The Discipleship Ministry of Scott Chafee
This is an unbelievable illustration of what the Father has done for us. He sacrificed his own Son so that all might have life. God’s gift of grace came at a very high price. This bridge operator sacrificed the life of his own son because he knew that the lives of countless others hung on his decision. The people pass over the bridge without a care in the world, oblivious to the sacrifice paid for their salvation. How you see the price God paid to express his grace?
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Britt Nicole has a great song that challenges us to shine the light of Christ to all those around us. She introduces the song, and then K-Love had the premier of the official music video:
George Barna was asked the following question: If you were pastor of a typical church today, what practical things might you do to reach those outside? His response:
1. First, I’d make sure everyone in the body knew that evangelism without discipleship is spiritual abuse. We have so many people who work hard to get people saved, then abandon those individuals the moment they’ve said the magic words.
2. Second, I’d gear our worship services exclusively to those who truly love Christ. If an unchurched person wanders in, that’s fine, but if they did, I’d want them to be blown away by the presence of God, the commitment of the people to that presence, by the robustness of the worship, and by the sincerity of the congregation regarding knowing God ever more deeply. The goal of worship is worship, not evangelism.
3. Third, I’d shift the strategy from training people in the steps we think will lead people to Christ to empowering people to just be real. Nonbelievers are more impressed by a good friend who genuinely loves Jesus and lives accordingly than by a well-intentioned debater who wants to argue everyone into the kingdom.
4. Fourth, as part of that strategy I’d invest heavily in developing the worldview of the believers. Because people find Christ through relationships, not the impartation of information about Christ, it’s important that believers understand how to see the world through a lens of faith and know how to communicate their faith in relation to every life circumstance, without harassing or degrading people. Know what you believe and why, and be able to relate it to every circumstance, which allows you to talk to people about their experiences and hopes without feeling as if you have to persuade them to adopt your point of view. Besides, it’s the Holy Spirit that convicts and converts people, not us.
5. Fifth, I’d focus the majority of our outreach resources on children, not adults. Few adults get converted. The vast majority of people who ever embrace Christ do so when they’re young usually before they hit the teen years. Every adult who’s interested in doing meaningful ministry would be encouraged to find a way to serve the kids in the church and community. And I’d do whatever we could to empower the kids to share their faith with their family and friends.
– From What Do the Unchurched Want? in Rev!, July/August 2006
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On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed eleven workers, devastating eleven families from Day One. I’ve read this is the worst environmental disaster in US history, but just how big is the spill? Imagine if the spill was in Virginia Beach, how far would it reach?
Today, this event in the Gulf is on Day 56, completing eight full weeks of disaster for the Gulf coast, but on a serious and spiritual note, I have a few questions to ask…
How is our sin like an oil spill? Let me suggest that as the oil comes from deep inside the earth and gushes out to destroy life and the environment, our personal sin comes from the deepest and darkest regions inside of us and also leads to a similar destruction of life and family.
How do we tend to deal with that sin? The experts at BP and the US government have tried numerous methods to cap the well and stop the flow of oil. One method after another has failed and we wonder if the oil leak will ever be stopped. What are some ways that we try to cap the sin spillage in our lives? We try one thing after another until we discover that there is only one way to cap the sin problem we have, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (John 14:6, Romans 5:8). The bottom line is that we try to cap the well on our own, with little success. When a relationship is breached, the only way to mend the relationship is to follow the prescription of the offended one. We cannot come to him on our own terms.
How can we clean up the mess we have created? BP is utilizing thousands of employees and volunteers to help clean up this oil spill. When it comes to getting rid of sin, if we could clean up on our own, we would not really need Jesus or the Holy Spirit to work through us. The goal of the believer is to conform to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29) and the Spirit is called our Helper (John 15:26). Let’s work in partnership with the Holy Spirit to conform to the image of the Son. That’s what sanctification is all about, becoming more and more like Jesus in thought, word and deed. So, for those who have trusted Christ, the gospel has effectively capped our rampant sin spillage.
How does sin impact the lives of others? Just as this oil spill has affected hundreds of thousands of people and communities, sin also has a lasting effect on others. Think about how your sin has affected those around you; your relationships at work, with your wife, your business dealings, your peace. The dark oil of sin is lurking just off the coast ready to destroy whatever it can cover. We can set out a boom, but the source of the leak needs to be capped.
Why do we often feel so helpless? Romans 1:16 tells us about the power that is available to us, to save everyone from the looming oil spill of sin. Tony Hayward said in the BP public relations commercial that “we will make this right.” The “good news tells us how God makes us right in his sight.” (Romans 1:17) Praise God that he has been in charge from Day One and gets the job done for those who know they cannot survive without him.
