Understanding the basics of Christianity is not rocket science. The word “Christian” means “little Christ.” The message is, if we want to be who we were intended to be, we need to forsake darkness and evil and embrace the life of God. Jesus did this and we are supposed to do this, too—if we claim to be “little Christs.”
Jesus lived a perfect, dependent life. He showed us how to overcome evil and walk in the light of love. He taught us that if we depended on the Father (like he did) we could not only be saved from the consequences of our sins but from sin itself. This is very important to understand. What good would it do an addict to say, “Your sins are forgiven, don’t worry about it” then walk away, offering them no remedy to their current condition? Yet we do this over and over again in evangelistic services and even in our discipleship programs. When struggles arise we say, “that sin nature is at it again!” The term sin nature isn’t even in the bible. The word is “flesh.” Maybe it means the same thing, but I think if we used the correct term once in a while we’d be able to wrap our minds around the real problem we are facing: ourselves. Not Adam’s problem but ours. We want to do our own thing and live independently from our Creator. But Jesus showed us that if we do that we can’t and won’t know life.The only way to obtain salvation is to be re-created. To “crucify the flesh with it’s passions and desires” and allow Christ to “raise us with him” to a new life in God. This does not imply instant perfection in the way we think of perfection, but it does make us whole. It sets us on a journey of learning to depend and trust and believe that God is able to do anything through a surrendered life.
The apostle understood the message of the cross probably better than anyone. He had a divine encounter that challenged his intellect and changed his life. He realized his journey of faith would not be easy and said many times that in spite of God’s working in and through him he still suffered and struggled along with the rest of humanity. But he never once denied the power of God for salvation. He knew the difference between making peace with struggle and allowing Christ to enable him to overcome it. Paul spent all of his energy declaring that in Christ we can and will be changed; transformed, renewed, reborn, re-created . . . (however you want to label it). He explained the way of salvation to us in simple terms and we have complicated them. He told us what we must do and instead of simply doing those things (in the strength of the Lord—not our own strength) we have surrounded ourselves with theology to make us feel comfortable if and when we don’t do them. Paul’s comfort was in the person of Christ himself—not in theology. Ours seems to be heading toward a faith in the absence of personal responsibility.
The spiritual reality of what God has accomplished for us needs to be proclaimed again. Somehow, perhaps because the struggle has been so hard, we’ve forgotten the power of God for salvation and have created a system that is not only powerless and unattractive but very confusing. We claim that Christ can save people from their sins but rarely explain the process of sanctification. We’ve made Christ to be a geni/guru who’s there when we need something and who will protect us from punishment when we die. But we rarely lead people to Christ himself. We forget to teach them that dependency on him is the key to becoming who we were made to be. We need to teach as Paul taught, embracing the full message of the cross, which is this: if we claim to be in Christ we must walk in the same manner he walked (please note: I’m referring to a life of dependency on God).
“Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. . . he was devoted to a person, not to a cause. . . . he lived for nothing else.” Oswald Chambers
Christianity is so much more than sacraments and systematic theology. It’s the act of becoming more and more like the Man we claim to follow. It’s a supernatural reality, yes, but it’s also very practical. “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
The choice is ours—the power to walk in the truth is God’s. It’s there. Dependency is key.
