Week 3 – Thursday – To live is Christ

Go Read Philippians 1:20. Go ahead and memorize it.
<> What does “to live is Christ” mean?
<> What did Christ’s life look like? As much as you possibly can, outline His life and public ministry on earth.
<> What should our response to His life be?

Reductionism
There is a major danger in Christian culture and the self-seeking culture at large that we live in: the theological sin of reductionism. Ok, calm down I know that’s a big word but it’s a simple idea. Reductionism is when we emphasize and claim certain aspects of truth while ignoring others. For example reductionism happens if you only define sin as actions and ignore attitudes or thoughts that can be sinful.

The good news is that the Scriptures are going to constantly work against reductionism in our lives and I think they will help us have a full understanding of the question: “What does it mean to be able to say “to live is Christ”?

Go read John 14:1-6.

John 14:6 is one of those “popular verses” that we like to slap on coffee mugs and under inspirational pictures of sunsets and geese flying over a moose. Whether you grew up in the church or not, you’ve probably heard it some number of times. But what does it mean?

The Way
This is probably the easiest aspect of the answer to understand, while NONE of the aspects are easy to live out. The difference in a student and a follower (or disciple) is that a student learns what the teacher knows, but a follower learns to do what the master does. In other words, if you are ever going to claim like Paul does that “to live is Christ”, it’s going to take more than just believing Jesus died on a cross and rose from the grave and gives you a free, all expense paid vacation to Heaven when you die. It requires that you model His actions and live in the way that He lived.

If you read the gospels and watch Jesus interact with society and His followers and respond mentally “wow that Jesus sure is neat” while running back to your life with no question as to how you should change, you’re in danger. You’re in danger of being a very religious Christian person, and not being a Christ follower. This is an unfortunately huge danger in our Bible-belt culture.
<> When you look at Jesus life, do you ask yourself what needs to change in your actions in order to be a reflection of Jesus?
<> Is your pursuit of Jesus purely academic/ritual, or are you allowing Him to transform your daily actions?
<> How much do you really know about what Jesus did?
(One of the best things for any follower of Jesus to do is to take a step back and look at the gospels. List out actions that we see Jesus doing (loving the poor, preaching the Word of God, confronting religious people, sacrificing to serve, breaking social norms, healing the sick, etc.) and then list out the actions you see yourself doing and compare the two lists.)

The Truth
This is not a popular aspect of following Jesus. The reason is that in a response to enlightenment culture, the church tried to figure God out into a whole bunch of formulas. To anyone with a brain, that doesn’t work well. God is bigger than our neat little formulas. BUT, that doesn’t mean that He isn’t true, and that He doesn’t make Himself knowable through His revelation and that He doesn’t contradict every world religion that teaches anything other than the fact that we need Jesus.

In order to follow Jesus you have to follow His model AND you have to trust that what He says is true. Sometimes they are hard things to accept are true because of what they mean for other people (i.e. the end of vs. 6 “no one comes to the Father, but through me.”) Sometimes they are hard things to accept are true because they contradict our feelings (i.e. Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God . . . “).

<> How much do you know about what Jesus says is true?
(Just like following in His Way, a simple study through the gospels looking for what He said was true would be awesomely good for you.)
<> Are there things Jesus said that you disagree with? When that is the case what should you do?
<> Are you willing to speak the truth to people (who agree and need a reminder or who disagree with Jesus)?

Here’s why this is such a HUGE issue. Hebrews 3:11 says “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Ultimately our enemies goal is not that we would fail morally and cheat on our wives or fail to raise our kids well (although he wants that very much). Ultimately our enemy wants to have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from Jesus. That process begins with doubt that Jesus is truth.

The Life
If you followed obediently in the way and truth of Jesus you would be a pretty dang good Christian huh? You act like Jesus, you talk like Jesus, AND you think like Jesus!? Dang son. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He continues to say that He is the life. What is something without life? Dead. Please take careful note: You can waste your entire life trying to be exactly like Jesus, and you could memorize every doctrinal truth ever written in the scriptures and contend publicly for the truth of Jesus, and you could still be dead inside.

Go read John 10:1-18.
<> What does Jesus claim about Himself in vs. 7 and 10?
<> Have you entered by the gate that is Jesus? Have you come to a point in your life where you’ve put your whole hope and trust in Jesus as your only shot at life?
<> What does Jesus claim about His sheep in vs. 4?
<> Do you know His voice? Are you learning to hear Him in a daily way?

Jesus being our life has two main implications: 1.) At some point either He birthed new life in us or we are still dead and 2.) Either He is daily giving us life as we listen to His voice or we are continuing to walk walking in our old death (SIN).

Balance
If you just follow in the way of Jesus and agree with His truth, inevitably you’ll end up prideful because you think it’s based on what you do and think and not based on the life that He has given you and is giving you.

If you just follow in the way of Jesus and trust Him to provide your life, but don’t agree with what He says is true, you are confusing to everyone around you and eventually your own duplicity will cause you to have an unbelieving heart as you fall away from the true living God.

If you just think that Jesus is true and are assured of the life He is giving you, you become a lazy, religious person who has none of the impact that Jesus wants you to have in this world and you never look like Him.

So, go seek Him. Seek to follow His Way, to agree with His truth, and to live out of His life. “To live is Christ.” Get to it.