This section of First Peter deals with God’s Salvation and the duties of God’s people. We are not saved just to sit and soak, but to serve, to worship, to become more and more like Jesus.
Duties Concerning the Scripture (1 Peter 2:1, 2)
Desire pure or sincere milk – desire speaks to an intense yearning (Psalm 19:9, 10). Israel had shown no desire for the Word of God in the Old Testament, so when Jesus appeared, they viewed him in the same manner (Isaiah 53:2). The word sincere is literally unadulterated, meaning nothing is mixed with it.
Duties Concerning the Savior (1 Peter 2:3-8)
Duties Concerning the Saints (1 Peter 2:9, 10)
To serve as priests of God – some thoughts about the priesthood:
To shine as beacons of light (1 Peter 2:9) calling others out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Duties Concerning the Sacrificer, he or she offers:
Salvation is a multistage event in the life of a believer: justification is being saved from the past (all of our sin) and becoming “just as if I’d never sinned;” sanctification is the life-long process of growing in Christ, into his image (Romans 8:29) and becoming more like him in thought, word and action; and glorification, which is the ultimate and final state of being in God’s presence, standing before him without sin. We did not do anything to earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8, 9) because Jesus paid the price so we can enter into the Father’s presence.
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I was able to give the message at King’s Grant and the topic of the day was, “What are the marks of a mature Christian?” Since Paul encourages believers to examine themselves to see if they are of the faith (1 Corinthians 11:28), I found at least twelve “marks” or “tests” to see whether one is a true follower of Christ. My prayer is that as you read this list, allow God to bring you to a proper understanding of where you stand with Christ.
1. Fellowship with God and Christians – 1 John 1:3-4
Immaturity says that belief is all one needs; just believe the right stuff about Jesus, accept Him, pray a prayer, come to church only when it’s convenient, and when you do, don’t get involved with a small group. A small group is where fellowship really happens. The Greek word, koinonia, means sharing a common life.
Maturity says that fellowship with God and other believers is important. How? What does this mean? Practically… we gather together for worship and in small groups; we don’t have fellowship by staring at the back of another person’s head! Fellowship allows us to get involved, get to know each other, bear one another’s burdens, and help each other to grow into the likeness of Christ.
Remedy: Like a log on a bonfire, the log that rolled away needs to be thrown back into the pile in order to be on fire. Otherwise the lone log will gradually dim and grow cold. Get back into a local church and get involved in a small group. Christianity was not meant to be lived in isolation; real life change comes in community, not a cocoon.
2. Sensitivity to sin – 1 John 1:5-10, 3:8, 5:18
Immaturity says that sin is not really a big deal, everybody does it, nobody’s perfect, I can stop if I want to, I’m not hurting anybody; but sin is missing the mark, hamartia, falling short of the target that God has set for us. Lack of sensitivity to sin is like cultivating a calloused heart, layers of excuses, apathy, failure, all lead to a hardened heart where sin does not bother you any more.
Maturity says that sin is a serious matter, and I need to deal with it as God tells me to. Sin brings death; the Son brings life (John 3:36).
Remedy: Confession of sin is not telling God something He doesn’t already know, but agreeing with God about the seriousness of my sin. Sin separates us from God like an umbrella shields us from the rain; God’s blessing and fellowship cannot get through when we are holding up our umbrella of sin. Recognize sin, confess sin, get serious with the removal of sin from your life. We need God for this, if we could clean up our own lives on our own, we wouldn’t need Christ.
3. Obedience to His Word – 1 John 2:3-5, 3:24, 5:2
Immaturity says that all I have to do in order to be saved is believe the stories of Jesus. I don’t have to be a fanatic of this Christianity stuff, like keep all those rules in the Bible.
Maturity says that if I truly have faith, I will want to demonstrate that faith in meaningful and practical ways. A child who tells his father that he loves him yet lives in total rebellion to the father’s will does not really love his father. Jesus said, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words.” (John 14:24)
Remedy: Discover what the Lord requires (Micah 6:8), follow His commands (1 Samuel 15:11, Matthew 5:19, John 14:15, 15:10, 1 Timothy 6:14), act in a manner worthy of the salvation that has been so freely given (Ephesians 4:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:11). God’s grace is free because it cost you nothing, but it is costly because it cost God the sacrifice of His only Son (Romans 5:8, John 3:16). How do we discover God’s commands? Read His word, discuss His word in a small group, and hide His word in your Heart so that you may not sin against God (Psalm 119:105).
