We’ve been talking about the three commitments that God is after in the Bible: The commitment to Follow and learn (from him and about him as a disciple), the commitment to Rely on him, and commitment to his Church. But don’t take my word for it, take a look at the lives of people God speaks to in the Bible, and see whether these three fit for their lives… Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus’ disciples… What did God want from them in the beginning? And what kinds of commitments did he eventually lead them to? I think you’ll find that the pattern is God gives them an opportunity to commit to following, followed later by a commitment to rely on him (to actually make decisions based on God rather than only on their own resources and abilities), and finally to commit to serving and walking with God’s people…in that order.
Here’s why this is important: most of the problems with Christianity happen when people commit to one but not the others…especially when they commit to them out of order…
So when people commit strongly to the church, but they’re not committed to the truth of Jesus (following him, learning from him), and relying on him – you get religious bigotry, things like the Crusades, witch hunts, religious intolerance.
When people commit to relying on God for everything, but not to Jesus’ way and teaching, and not to the church, you get…televangelists. People who believe in the power of faith, and they may have genuine faith, but without understanding. In the end their religion will be self centered and powerless.
When people commit to following Jesus and learning from him, doing the things that he does…they are doing exactly what God wants you to do first. How can you commit to anything more without first knowing Him? And the way you get to know him is by following: doing what he does, doing what he asks, and being open to his teaching in your daily life. But…at some point if all you do is learn and learn and learn – and you never take it to the next step, you’ll have a purely intellectualized faith that lacks the joy and power and practicality of real discipleship…
Does this make sense? If so, what do you think happens when people commit to C1 + C2 but not C3? How about C2 + C3 but not C1? Or C3 + C1 but not C2? These actually lead to the three main types of Christianity today… Charismatic (Pentecostal), Individualistic/Experiential (Evangelical, Baptist), Intellectualized (Presbyterian)… Can you tell which is which?
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