Public or Private Relationship with Christ

Dallas Willard says the following about spiritual transformation:

Spiritual transformation into Christlikeness requires a conscious, clearheaded and public commitment to living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is, a decision to give our lives to him as his constant students, learning from him how to live all aspects of our lives as he would live them. Evangelism should be understood as a call to receive the gift of such a life.

I like that phrase "conscious, clearheaded and public." I think we desperately need to keep that in mind. We can't wander into Christ. We can't guess our way into Christ. And we can't just be privately committed to Him. If a commitment to Jesus is real, it encompasses all of us.

Can you ever really meet Jesus, interact with Him and His Gospel, and never be the same?

Can we ever really receive His gift of salvation, make Him our Leader/Lord and not do that in a way that is "conscious, clearheaded and public?"

If this is true, what does a personal relationship with God through Christ look like and can we have only an exclusively private relationship with Him?

The Role of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit gives life to those who believe in Christ, and guides the Church on earth. The Holy Spirit is equal to the Father and the Son in every way, being the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit was at work from the beginning (I Pt. 1) and it was the Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus following His baptism (Lk. 3). In the same way, followers of Jesus are indwelt with the Holy Spirit immediately after receiving Him as Savior and Lord. This makes them capable of becoming like Jesus, saying what He said and doing what He did. The Holy Spirit is present at every step on our spiritual journey, calling people to God (inducting), bringing understanding, preserving and protecting in Truth (indwelling) and guiding God's people in mission and ministry (empowering).

Even before the truth is accepted, the Spirit guides people toward salvation (Acts 10). This grace from God is mediated by the Holy Spirit to all people so that all have the opportunity to be saved. Thus, the Holy Spirit causes the Truth to be revealed to people who are outside of Christ so that they might come to know Him. The Spirit then inducts people into the faith. Once they receive Christ, one is guided and taught by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 12, Jn. 16, I Cor. 2, etc.) so their faith can grow and deepen.

The Holy Spirit enters into one's life so that they might be transformed into the image of Christ, becoming more and more like Jesus. Every follower of Jesus experiences the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (Holy Spirit baptism). All are called to “repent and be baptized” so that this indwelling might come (Acts 2) and this indwelling is a gift of God to all who say yes to Jesus. The evidence of this work is in the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5). Therefore, the authenticity a person's conversion to Christ is seen in the work of the Spirit in his/her life. This indwelling of the Spirit is the power to: (1) do good works, (2) follow in obedience and (3) bring unity among all God's people. The Spirit also infills God's people (the Church) to serve the Lord through the manifestation of gifts that build up the Body (Rom. 12, I Cor. 12, Eph. 4). This infilling is for all people too, but may look different in each person and in differing circumstances.

If this is true, then the Holy Spirit is not optional and isn't limited to just the higher class of Christian. In fact, if this is true, the Holy Spirit is present even before we are aware of Him, drawing us to Christ. However, once one received Jesus the Spirit's role changes to become the central, driving force of our life - all of our life.

Christians of different denominations debate this all the time, but is there any other essential thing left out of this description?

Signs of Life

“What is the primary purpose of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” - The Westminster Confession

This ancient line seems to sum up the main point of what it means to be a Christian. Since I am a recipient of the wonderful and gracious love of God through Jesus, I have received the forgiveness of my sins, the redemption and salvation of my soul. Having received this gift, my only possible response is gratitude. I am thankful for what I received. Out of that growing sense of thankfulness a love grows for God and for other people. And out of that love grows a sense of purpose for living. I live then to glorify God with my life and enjoy His loving presence along with others.

"The glory of God is man fully alive." - Irenaus

God granted me the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ in order to make me fully alive. I understand that I was dead apart from Him. Now I am alive with Him. That is real life and God wants me to experience a full and real and everlasting life with Him.

“I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit Who begins to interpret to me what Jesus did; and does in me subjectively all that Jesus Christ did in me objectively.” - Oswald Chambers

God wants me to have this full life so much that He granted me His Holy Spirit to live in my life. He did this immediately upon receiving His gift of salvation. And it is the presence of the Spirit that is making me alive and showing me how to live this full life.

Where do I see these signs of life? I see them in the way I talk to people. I see them in the values I try to uphold. I see them in the way I handle my money. I see them in the way I treat people. I don't mean to say that I have arrived or that I am even way ahead. What I mean to say is that I see them most later, when I reflect on how I handled something God's way verses how I would have handled the situation before, my way. Those are real signs of life aren't they?

Where are your signs of life?

Ongoing Grace

One of the things I believe we miss the longer we are a part of the church is the need we ALL have to continue being nourished by the grace of Jesus. We think of being "saved by grace" and we should because the grace of God we receive is the basis and the means for our salvation. However, that is not the end role for grace in our life. We need to also remember that we are ALL called to:

1. Continue in grace - Paul and Barnabas . . . "urged them to continue in the grace of God." - Acts 13:43
2. Grow in grace - "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 3:18
3. Extend grace to others - "Each one of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10

If grace is not the continual nourishment for our lives and our souls then we have forgotten or missed the Gospel. But if the power of the Gospel message of God's saving grace extended through Jesus Christ is alive in us, then we realize all of life is grace-based.

If we embrace this truth our lives can echo the words of John Newton, "I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am."

I want to always have my life and my soul filled up with God's grace. I want to see new evidences of it in my life all the time. I want it to be evident in the manner in which I speak to my wife, in the tone I take with my kids, in the attitude I have at work, in the selfless posture God wants to display through me, etc. I want to see the grace of God so full in my life that I see it extending to others and, when I fail, that I will quickly appeal to God for a refreshing supply of His forgiving grace and, just as quickly, to the one I have hurt to receive their grace as well.

Where is grace showing up in your life?