4. Attitude toward the world – 1 John 2:15
Immaturity says that I need to be just like the world in order to identify with others, keep up with the Jones’, acquire more stuff, build debt in order to live beyond my means. If you want to be a winner, you have to drive like a winner. I serve a first class God and He expects me to live a first class life. I must live for today, get all I can, can all I get and just live for now.
Maturity says that this world is temporary and things do not last nor do they bring ultimate satisfaction. Everything on Earth will all pass away, except the Word of God (Isaiah 40:8) and people (Revelation 22:5), both will last forever.
Remedy: Have a proper perspective on possessions, power and popularity. You can be a follower of Christ and have all of these but the pursuit of them at the wrong time, in the wrong way for the wrong reason often leads to worldliness.
5. Persecution because of Christ – 1 John 2:18-19
Immaturity says that since I am a believer, God will shield me from trials, troubles and temptation. Life is much easier as a believer; if times are tough, it’s because I’ve done something wrong or am living in sin, or have forgotten to confess something.
Maturity says that since the world hated and persecuted Christ and the early church, why should I expect to be treated any differently (John 15:18-19)? Here, John says it’s the last hour, and in the last quarter, the enemy wants to tear down all that Christ has established. Many enemies of Christ have arisen; they started out with them, but have not remained faithful. They turned to the dark side, going against Christ (anti Christ).
Remedy: Stand strong with the body of Christ, the church; remain in solid fellowship with sound doctrinal belief. Understand that there are many who have tasted from the River of Life but have turned back to their former ways (Hebrews 6:4, 5, 6, Matthew 13:20, 21), and have fanned into flame a critical spirit of Christianity. Many former believers will ridicule the faith and those who hold dear the truths of the Bible. They are not apathetic about Christ, they have become anti-Christ. Their goal is for Christianity to be removed from every corner of society. Expect persecution; Paul tells us that all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).
6. Anticipation of the second coming – 1 John 3:2-3
Immaturity says that I have plenty of time before Jesus returns; I want to travel, get married, earn a million, run for office, complete a marathon, experience the pleasures of the world, get my degree… I’m in no hurry to get my life straightened out.
Maturity says that this life is but a vapor and will quickly pass away (James 4:14). When He finally comes back at the Father’s command (Mark 13:32), John tells us that we shall be like Him and will see Him as He is; perfect and sinless (1 John 2:2). John mentions having this hope, fixed on Christ. Hope looks to the future, and we as believers ought to be ready (Matthew 24:42, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 3:15, Revelation 21:2).
Remedy: Allow God to convict us of sin (John 16:8) and let His cleansing make us ready to see Christ. When He comes, we do not want to be caught off guard and ashamed (Luke 9:26, Romans 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:8, 2:15). If we live with the anticipation of His coming, our behavior will change. We begin to live as a bride getting ready for her wedding day; keeping herself pure and spotless, waiting for her Groom and the big celebration (Revelation 21:2, 9).
7. Lifestyle of godliness – 1 John 3:5-6
Immaturity says that my lifestyle does not need to be in line with my beliefs. I’m saved and it doesn’t matter how I live, I’m secure and on my way to heaven. Once saved, always saved.
Maturity says that because of my beliefs, I will bring my life in line with the commands of Christ. The one who has his hope in Christ will purify himself; as an act of the will. We are to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). We must conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and since He is pure, we are to be pure. Don’t live like the world.
Remedy: We will never be sinless, but hopefully we will sin less next week than we did last week. The will of God is your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3), meaning we must become more and more like Christ every day.
8. Love for each other – 1 John 3:11, 14, 16-18
Immaturity says that I don’t have to forgive or love those whom I don’t like. It’s my right to hold a grudge for what they did to me.
Maturity says that we love each other, and even our enemies (Matthew 5:44), because love is from God. God IS love (1 John 4:7). Love is active and not passive. God so loved us that He acted (John 3:16, Romans 5:8).
Remedy: Notice the parallel between John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16. The Father loved, and gave, and laid down His only Son; we are to love others and lay down our lives for the brethren. First John 3:18 tells us to not love in word only, but with actions. James writes similarly (James 2:17, 26). Think of practical ways that you can love and serve others out of the abundance of gratitude we have for what God has done for us.
9. Discernment between good and evil – 1 John 4:1-6, 5:20
Immaturity says that knowing right from wrong or truth from error is something the pastor determines; or some other authority figure in my life.
Maturity says that since I have the Holy Spirit in my life, I am able to recognize spiritual error when I see it. I will not fall to faddish false teaching that leads people away from the truth found in the Bible.
