24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Christian discipleship is all about giving up one's own agenda (deny himself) and taking up Jesus' agenda for him (take up his cross and follow me). Whether one is willing, to do so or not, is a reflection of what is in one's heart. And it ultimately determines if one is saved or not (For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it).
The qualification of this principle is that taking up Jesus' agenda requires seeking God's plan for you. Anything outside of God's plan, irregardless of whether you or the rest of the work think it is good or not, is not good work. Even if you sincerely believe it is good, if it does not conforms to God's plan, it is not good work. Only God's plan is good work. It's all about following Christ (take up his cross and follow me).
The obvious follow-up question would be: "What's the purpose of this prime directive?"
This question can be answered with the following big picture principles.
- We are not saved at the time we make the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and savior. We are saved before the creation of the world. Our decision is simply one of the steps in the discipleship process.
- Everything that we experience is part of the discipleship process. It includes all our experiences, before we made the decision, in which God is calling us.
- Part of the discipleship process is the doing of good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do.
- Some of the good works will result in trials to develop perseverance because the development of perseverance is required for spiritual maturity.
- Also accompanying the good works are the miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit know as Spiritual Gifts. Different Spiritual Gifts are given to different people. But they are all given for the common good. There is a common misconception that Spiritual Gifts are like magic wands that one can pull out and (bling) cause miraculous things to happen. No, a Spiritual Gift is really a set of miraculous events with common characteristics that the Holy Spirit performs but is credited to the believer.
- Jesus will return when all, who are predestined to be in saved, have completed their discipleship process. Those who are predestined include people from every nation, tribe, people and language. And part of our own discipleship process is to use our spiritual gifts to participate in completing the work of making disciples of people from every nation, tribe, people and language.
- When all the good works are done, the believers that had fallen asleep (died) will rise into the air first. Then the believers who are still alive will rise up with them. And we will all meet Jesus in the air.
- At that time, we will be give new glorified bodies to clothe our perfected souls.
- And as a prize for "finishing the race", we will be given the Crown of Righteousness, of Life, and of Glory.
Ephesians 1:4-5
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Act 1:7-8
7 He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Matthew 24:14
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in£ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Revelation 7:9
9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Corinthians 15:50-54
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
1 Corinthian 9:24-25
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
2 Timothy 4:8
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
1 Peter 5:4
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment