The Gospel, Discipleship and the Image of God
He has
shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love
mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8
As Christians I don’t think we have a problem
with loving mercy and walking humbly but that act justly or in other
translations do justice is what trips us up. I hate that words like “Gospel”
and “Disciple” are being used in such a way that they are robbed of their
authentic power and meaning.
The Gospel is the good news that God sent His Son
Jesus to pay the penalty for sin that should have been borne by us, for we have
all sinned and thumbed our nose at a just and gracious God, and were it not for
His love and mercy toward us while we were still rebelling against Him we would
all get what we so justly deserve, an eternity in hell. We can’t even come to
Him on our own we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. It’s the Holy Spirit
who convicts of sin and convinces of righteousness. It’s the Holy Spirit who
removes the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. The Holy Spirit bears
witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. He is the assurance of our
salvation and it’s the Holy Spirit who causes us to be moved when we see
injustices and wickedness. He is the one who breaks our heart when we hear
about Christians being persecuted for their faith. He is the One who causes us
to mourn and weep with those who are grieving. He takes the Gospel that He has
planted in us by the love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus and turns it into
a joyful desire to see others reconciled to God.
This Gospel produces a life transforming work
that is performed and perfected in imperfect people and that is the root of
true discipleship. What is a disciple? A disciple is one who follows his/her
teacher and seeks to emulate them. God is the Creator of all, and He made man
in His image and in His likeness. The image of God in man is still there but it
is marred by sin and only in Christ Jesus do we see what that image is truly
meant to look like. Do you remember in 2012 when an amateur art restorer tried
to restore a Fresco Painting of Jesus? Well in short, she messed up something
that was once beautiful. She meant well but she needed more than good
intentions. She needed stronger skills and a greater knowledge of how to
professionally restore a painting. I have a good friend who lives in Italy and
is a restorer of ancient works of art. He describes it as painstaking and
meticulous. By his own admission he has spent years with a painting getting the
light in the eyes correct.
Discipleship is a lifelong process of being transformed
into the image of Christ. Too often we want discipleship to be a book or a
lesson in a classroom instead of what it truly is; a painstaking study of
Christ and being transformed into His image over a lifetime. A disciple is one
who lives in constant repentance and surrender to Christ. It’s a work of the
Holy Spirit. We can help one another along and we are called to make disciples
by teaching people to observe all that Christ has commanded us. However,
discipleship, like salvation from sin, is a work of the Godhead.
We bear
the image of God. Every person created bears that image, the distinction comes
in by those who are being restored. Those who bear both God’s image and His
Name. As disciples the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to see things and some
of those things are extremely uncomfortable. Abortion, The Sex Trade and
Systemic Racism are uncomfortable to see but we must DO JUSTICE. Abortion is
legal here in the United States and we have murdered at least 4 generations
since its legalization in 1973. Abortion is a political hot topic and it’s
multi-faceted and emotionally charged yet as Christians we know what God has
commanded in the Scriptures and those very commands that have been brought to
life by The Gospel compel us to ACT.
Sex Trafficking is also a political hot topic but
in some countries it’s perfectly legal for people to travel to a market and
purchase a child, boy or girl, for sexual gratification. These children can be
as young as 4 years old. Are we to sit by and let it happen? NO! We step in
because the Gospel compels us! The Word of God demands that this behavior stop!
This same Gospel, this same Word of God compels
us to MOVE to DO JUSTICE when we see image bearers being systematically brutalized,
here in the United States and anywhere else in the world that The Lord our God
sends us! The Civil Rights Movement started in a church and was led by a
Pastor. This Pastor saw the brutalization of a people and rather than stay
silent, as he was so often called upon to do, he spoke out and he organized and
he was persecuted, he was ridiculed, he was marginalized, people left his
church and even the very people he sought to help turned on him! They accused
him of making things worse for them! They had concluded within themselves that segregation
was better than slavery. Ultimately this Pastor was assassinated because of his
stance for justice.
What these causes have in common is we see the
image of God in man being further destroyed by sin and we seek to stop it! It
is my prayer that we, as Christians stop comparing the lanes that God has given
us to run in.
I have two dear friends who are on the front
lines of abolishing Child Sex Trafficking and I support them 100%. I see the
problem and my heart is torn and I may be a backup player but I’m not idle.
Likewise, with abortion, I have friends on the front line, and I support them.
I am not comparing, and I am not idle. We can’t tackle every issue by ourselves,
and we can’t give to every issue we’re passionate about, but this is why we’re
commanded to pray about everything and, why we’re One Body. God in His wisdom
has equipped each of us to run our general and unique race for the praise of
His name. The general race: We run hard after God in Christ and seek to have
our lives transformed to look more like Him. The unique race, that’s the call
He has given each of us to show forth who He is.
May The Lord remove from us this us versus them
and either or mentality and grant us true unity IN diversity. Diversity
of gifts, callings, color and culture.
In Christ,
Storm
Scripture References: Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy
10:17-19; Psalm 10:17-18 & 33:4-6; Ezekiel 11:18-20 & 36:25-27; Matthew
23-22-24 & 28:18-20; John 16:7-9; Luke 18:1; Romans 3:21-26; 1st
Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2:1-10; & 1st Thessalonians 5:17.
These are only a few references. I encourage you to study and to make full
proof the ministry of reconciliation that God has given to us through Christ
Jesus by The Holy Spirit.
Photo Credit: Epiphany Fellowship of North
Philadelphia
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