[featured_image](From Disciplemaking 101)
Discipleship is costly. Jesus urged those who would follow Him to count the cost. While salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, there is no conflict between receiving God’s gracious forgiveness and following His exacting lordship. As your Savior, Jesus offered to you something that you couldn’t earn or deserve, yet as your Lord, He calls you to a life of service which requires obedience at every turn.
A young Lutheran pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, wrote a remarkable book called The Cost of Discipleship. He observed:
Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.
To worship God as your Savior and Forgiver, without embracing Him as your Lord and Master would be as ridiculous as going through a marriage ceremony without anticipating a lifetime of loving and serving your spouse. Technically, you don’t become married just by acting like you’re married, and you don’t become a Christian by living a good life, but would it make sense to be married with no intention of acting like it? Does it make sense to rely on Jesus as your Savior without responding daily in obedience to his commands?
When you are obedient to Christ and actively following God’s leading, it is evident in your life. It’s obvious that you are a follower of Christ. The moment you surrendered the leadership of your life to Christ, a life of obedience to God became a real possibility.
Some acts of obedience are more internal, having to do with attitudes, habits, motives, values, and your day-to-day thoughts. These internal acts of obedience eventually surface in your relationships with others. The proof of your love for God is your consistent obedience to Him.
“Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.” – Jeremiah 7:23
“It is not just that we should strive to live like Jesus, but that Jesus by His Spirit should come and live in us. To have Him as our example is not enough; we need Him as our Savior. It is thus through His atoning death that the penalty of our sins may be forgiven; whereas it is through His indwelling Spirit that the power of our sins may be broken.”
– John R. W. Stott, Basic Christianity
Today’s Missional Challenge
Choose to obey God and align your life with His redemptive mission!
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