11 September 2014
Dear JohnWesleyProject.com Family,
Three stories have
found there way into our newspapers this week that I have felt the
need to comment on because they speak into our journey of
discipleship. The first two are worth considering in the context of
our Gospel readings from the 7 September (Matthew 18:15-20) and 14
September (Matthew 18:21-35).
The first was a
story in one of our leading Sunday papers under the heading:
Why Dale Steyn won't forgive Michael Clarke
"It's the
mysterious sledge that enraged the world's best fast bowler and set
the scene for a fiery start to the Australian summer. What did
Michael Clarke say to Dale Steyn on the final day of the Cape Town
Test, which so offended the South African pace great that he still
holds a grudge months later?"
The second was in a leading daily paper under the
heading:
Hugs as
police apologise to Khuli Chana
"Sanity
has prevailed. We asked for a public apology and a settlement in
October 2013... we had not incurred any expenses then," Chana's
lawyer Cliff Alexander told reporters. “Now we're
receiving what we asked for and are happy with the outcome."
Last Sunday we looked at
Jesus teaching about going and telling a person when they sin against
you in the hope of bringing them to repentance, because if they
aren't going to apologise to you, they certainly aren't going to see
the need to apologise to God. This week we look at Jesus teaching
regarding how many times we must forgive someone who sins against us.
Both the above stories speak into these important and non-negotiable
elements of Christian Discipleship.
Of course the main story in
the news this week has been the Oscar Pistorius judgement, and I turn
to that now because, Yes, it too has much to teach us about
discipleship.
Your and My Judgement Day
This
is in no way meant to point fingers at Oscar Pistorius, I use this
picture because I see in it a picture of myself and I see in it a
reminder of the judgement that I, and each one of us, saved and lost,
will face.
Today (11 September 2014) in South Africa is being called Judgement Day, with all eyes and ears on the Oscar Pistorius trial and the judge who will begin delivering her judgement, which we are being told could take up to two days.
This has me
thinking, I wonder how long my judgement, as a disciple of Christ,
will take, bearing in mind Jesus' words:
I
tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every empty word they have spoken Matthew
12:36.
and
On
that day, he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left Matthew
25:31-46.
Of course, on that day it is not just my words that will be judged, but also my deeds, my actions, my good works. Remember,
For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one
can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Ephesians
2:8-10.
Did you hear that?
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do
For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do
For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do
For we are
God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do
You
and I are created (saved, redeemed, born-again) in Christ to do
good works.
Have
you done today's good works...the ones God uniquely prepared in
advance for you to do today?
Did
you do yesterday's good works?
Are
you preparing for tomorrow's good works?
or........................do
you not give a damn about whether you are doing the things God
planned in advance for you to do?
So,
Jesus tells us that we, disciples of Christ and saved by faith, will
face judgement, based on our works.
Paul
tells the readers of his letters the same thing:
This
will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through
Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares Romans
2:16
Unsurprisingly,
Peter tells us the same thing:
For
it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it
begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey
the gospel of God? And,
“If
it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
Can you see why Scripture tells people who are saved by faith to:
You see, faith without deeds is dead, and you and I cannot be saved by a faith which is dead.
What
good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith
but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ...... faith by itself,
if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say,
“You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show
me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my
deeds..... You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith
without deeds is useless?.... You see that a person is considered
righteous by what they do and not by faith alone......As the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead James
2:14-26.
So, what are good deeds? For a general description of what the LORD requires, Micah is a good place to start:
So, what are good deeds? For a general description of what the LORD requires, Micah is a good place to start:
The
Lord has shown you what is good.
He has told you what he requires of you.
You
must treat people fairly.
You must love others faithfully.
And
you must be very careful to live
For specifics, consider this: The great Jewish prophets, the forerunners of Jesus, coined a mantra which ran something like this: The quality of your faith will be judged by the quality of justice in the land and the quality of justice in the land will be judged by how "widows, orphans and strangers" (biblical code for the three most vulnerable groups in society) fared while you were alive.
Jesus wouldn't disagree. When he describes the last judgment at the end of Matthew's Gospel, he tells us that this judgment will not be, first of all, about right doctrine, good theology, church attendance, or even personal piety and sexual morality, but about how we treated the poor. Somebody far wiser than I has said: "Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor." Jesus and the great biblical prophets make that clear and in Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus emphasizes by repetition that what we do and don't do for the least among us is going to form the basis of our case on Judgement day.
“When
the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered
before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the
sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then
the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you
since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I
was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you
clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and
you came to visit me.’
“Then
the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe
you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The
King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then
he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are
cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite
me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in
prison and you did not look after me.’
“They
also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help
you?’
“He
will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of
the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life.”
So,
the news this week has been a wonderful reminder to us of the
importance of living out our discipleship in the world around us. The
world needs the witness of Christian disciples daily doing the good
deeds that God has planned for them to do. Let us all “consider
how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” If
these Scriptures convict us, let's be driven to our knees in
repentance and then empowered by the Spirit for the life He calls us
to. If these Scriptures affirm us, let us in gratitude thank God and
pray for His Spirit to continue to fill us and empower us for the
life of discipleship.
Much love,
Cedric.