Remedy: To be mature we need to grow up in all aspects pertaining to God (Ephesians 4:15). Someone may come to you with some new teaching that is called a “revelation from God” so we must be able to recognize such error. We may not be able to quote the Scripture, but the witness of the Spirit tells us that something is just not right. A lot of this preparation comes from Christian education that we find in the body of Christ. Just why is Sunday School so important? Not only is it our most effective strategy to reach lost people with the gospel, but it helps prepare believers for the times when the enemy will throw error our way to see if we can be led astray. A mature Christian is one who is continually learning God’s Word.
10. Witness of the Spirit – 1 John 4:13, 3:24
Immaturity says that we cannot really know that we are saved; therefore we live in doubt and fear about our eternal security.
Maturity says that God intends for us to be confident in our salvation and our future, because He has given us His Spirit to live inside of us.
Remedy: Allow God to take up residence in your heart. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). The Spirit will become our Helper (John 16:7) and our Guide who will disclose the truth to us (John 16:13). The more we know the Bible, the more the truth is implanted in our hearts, and the inner witness of the Spirit will give us confidence that we belong to Him.
11. Settled doctrinal belief – 1 John 5:1-2, 4:14-15
Immaturity says that God may not be finished in revealing His plan to mankind; that new revelation happens today that can change our spiritual understanding. Who is to say that we have it right? What if God should reveal something new? Aren’t all religions equally true? Isn’t is narrow minded to claim Jesus is the only way to salvation or heaven?
Maturity says that the Bible is our only source of faith and practice. Peter tells us that God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). John tells us that no one is to add or take away from this book (Revelation 22:18, 19 – whether this is just the book of the Revelation prophecy or on a larger scale to include the entire Bible).
Remedy: Have a settled doctrinal belief. Be convinced that only those who love the Child born of God are really lovers of the Father. No one knocking on the door claiming the existence of modern apostles and new revelation are going to bring doubt in your mind. No one telling you that there are other ways of getting into a right relationship with God will cause you to rethink your theology. You will take no consideration to anyone claiming that Jesus is not God incarnate, the God-Man, deity in a manger and the risen Savior who is alive today, who invites you into an everlasting relationship with Him, and who is right here present with us today, knocking on the door of your heart.
These are the marks of a mature Christian, and I trust that you can examine yourself this day, to see whether you are in the faith, or if you need to get started on the greatest journey of all.
12. Answered prayer – 1 John 5:14-15
Immaturity says that prayer is an archaic practice that borders on superstition; why pray when it appears God does not answer?
Maturity says that prayer is worthwhile, not because of how God answers, but because prayer helps develop our relationship with God. Prayer is communication with the one who loves us and saves us. We spend time with those whom we love, and we communicate by talking and listening. Prayer is not a magical incantation that gets us the desires of our heart; name it and claim it.
Remedy: Answered prayer is not just getting what you ask for, but it is the confidence we have that He hears us (Condition alert – IF we ask according to His will). How do we know He hears us, answered prayer; but according to His will is the key. When we lose self, embrace Christ, and literally go “through the pit” with Christ (in order to get the mind of Christ), what we ask for will change. When we ask in accordance to God’s will, he hears and answers.
A simple yet profound definition of sanctification is the life-long process of becoming more and more like Jesus. Some pseudo-Christian groups teach that believers will actually becomes like Jesus… like a god to rule over your own world, but I’m talking about becoming more and more Christ-like in our thoughts, attitudes, actions, and habits.
Salvation comes to a person is multiple ways. Notice I did not say that there are multiple ways to be saved! When someone decides to commit themselves to Jesus and become a follower of Christ, he is saved from every sin he has ever committed, and will ever commit. This is justification (becoming just as if I’d never sinned). Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ and then glorification occurs when we finally see Jesus face to face, basically when we make it to heaven. There, we will finally be able to not sin! Three facets of one salvation. So in answering the question of my salvation, I can honestly say, “Yes, partly and no.”
So what biblical support can I give that growing in faith and godliness is the right thing for a follower of Christ to do?
It is amazing to me that someone could pray a prayer, come to Christ, receive His salvation and yet not commit to God wholeheartedly enough to eliminate sin and ungodliness from their life, and be content to remain a “baby” Christian until they die. To me, it seems like a situation of premature death.
