Posted on 01/07/2015 1:48:03 PM PST by metmom
TO BE CALLED TO FOLLOW CHRIST is a high honor; higher indeed than any honor men can bestow upon each other.
Were all the nations of the earth to unite in one great federation and call a man to head that federation, that man would be honored above any other man that ever lived. Yet the humblest man who heeds the call to follow Christ has an honor far above such a man; for the nations of the earth can bestow only such honor as they possess, while the honor of Christ is supreme over all. God has given Him a name that is above every name.
This being true and being known to the heavenly intelligences, the methods we use to persuade men to follow Christ must seem to them extremely illogical if not downright wrong.
Evangelical Christians commonly offer Christ to mankind as a nostrum to cure their ills, a way out of their troubles, a quick and easy means to the achievement of personal ends. They use the right words, but their emphasis is awry. The message is so presented as to leave the hearer with the impression that he is being asked to give up much to gain more. And that is not good, however well intentioned it may be.
What we do is precisely what a good salesman does when he presents the excellence of his product as compared with that of his closest competitor. The customer chooses the better of the two, as who would not? But the weakness of the whole salesmanship technique is apparent: the idea of selfish gain is present in the whole transaction.
Jesus Christ is a Man come to save men. In Him the divine nature is married to our human nature, and wherever human nature exists there is the raw material out of which He makes followers and saints. Our Lord recognizes no classes, high or low, rich or poor, old or young, man or woman: all are human and all are alike to Him. His invitation is to all mankind.
In New Testament times persons from many and varied social levels heard His call and responded: Peter the fisherman; Levi the publican; Luke the physician; Paul the scholar; Mary the demon possessed; Lydia the businesswoman; Paulus the statesman. A few great and many common persons came. They all came and our Lord received them all in the same way and on the same terms.
From any and every profession or occupation men and women may come if they will. The simple rule is that if the occupation is good, continue in it if you so desire; if it is bad, abandon it at once and seek another. If the call includes detachment from all common pursuits to give full time to the work of the gospel, then no profession or occupation, no matter how good or how noble, must keep us from obeying the call.
The activities in which men engage may be divided into two categories: the morally bad and the morally neutral. The activities of the burglar, the gambler, the dictator, the procurer, the dope addict, the gangster and all who prey upon society are bad; nothing can make them better. The call of Christ is away from all such. This is not to be questioned or debated, but accepted without delay and acted upon at once.
But the majority of our human activities are not evil in themselves; they are neutral. The laborer, the statesman, the housewife, the doctor, the teacher, the engineer-such as these engage in activities that are neither good nor bad. Their moral qualities are imparted by the one who engages in them. So the call of Christ is not away from such things, for they may be sanctified by the prayer and faith of the individual, and thus turned into a positive good.
One thing is certain: the call of Christ is always a promotion. Were Christ to call a king from his throne to preach the gospel to some tribe of aborigines, that king would be elevated above anything he had known before. Any movement toward Christ is ascent, and any direction away from Him is down.
Yet though we recognize the honor bestowed upon us, there is no place for pride, for the follower of Christ must shoulder his cross and a cross is an object of shame and a symbol of rejection.
Before God and the angels it is a great honor to follow Christ, but before men it is not so. The Christ the world pretends now to honor was once rejected and crucified by that same world. The great saint is honored only after he is dead. Rarely is he known as a saint while he lives. The plaudits of the world come too late, when he can no longer hear them; and perhaps it is better that way. Not many are selfless enough to endure honor without injury to their souls.
In those early Galilean days Christ's followers heard His call, forsook the old life, attached themselves to Him, began to obey His teachings and joined themselves to His band of disciples. This total commitment was their confirmation of faith. Nothing less would do.
And it is not different today. He calls us to leave the old life and to begin the new. There must never be any vacuum, never any place of neutrality where the world cannot identify us. Peter warming himself at the world's fire and trying to seem unconcerned is an example of the kind of halfway discipleship too many are satisfied with. The martyr leaping up in the arena, demanding to be thrown to the lions along with his suffering brethren, is an example of the only kind of dedication that God approves.
Tozer
Chapter 2 of Man: The Dwelling Place of God
Chapter 1 is found at this link.....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3242797/posts
Am I a Christian too?
I don’t know. That’s between you and God.
Why do you ask?
Well my profile says I’m Catholic, what say you?
I still say that’s between you and God.
This isn’t a caucus thread and I have no intention of ever posting one or limiting who can participate in any threads I post.
This is good ole plain solid stuff. Thanks. Enjoyed it.
It’s a refreshing change from what we hear today, isn’t it?
Indeed!
Maybe its time to change your signature.
The war is won and over.
“Joel Osteen is a preacher of the Gospel like Colonel Sanders is an Army officer.”
No thank you.
There is some truth to that. The gain of Christ is so, so much richer than what the world offers. But it is a hard choice, because as you so well know metmom:
"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:20
It was my love of sin that made it hard for me to finally accept Christ. When I fall into temptation as a Christian to sin, the Holy Spirit quickly convicts me, and I am in grief. But the Bible tells me that the Enemy knows just what our weaknesses are. Positionally, we are still in Christ. Nothing can snatch us from His hand. But we must be on our guard. James 1:13-15 says: "For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Christ could have been accused of offering a "negative" message by saying that followers of His had to pick up their crosses (a clear symbol at the time of painful torture and execution) and follow Him.
Billy Graham used to call those who pondered conversion as "inquirers." He would invite them to the front to make a decision, "no regrets, no retreat." It is a serious decision, but as the article pointed out, one of INCREDIBLE joy. Christ is literally saving you from Hell itself, and if you accept Christ and repent, your life will be transformed by Him.
I am glad God still breaks me and disciplines me. He does that to those He loves. Christians are akin to paratroopers in a raging battle. We are soldiers behind enemy lines, surrounded on all sides. The world and the wicked are conniving 24/7 for their money, their lusts, and for their revenge on those whom they think "disrespected" them.
But God has the last word regarding their fate.
Keep your tagline, it is dead on.
Great Psalm.
I have some worship music on right now and they were singing that very verse.
The First Epistle of John is where I like to go to review my life in light of the teachings of Christ.
It's close enough for government work!<
And that is not good, however well intentioned it may be.
P>
Not good?
I've heard differently...
Mark 8:36 KJV
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
- Jim Elliot
Sure you may be a Christian, quite probably are, but I consider Catholics to be carrying a lot of extra, unneeded spiritual baggage around.
and your qualifications for passing judgement on a 2,000 year old Christian religion that Christ personally founded are as follows:....................
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