Article used by permission of http://www.gbod.org/
Opening Ourselves to Grace: The Basics of Christian Discipleship
Have you ever fallen in love? Do you
remember what it was like? Your beloved consumed your every waking
thought. You could not wait until you were able to embrace this person
and express your love and devotion. When you were with your beloved,
you felt complete and fully alive. You were more aware of the world
around you because everything reminded you of your beloved. Your love
grew when you spent time with your beloved and shared your life with
this person. As time went by, you sought each day to become more like
your beloved. Your love was all-consuming. It affected every aspect of
your life. Your relationship with the beloved became part of you and
formed your identity.
Christian discipleship is a
relationship with Jesus Christ not unlike that which you share with the
one with whom you fell in love. When we accept Jesus' invitation to
take up our cross daily and follow him (see Luke 9:23), we become his
friends (see John 15:14-17) and members of his family (Romans 8:15-17;
Galatians 4:1-7). This relationship is a matter of heart and life.
In this paper we will explore how
to live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We will learn about God's
grace, which is the character of the divine-human relationship, and we
will learn the basic practices God has given to draw us to Christ and
keep us with him. These basic practices of Christian faith and life are
known in the Wesleyan tradition as the means of grace. If love
describes the what of our relationship with Christ, the means
of grace are how we live with Christ in the world and grow in
loving and knowing God, our neighbors, and ourselves.
Christian faith is more
than agreeing with a set of doctrines or creeds. It is
more than outward appearances, signs, and symbols. It’s more
than saying “I’m
a Christian.”
Faith is ultimately about what is
happening on the inside. It is a heart changed by an encounter with the
living God
who comes to us in Jesus Christ. The changed heart makes a
difference in the way we live our lives in the world.
This life begins with
forgiveness of our sins. When we acknowledge who we are (sinners in need
of forgiveness), we can begin living into the lives God desires for us
as his beloved children. With forgiveness comes freedom from sin and
death so that we can love God with
all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love those whom
God loves; as God
loves them, in Christ. All this is God’s gift to the world –
grace.
As we live this life, we become
channels of grace for the world. As we walk
with Christ in the world, he gradually removes the blockages
to grace we have
built up. As the barriers come down, his grace can flow
through us for the world.
Walking with Christ in the world changes us into the human
beings God created us to be. He forms our character into a reflection of
his. The
goal of this life is to “have the mind of Christ”
(Philippians 2:5). God does this in
us as we “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:13).
Let Us Plead
for Faith Alone
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
Let
us plead for faith alone,
Faith which by our works is shown;
God it is who justifies,
Only faith the grace applies.
Active faith that lives within,
Conquers hell and death and sin,
Hallows whom it first made whole,
Forms the Savior in the soul
(Charles
Wesley, 1740)
These lines from Charles
Wesley describe the life into which God invites
us. Faith is the heart of this life. This understanding of
faith is relational. Faith is
how we live with the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ.
Such a faith is belief, trust, and hope in God – the God who is revealed
in the history of the
people of Israel; in the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ; and in the life
of the church. Faith in this God is
a living and active faith that is shown by how we live and
love in the world. This
faith is a gift from God; it is grace applied to life. Such
faith gives freedom to love.
As we grow in loving God and those whom God loves, our
character is formed
more and more into the character of Christ. Active, living,
vital faith “forms the
Savior in the soul.”
A Prayer of
John Wesley:
“O that we may
all receive of Christ’s fullness, grace upon grace;
grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities;
to justify our persons and to sanctify our souls;
and to complete that holy change, that renewal of our
hearts,
whereby we may be transformed
into that blessed image wherein thou didst create us.”
In this prayer, John
Wesley summarizes the dynamic of grace. It moves in, with, through, and
for the world for healing leading to wholeness; reconciliation leading
to
genuine trust, righteousness, and justice. Grace is the love
of God, incarnate in
Jesus Christ, and activated in the Holy Spirit, given to
draw the world to God. By grace, God restores individuals and
communities to right
relationship in order to heal and form the image of Christ –
damaged by sin – into
wholeness. This is salvation. It is both the forgiveness of
sin and
the healing of broken human lives into wholeness in the
likeness of Christ.
Baptismal
Covenant Commendation and Welcome
Members of the household of
God,
I commend these persons to your love and care.
Do all in your power to increase their faith,
confirm their hope, and perfect them
in love.
The life of grace God
gives is lived with others in God’s household (John
15:16; Ephesians 2:19-22). The grace God gives is a
responsible grace. It is
responsible in two ways. First, as a gift that is offered
freely and without price, it
must be received and accepted as a gift. Because the
gift is God’s unconditional
love and acceptance, God does not impose the gift on
anyone. We are
free to respond with indifference, rejection, or
acceptance. Second, if we choose
to accept the gift and enter into God’s way of life in
God’s household, with that
acceptance comes accountability.
As members of God’s family, we must
live
by God’s household rules (loving God with all our heart,
soul, mind, and
strength, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and loving one
another as Christ
loves). Therefore, we are responsible for one another
“for building up the body of
Christ, until all of us come to the knowledge of the Son of
God, to maturity to the
measure of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
The life that God gives
cannot be lived alone. It must be lived in a community (the
church) of love and
forgiveness in which all are nurtured, challenged, and
accountable for growing in
love to become fully the human beings God created them to
be. In other words,
grace equips and empowers each person to “do all in your
power to increase
their faith, confirm their hope and perfect them in love.”
NEXT:
What is Grace?