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The Men of Steel looked into this topic; this lame man represents all men and the issues we face:
I thought I was finished with the Lame Man at the Gate, but not so fast, here’s part four… I find his story very appropriate for men today, and I have another observation to bring up. (Acts 3:2)
Remember that friends carried this lame guy to the gate, and at the end of the day they took him back to his home. Take a look at just where they left him; at a gate of the temple that was so beautiful that they called it the “Beautiful Gate.” See the irony? This man had an ugly problem and it matters little that he was at the Beautiful Gate! Any man with an ugly problem (visible or secret) cannot enjoy or appreciate the beauty around him.
Don’t forget, all this is taking place in the Promised Land, the “land flowing with milk and honey.” This was a descriptive for God’s care, provision and blessing; providing His people with the land that He promised Abraham generations ago. As a lame man, he was not able to enter the temple (2 Samuel 5:8), which was reserved for able-bodied men. Even though he was in the right place, he’s not really a part of the religious community.
Today, so many men are close to being in the right place, they are not fully there. They’re close enough to the church to know what’s going on, to know who’s who and what is being preached, but they are not all the way into the body of Christ. These guys are trapped at the gate.
The contemporary Christian music group, Building 429, has a song out called, “You Carried Me” (fits the lame theme, right?). Here are a few lines from the song…
I’ve been so busy. I missed the reasons.
I missed Your love and I nearly missed it all.
Still You’ve held me and You’ve healed me.
You’ve given all and it brought me to Your cross.
And I stand only because
You’ve given me grace to walk, only because…You carried me. You carried me.
You carried me through it all.
And I believe. Yes I believe.
You’ll carry me all the way home, ‘cause mercy covers all.I know the Scripture. I’ve known the songs.
I sang the words from my hollowed heart.
But You’ve spoken softly through the storm.
I’ve heard Your voice and I’ve felt the calm.
We can be so familiar with the church and the ritual that we fail to encounter the God whom the church worships and serves. He is the only reason we gather in the first place. Men can sit at a distance, at a beautiful gate, and then feel as if they are exactly where they need to be. But they are still trapped by their ugly problem, this whole life-affecting problem. They don’t get it; that God can heal their heart, their marriage, their family, their relationships, and touch their soul and bring peace, purpose and potential.
All this to say that men today can be so close to the church yet still embrace the problem that causes their lameness. Rather than going through the motions, we need to get connected to the source of life, meaning and our only real help. God can carry us through our brokenness, and when that happens, the essence of the beautiful gate will rub off on us and we can live up to it’s name.
Talk about making a difference… Os Hillman wrote an interesting list of changes that might happen if Jesus took your place in the office this year. We might imagine:
Sounds like some good ideas we could each model, at work and .
Men, how can you really make a difference in the office knowing these details listed above? Can we commit to praying diligently for personal boldness…
You know, we are not promised that the Christian life would be easy! I’m fascinated by the story of the early church in Acts 4. Peter and John have been jailed, flogged, warned not to speak about Jesus or the resurrection, and then released. Following all the threats and persecution of believers, the early church prays. What I find fascinating is that in their prayer, during this threat of persecution, was not a word about God ending the persecution, but that they might boldly speak the Word of God in confidence (Acts 4:29).
How can we match there tenacity, confidence and boldness in living out what we say we believe? While the Christian life may not be easy, we are promised that we do not go through this life alone!
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Perhaps you saw the Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. It was all about last twenty-four hours of Jesus’ life. During one flashback scene, Jesus was in his carpentry shop making a table with his mother standing by playfully observing. It was a beautiful scene that reminded me that Jesus was a carpenter for most of his life. In fact, in the eyes of the people, Jesus was more qualified to be a carpenter than the Son of God. Jesus had a history of which they all knew. He was a young working class man from Nazareth.
I recently read Os Hillman as he comments on the public life of Jesus:
Consider that in the New Testament of Jesus’ 132 public appearances, 122 were in the marketplace. Of 52 parables Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context. Of 40 miracles in the book of Acts, 39 were in the marketplace. Jesus spent his adult life as a carpenter until age 30 before he went into a preaching ministry in the workplace. And, 54% of Jesus’ reported teaching ministry arose out of issues posed by others in the scope of daily life experience. Saint Bonaventure said, “His doing nothing ‘wonderful’ (his first 30-years) was in itself a kind of wonder.”
Work, in its different forms, is mentioned a lot in the Bible; more than all the words used to express worship, music, praise, and singing combined. God created work and He is a worker Himself (Gen 2:1-2). Adam is given a task way before the fall; he is to work the garden (Gen 2:15). Jesus tells us about the work of the Father, and that He, too, is to be at work (John 5:17).
My point is that the next time you are tempted to minimize your daily work as anything less than a holy calling, remember that Jesus was a minister in the workplace; a carpenter in his community. He has called you and me to reflect His glory in our everyday work.
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