september 2006
For the first time in a long time, our kids will not be going back to school until after Labor Day. For me, that’s the way it’s supposed to be; it’s the way I remember it being when I was growing up. Labor Day was a holiday of transition. It marked the end of summer and helped prepare us for the beginning of another school year. And now, it offers us that transition again; I, for one, am glad.
It is important for us to have a way to mark transition – from one period of our lives to another. Our lives are filled with points of transition: graduation from high school or college, marriage or divorce, births and deaths of those who touch our lives… I’m sure that you can think of many other examples; the possibilities are almost endless. These are dates that we remember; some we celebrate, some we mourn, but all are important to us.
For many people, one of those times is when they were “saved” or when they became a Christian. Some people can describe the exact moment in time that they were saved in intricate detail. For other Christians, that transition was more subtle, more gradual – over a long period of time. Some may even question their salvation when others insist that they have to have a “definable conversion experience” if their really “saved”. My answer to them is that I was “saved” two thousand years ago in a hill called Calvary when God sent his only son to die so that I and anyone else who believes in him can live life eternal.
The problem arises when people begin to see being “saved” as an end to itself; not as a transition to a new life. They believe that once their “saved” that’s all there is to it; they have their ticket to heaven and can continue doing whatever they want because their “saved” and nothing can take that away. There is a big theological term to describe this situation; it’s called “holiness antinomianism”. Nothing could be further from God’s truth. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 5, that apart from Christ and the Holy Spirit, we live by our sinful nature. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21).
Truth is that being “saved” is just that; being saved from ourselves and our sinful nature. It’s a transition into a new beginning – a new birth through the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit within us. That beginning is the start of a great adventure as disciples of Jesus Christ. You can’t simply put a new born baby in a corner and expect them to grow up on their own; the same is true for a newborn Christian. So why do so many Christians never grow beyond infancy? As Christians, followers of Christ, we are called – no, commanded to become and make disciples for Jesus Christ. To be a disciple is to be a student of another; to learn from them; to learn to be like them.
As disciples of Jesus Christ our goal is to be like Christ. To do as Christ does; to love as Christ loves. That is discipleship. That is setting ourselves apart from the world and that’s how we offer others a better way – through our own Christ like example. We can’t get there apart from the study of God’s word, both individually and together in bible studies and Sunday school; yet so few of our members attend any classes or studies. We have become a biblically illiterate people.
I’ve heard people say that they don’t come to bible studies because they don’t know enough about the bible. That’s like our kids saying, “I’m not going to school because I don’t know enough about what their teaching.” The truth is that none of us know enough about the bible; we all need to learn more. How can we identify ourselves fully with the people of God if we don’t really know what that means? It is our reasonability and our obligation to Christ to do so. Just as our kids will be returning to school after Labor Day, so each and every one of us need to make it our priority to learn who Jesus Christ really is for ourselves and not depend on the hearsay of others. We all need to plan on being part of a Sunday school class or bible study beginning this fall. We owe it to ourselves and the generations that will follow us to regain our spiritual strength and identity in Christ.
Paul teaches us that we are “saved” by grace through faith not by works. I thank God that his grace is freely offered to all and through that grace we receive salvation. But it doesn’t end there. Faith and works are always in tension; faith and works go together. Our works, what we do for others and for God, is our faith in action. Our works are our response to God’s love for us.
We all have those that we look up to and admire; those that we want to be like – those that we imitate. Who is more worthy of our imitation than Jesus Christ? But how can we imitate him if we don’t seriously seek to know who he is? There is nothing we could do in this world that would have a greater impact for the good than being true imitators of Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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