Life Project Blog

Almost every day I post something under the category of “Christian Living”.  Many of these posts end with what I hope is a thought-provoking question, sometimes they are straight encouragement; I hope they are all worthwhile.

In thinking about what to post today, it occurred to me that I seldom actually come right out and say what a Christian life is supposed to consist of, other than doing good things instead of bad things.  Everyone should pray, love, give, and represent our Lord well in the way they treat others.  Of course, as Paul might have said, even the pagans know that!

The thing that really makes the Christian life different from others is the obedience to our Lord’s commands.  Yes, of course He has commanded that we behave ourselves; that should be a given, but He has commanded us to do something specific that, quite frankly, is not being done much these days, at least in Europe and America, and that is to make disciples.  OK, I have blogged about making disciples quite a few times over the years, but I’m not sure that I have actually set out why this is; maybe I’ve just assumed it was obvious… but it isn’t.

I think the confusion comes in when we confuse the entry into covenant (i.e. “getting saved”) with the terms of covenant.  Of course, many Christians today don’t even speak of covenant!  To make this simple and to stay out of an overly complicated discussion that would bore most people, I’ll put it this way:  What you need to do to be saved, or enter into relationship with Christ, is not the end of the story, for He has given us all commands for what should happen after we are saved.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Sharing the Gospel is an activity that is always Christ-like. Are we doing this? If not, can we honestly say that we are living like Christ?  Making disciples includes what happens after a new Christian is saved: are we teaching them to obey Him? (Are we obeying Him ourselves as we go through daily life not mentoring, ministering or serving?) Please understand that I’m not trying to be difficult, but I am passionate on this point, so try to cut me a little slack if I’m insistent on this point…

 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:6

It is interesting to note that in the full context of this chapter, Paul is talking about the execution of the New Covenant.  “Execute” is the meaning of the Greek word that the NIV renders as “ministry”.  To execute the covenant is to follow the Lord’s commands, the very same ones He referred to in Matthew 28:20. So, again I ask: Are we making disciples?  Bear in mind that this is not a command that is only for the “professionals” as there was no such thing when Jesus commanded it.

Service to God is sharing your faith and making disciples, and aiding those who are doing so; it is not serving ourselves and saying that we wish we had the time…

Yes, I realize that this is a mere thumbnail sketch; maybe I’ll write a book!  In spite of the thumbnail nature of this post, I hope you get the idea, I’m sure you can fill in whatever blanks I’ve left.  Let’s just leave it for now with one more question:

 Are we living a “Christian” life? It’s something to think about and to pray about as we begin a new week.

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

James 4:11-12

The last sentence makes this paragraph come to life for at first it might seem like James is headed in a different direction. He isn’t speaking so much of slander and arguing here, he is speaking about judging others. Interesting isn’t it that this comes where it does as the end of the whole passage, a passage that began talking about how we fight with one another.

Yes, that’s right, we started with fighting and quarrels and finish with an admonition not to judge…

In our day, many people like to complain about being “judged.” “Don’t you judge me!” they yell, while judging the other person a bigot of some sort. Very frequently, this is teamed up with another word: “tolerant” or more to the point, “intolerant.”  So, we hear over and over that we must not judge therefore we must be tolerant of everything. Is James going politically correct on us?

Not a chance!

The contemporary politically charged view on ‘judging’ and ‘tolerance’ is entirely an earthly view, usually relared to a political narrative. What has James told us about such things just a few short verses back? James is not writing this letter to the non-Christian world; he has directed it to Christians who are supposed to know better. When he tells us not to judge others, he doesn’t imply that any one of us who is doing wrong can turn the tables to justify wrongdoing. Instead, he is telling us that we need to respect God’s authority to judge.

For me to judge one of my brothers or sisters in Christ means that I have taken upon myself the authority to pass condemnation upon the other person, and that is a direct affront to God, who reserves all such decisions for Himself.  Thus, when we heap condemnation on one another, we are the ones in the wrong.

Suppose I see a brother who is engaged in sin, do I help him by calling him names or saying bad things behind his back? How can that possibly restore him in his relationship with God or with others? If, on the hand, I have invested time and effort into having a relationship of mutual trust and respect between us, I may be able to help him see his error and gently guide him back to where he should be… and perhaps in the future he will help me out when I am adrift: This is love in action. If I don’t have that kind of relationship with him, I can probably find out who does… See the difference?

Take just a moment to consider the implications of this; go back and read the text from 4:1 and ask yourself why James put this last, where the “bottom line” is usually found. Who am I to judge my neighbor? All those quarrels, being a friend of this world, not having prayer answered,  grief and mourning… and they end up with who am I to judge others?

What is God telling you in these verses?

(I think He just might be telling me that I need to think before I speak.)