Foundational Passages

Sometimes I like to reflect on Scripture passages that really grab me, that help me to worship, to reflect on who God really is or to reflect on who I really am in Him. I need to do this from time to time in order to be reminded of the real truth or things can get kind of fuzzy. I don't want to be fuzzy, I want to be clear and focused. Here are a few of those Scriptures for me:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." -Revelation 4:8

God is sooo much bigger than anything I can conceive. I can trust He can handle all I face.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." - Ephesians 2:1-5

I was DEAD before I met Christ. I deserved to be DEAD too, but God didn't give up on me. And Jesus made me ALIVE.

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24

God's work in me is to make me new in every respect and He has the power to carry it out.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:29-30

Living for Jesus isn't about achievement. Its about taking on and living out of His yoke of grace and mercy. I am not seen through my sin, but through the eyes of God's grace. That grace changes me from the inside out and I can follow that yoke because of the power He gives me.

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:10-14

That is what I want to be my life mission. At my best, those are the driving forces of my life. They ground me. They remind me of what really matters and they give me a clear vision for the future.

There are many more passages that I could mention, but these are some of the most powerful to me. What passages are foundational for you? How often do you reflect on them and what happens when you do?

Holy Worldliness

I have been reading an interesting book by John Stott called The Living Church. He used a term in his chapter on evangelism that is intriguing to me - "holy worldliness." He said that no one exhibited this better than Jesus. Jesus was holy and never compromised His holiness while at the same time being fully present with all kinds of people. He invested Himself fully in the world for the sake of others who were far from God. In order to follow Jesus' example, according to Stott, we must do the same. We must be like Jesus in our character and countenance, doing what He did and saying what He said, and yet being fully present with those in the world.

Stott writes:

"Mission" arises, then, from the biblical doctrine of the church in the world. If we are not "the church," the holy and distinct people of God, we have nothing to say because we are compromised. If, on the other hand, we are not "in the world," deeply involved in its life and suffering, we have no one to serve because we are insulated. Our calling is to be "holy" and "worldly" at the same time. Without this balanced biblical ecclesiology we will never recover or fulfill our mission. (pg. 54)

What do you think of this term and his use of it? Is it a good lens to see the subject of mission through or do we need to use a different lens?

Why "not yet?"

St. Augustine was famous for his struggles before embracing the Gospel and the Lordship of Jesus for being a wild man, a partyer and a philanderer. In his spiritual quest he investigated all sorts of different "options" before surrendering to Christ. Towards the end of that journey he prayed a very honest prayer that is recorded in his autobiography called Confessions. He prayed that God would change him, but in reality he didn't want to change. This is what he wrote:

I had prayed to you for chastity and said 'Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.' For I was afraid that you would answer my prayer at once and cure me too soon of the disease of lust, which I wanted satisfied, not quelled. (pg. 169)

"Not yet." I wonder how many times I would have to pray that same prayer if I was honest. For example, instead of wanting my anger to be quelled, I really want it to be satisfied by letting someone have it or getting them back. I would certainly never say this. I may not even think it, but in reality - deep down - it may be what I really want.

Why is that? If I believe God's way is really the best way, if Jesus is really the best example for how life should be lived, then why do I run after many other options before I finally turn to His? I am ashamed to think about how often this has been true in my life.

I think the only way to victory is twofold:

1. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9. I need to honestly, simply and straightforwardly confess my sins to God. Doing that acknowledges the whole truth of the sin problem to the God who already knows it and brings it from the darkness into the light.
2. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16. I need to do the same to another person or persons who I can trust, who want God's best for me. If I don't have someone then I don't get to skip this part. I need to find someone - and fast. This kind of confession also brings the sin into the light.

Sin cannot survive in the light. It only lives in darkness. The "not yets" keep sin alive in the darkness or our lives. Only confession and repentance brings it into the light and robs sin of it's power.

What do you think? Are there any "not yets" in your life? How do you think you will gain victory over them?

What I can become

Famous Notre Dame Football coach Ara Parseghian once said, "A good coach will make his players see what they can become rather than what they are."

I am not a coach; I am a pastor. However, I need to be reminded to see myself not as I am right now, but what I can become in Christ. In his letter to the church at Colosse, Paul wrote, “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved . . .” (Colossians 3:12). Before he spelled out the virtues and qualities of a holy life, Paul reminded the people who they were.

He wasn’t telling them what they should be if they worked real hard or if they got lucky. He was telling them who they ALREADY were in Christ. They were God’s chosen, holy and loved people because of what Jesus had ALREADY done in them and for them. From beginning to end it was God’s work and not their own.

What a perspective! I have to remind myself all the time that God is working in me to make me like Jesus. Yes, I have a role to play in submitting my heart and my will to God, but the power to make the changes comes from God. It’s not my doing. I also have to remind myself that God didn’t make that promise to a select few people who were a cut above spiritually from where I am. No, that promise was made to all people and all people includes me.

It includes me on my best days, when my heart burns with love for Jesus and for people and when I naturally do what is good and right and loving. And it includes me on my worst days, when I do the exact opposite, when selfishness and pride rise to the top. How do I know this? Because God chose me, made me holy by the grace and mercy of Jesus and loves me as I am and not as I should be. The Bible screams that message over and over again. He knew what I would be like on my best days and my worst days and He chose me anyway.

When I am freshly aware of that truth something happens inside of me. I am inspired. I am encouraged. I am challenged. And, most of all, I know how loved and cherished by God I really am. That awareness, coupled with my desire to love God back, helps me see who I can become. Then by the power of the Holy Spirit working inside of me I can begin to actually reflect Jesus' character and countenance more and more. I can do the things that Jesus did and say the things that Jesus said.

That can be your reality to . . . You are a part of “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”

When you hear that phrase spoken about YOU, what response do you have?