Monday Mooring | 26 May 2014 - Discipleship Is No Sweat … Literally!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Such questions have been asked for centuries. I have one that is more important: Which came first, faith or works?

We see in scripture some things that, if not properly understood, can cause a problem for the believer. Paul states in several passages of scripture that salvation is not by works, but by faith alone. James then declares that faith without works is dead. Works or no works? Faith and …, or faith only?

For me this does not create a problem at all. I believe the two statements are complementary. Paul was addressing entrance into the The Kingdom: Salvation. You cannot work your way into heaven. Keeping the “law” was futile as a means to salvation. No amount of good deeds will earn relationship with God. That is a place reserved for sons and daughters; those He has adopted and made joint-heirs with Jesus. That is accomplished by our identification with the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating of Christ Jesus. This “identification” is usually referred to as being saved.

James, on the other hand, was addressing people confessing to having been identified with Christ. He stated in James 2:14, “… though a man say he has faith …” James understood something about the transformation that occurs in a person’s life when they become a follower of Jesus and pursue becoming a disciple of His. It will affect your behavior. Your treatment of others will change. He calls the acts of a Christian “works.”

Paul said the same thing only using different terms. Paul said that “fruit” would be produced in the life of a disciple of Jesus.

That brings us to today’s Monday Moorings topic: Discipleship is no sweat … literally!

Let’s take a brief look at life under the law. God gave a list of dos and don’ts so that mankind could come to understand sin, and that sin separates us from true relationship with Father God. However, even when giving the rules for operating the temple worship He instructed the priests to only wear linen next to their skin – no wool – so they would not sweat while ministering unto God. Even under the law, worship was to be done with little human effort. Instead the focus was to be on the spiritual exercise of satisfying the penalty of sin by offering sacrifices: men responding to a loving Father, seeking restoration of relationship with His creation.

The New Testament in very simple terms is Jesus paying the ultimate sacrifice to buy once-for-all the restoration of relationship between humankind and their Creator. When Jesus gives the invitation, “follow me”, He does not add a list of laws that we have to follow in order to maintain relationship with Him. It is simply, without sweat or strain, a process of becoming His disciple. Love is not “a work”, it’s a fruit. Joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, etc., do not require strain. As a matter of fact, the more you try harder, the less you become like Jesus.

So on this Monday see if you can find a way to ease off the accelerator of works, pull off to a rest area, and change clothes. Trade your wool out for some linen. Let the Holy Spirit show you how to “let Jesus” be expressed through your life instead of straining to “push Jesus” on to others. You and they will be happy you did.