Blogotional

Tod Bolsinger looks at Christian discipleship and concludes that calling and grace are not two sides of the same coin, but that we misunderstand the basic nature of grace.

You see the first time I remember hearing the gospel explained to me, it went something like this: “If you believe that Jesus was the son of God, that you know that you are a sinner and that he died on the cross for your sins, then you are a Christian. You can’t earn it, you don’t deserve it, you can’t make God love you any more or any less, but in Christ, he offers you his grace—a relationship with him, new life with him. If you believe these things, you are forgiven, you have received his grace. You are a Christian.” I remember hearing that and thinking. “Believe in Jesus?” Check. “Son of God, died on the cross?” Check. Check. Forgive my sins. Cool. I got it. And I kind of shrugged. Who didn’t believe this?

Then about six months later I heard a young pastor say, “How many of you are Christians?” And I raised my hand. “Now,” he asked, “how many of you are disciples?” I wasn’t sure what he meant but I figured that it had to be the “advanced” track or something and I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to do that. I had my own life to live, my own aspirations, my own goals and dreams and desires. Part of that was indeed, that I wanted a relationship with God and I certainly wanted eternal life. I only worshipped and served Jesus Christ, I just didn’t think of myself as very fanatical about the whole thing. So, for me, Christian. Yes. Disciple. No thanks.

Except… The pastor continued. His entire talk explained that Jesus never used the word, “Christian.” He never once preached a message that said, “If you believe I am the son of God and am going to die on the cross for your sins, you can receive the grace of God to forgive your sins.” Not once. Indeed in the Gospels the word “Christian” is never used. In the gospels, the word “believer” is never used to describe Jesus’ followers. And the word “disciple” is used 225 times. Indeed, what Jesus did say was… “Follow me.” (in fact, 23 times recorded in the gospels, this is his invitation. Not accept me into your life, have a personal relationship with me, but “follow me.”)

And usually the invitation to “follow” was accompanied by a warning of the cost of following:
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Matthew 8: 20
“…whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:38

And in many ways this reframing of the life of faith made a huge impact on me. I remember listening to that young pastor that day and deciding right then and there that I would be a disciple of Jesus Christ and that there was no other option.

But what about grace? What about the grace of God that comes to us, just as we are, that knows everything about us, that loves us and invites us to be reconciled to God?
• …we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Acts 15:11.
• For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God… Ephesians 2:8

I want to introduce you to what can be called "the WAY of Grace." One of the earliest terms for Christianity was to call this movement of following Jesus, “The Way”, sometimes “The Way of the Lord,” other times “The Way of God,” sometimes, just “The Way”(see Acts 18-19). And in some ways, this term truly does help us understand how the grace and the calling of Christ come together and can never be separated. Christianity is not just a set of beliefs, Christianity is not about making some spiritual transaction, or receiving some spiritual gift from God. Christianity is about following Jesus with all of one’s life. It is not about walking down a road but walking in his footsteps. And that following of Jesus on The Way is grace and only through grace can one enter into the Way of God.

A long pull quote from an even longer post.

The basic point is this - the gospel is about more than "mere" salvation. Christ did not come to save us, He came to change us - change us back into the people we were created to be.

This is going to get me into trouble, but think about that "Christian yes, Disciple no" comment Tod makes above. Why did the distinction arise? Could it be that it arose in the name of "effectiveness?" With the bar for "Christian" as Tod here defines it, being very low, success at evangelism becomes very easy, both to measure and to obtain.

But in doing so, have we cut people off from the genuine gospel? I am certain they do not enjoy all the benefits that Christ has in store for them - I will leave eternity for God.

But here is the thing that really bothers me - If we make it easy for people to get less than the whole product, for the sake of our apparent effectiveness, aren't we being pretty doggone selfish? And what do you think God will have to say about that when it is all said and done?

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