Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, went around doing good. (Acts 10:38)
To be a disciple of Christ is to know Him, love Him, serve Him, submit and surrender to Him personally. But with that being said, all of this is to be lived out publicly, not privately. We are never to say, “It’s Jesus and ME . . . not Jesus and WE!”
It is important to remember that inasmuch as we are saved individually, we are saved to community. Not only that, the community we are saved to is a community that has been called into a cosmic mission to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation. Salvation and being a disciple of Christ is indeed personal but it is not a private affair. When Jesus shows up on the beach after His resurrection and reinstates Peter for ministry, notice the language Jesus uses.
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)
Now Jesus goes on to ask Peter this question a total of three times. After Peter responds in the affirmative each time, Jesus tells Him to make His love for Him known. The love that Peter had for Jesus that started out personally, was never to be lived out privately. And the same is true for every disciple of Jesus. As the Reformers would say, “We are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone.” When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He made it clear that loving God was at the top of the list. But He did not stop there. He went on to share the second – to love our neighbor – and we simply cannot live out what Jesus was talking about from a distance.
So, in looking at how you are currently living out your faith today, would it best be described as, “Jesus and ME” or “Jesus and WE?” Now I know the world regards religion as a “private matter” and want Christian’s to keep it that way. But this is not what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Follow me!” Jesus had an intensely personal and private connection with His Father in heaven as we see in the many instances of time alone in prayer. But He lived it out publicly for the glory of God and the good of the people. He went around doing good. May this be the confession of our lives.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 