation, but rather results of our salvation.  These works come forth as expressions of thanksgiving for the mercy granted us, a keen sense of our unworthiness of such treasure, and are informed by a single virtue, a single force, that operates within every man or woman that has ever been saved and called by GOD from darkness and into the marvelous light.  This force, this virtue, while many things in our religious experience may be counterfeited or duplicated, cannot be faked or fabricated!  There is but a single sign, a single demonstration, a single standard, a single manifestation that authenticates our faith.  This single sign is at the heart of true and pure religion – Authentic Christianity, and what it means to follow Jesus.

 

A Single Sign

³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ^[1]

John 13:34-35

 

he verse printed above is located within the context of Jesus sharing his final meal with his disciples before His passion.  He describes, what some may deem as rather ambiguously, the journey He is about to embark upon.  He has demonstrated before them His humility by abasing Himself by bowing himself to wash the feet of His brothers.  As He applied himself to this degrading task, He was setting an example for them!  He did not offer hollow words or shallow meaningless gestures, but rather He humbly accepted the mantle of a common house servant.  As He completed this work, He instructed His disciples ‘that ye should do as I have done to you’ (John 13:15). 

 

In the verses that precede our printed passage, what do you suppose was the most important element of Jesus’ actions?  Was it the acts or His intention, why?  ____________________

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            I suggest to you, brothers and sisters, that it was the love that Jesus had in His heart that informed His actions.  It was His love, not so much the particularity of His actions, that He is now calling us to reproduce.   It ought to be His love that shapes and infuses every work that we set our hands to do.  Whether it is in what we consider religious service, or within the everyday affairs of our lives, it must be the love of GOD at work within us that wills us to do anything, if it is to be counted as holy and acceptable in His eyesight!  The authentic display of Christian love is unequivocal, unambiguous, undeniable, and indisputable - it is definite and it is obvious, it is but pure and plain!  It is the only true sign that we are His children. 

³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ^[2]

John 13:35

 

We are left now with a few questions.  How do I know that I’m doing the right thing for the right reason?  How is it that I make the distinction (in my own mind) between dead works, and living and meaningful service?  How do I know that what I am doing is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of GOD?  How can I know that I’ve been changed?  What sign will the world recognize that identifies me as a disciple of Jesus Christ?   If it is not by the sign of the Cross, or even the Ichthus, if not in my adherence to sacred ritual or my religious piety and devoutness,  if not according to ancient traditions and orthodox ceremonies, and if not in the observation of ordinances,  how do I reveal my sacred and transformed identity?  Jesus answers all these questions with a single phrase:

 

³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ^[3]

 

Love is the only sign of Authentic Christianity.  It is only love that transforms.  It is only love that harnesses our desires, and it is only love alone that constrains us!  What the world needs now more than ever, is not another ecclesiastical organization, not another ministry incorporated, not another hint of secret knowledge promising us power, prowess, and spiritual promotion!  What the world needs now is love!  We cannot give what we have not tasted and received for ourselves!  We cannot share what we do not possess and we cannot reflect His light and goodness lest we step into the light and bask in it ourselves!