Grace Alone (but don't go crazy with it)

By now you may have heard, you may even be part of what many in the church are calling the “Gospel centered”, or “Christ centered” movement.  God is definitely on the move, and His message is always and has always been, His Son.  God has never spoken in secret, keeping His plans from His own; His desire has always been that His chosen ones would have a part in spreading the wonder of Him to a lost world. As God’s plan unfolds He is constantly revealing more and more of His agenda and His Son, to us His children, who make up His Church. In Hebrews 1:2 God tells us that in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son.  It is the mystery given to Paul, God’s plan to redeem humanity, Christ in us, beseeching the world through us, that is constantly unfolding and expanding till it comes to full manifestation at His return!  So at every turn, man has given some label to the fresh revelation uncovered for us by the Holy Spirit, as if to take ownership of it or credit somehow for its discovery. 

Part of the irony, to me, is, if this new movement is centered on Christ and His too good to be true message of salvation (which is a complete work as we have discussed in previous posts, not just a get out of hell free card) what in the WORLD were we centered on before?  But all that aside, let me present the real reason for this post.  I want to do a little autopsy on the term, discipleship. I say autopsy because the word disciple was never seen again after Acts 21:16, so to dissect it we must first exhume it.  The definition for the Greek word mathetes is a learner, pupil, disciple.  The teachings of one are passed by word of mouth, one to another.  Now at this point there are many directions we could go, we could discuss the difference between a disciple and an apostle; we could talk about the fact that the 12 apostles were directed to carry a different message to a different people group than was the Apostle Paul, and on and on.  But the focus of this post is what WE are called to.  Are we disciples? And are we instructed to go make disciples? 

Keep in mind that Paul was not taught by any man, the revelation of Christ was imparted to Paul supernaturally by the Spirit of God.  Today we are not merely adherents to the teachings of Jesus, the very Spirit of the risen Christ is imparted to us when we receive and believe His Word.  Colossians 3 says we have put on the new man which is already perfected in the knowledge of Christ.  John 14, I John 2, Romans 8, tells us that the Holy Spirit instructs our Spirit man inwardly and the Word renews (Rom 12) our mind so that we will begin to see our flesh line up with the truth of who we have become in Christ.  Paul, the Apostle that God entrusted with His message to us, never said go make disciples of all nations.   He said God is beseeching the world through us “Be Ye Reconciled to God!”   Through us, because God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself through Christ and Christ is now alive in us.  The mandate of the Gospel through Paul is not to merely be a “follower” of Christ and His teachings, the Greek word mimetes is poorly translated follower (I Cor 4:16, 11:1, Eph 5:1, Phil 3:17) and is actually the word mimic in the English.   We will be mimickers of Paul, just as he is a mimicker of Christ because The Living Word which has the power to save the world and to transform the lost into sons and daughters of God resides in us, ready to be unleashed as the Holy Spirit utters these words of life through us.   Those who receive this power are not merely disciples, they become new creatures! Partakers of the Divine nature of Christ!  

The concept of making disciples falls short of the original intent of the Gospel of God.  It also carries with it a fleshly component that ministers of the gospel seem unwilling to completely let go of.

There is an awakening to the unmerited Grace of God, but alongside there is a disclaimer that says we must temper the freedom we have in Christ with an explanation of what freedom is NOT, or all hell will break loose and grace will be the culprit.  If too much grace is to blame for licentiousness, then what a cruel tactic that grace should super abound where sin abounds.   Man, stop trusting in your ability to restrain the people and trust the power in the Grace of God.  Only when grace is PURE will it produce the fruit of righteousness that comes from an unfettered gospel. 

There is much more to be said here.  But for now let me close with this.  Whoever we may be, believer, Pastor, Evangelist, Youth leader, we do not drive the message, the message drives us.  We do not shape the message, the message shapes us.  Let’s keep a right perspective, and maybe not take ourselves so seriously.  We need only rest in the One who embodies the message, and His ability to accomplish all that He intended for His word to accomplish.