March 31, 2016 ABIDING IN THE TEACHING
2 John 8-9: “Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; for the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”
A lot has been said in Christian circles about believers not being under the law but under grace, and that is certainly true. However, at the same time, there has been misunderstanding and confusion about what it means to live under grace. Being under grace is not a license to do as I please and grace does not absolve me from the instruction to “abide in the teaching of Christ.” We have been freed from the Law and now we have been bound to Christ-to honor Him and serve Him, and in fact, we find true freedom only when we find that we have been joined to Christ and we live as belonging to Him-that’s how we are designed. Grace is not an end in itself, but is an enabler that makes living according to God’s design possible, and the instruction to abide in the teaching of Christ is not to be taken lightly, but rather it should be our focus in life. Jesus taught and demonstrated the kingdom of God, and what He taught was in sharp contrast with the ways of the world. Even though what Jesus taught was from the all-knowing, Creator God, His teaching and its application to everyday life was easily understood. The key point is that what Jesus was taught was not meant to be a set of rules, but was a picture of what kingdom living looked like in the practical. The focus of His teaching was on the heart of man. When we are living according to the new nature-our new heart- that we have been given, our lives will automatically be consistent with the teaching of Jesus and we will not be living by “rules.” When we are abiding in His teaching, we will love our neighbor; we will speak the truth; we will honor others; we will be givers; we will be concerned for the welfare of others; we will pray to our Father; we will forgive; we will have wholesome thoughts; we will not live in fear; we will speak words that build up; we will do what we do as unto the Lord; etc. Again, the life we live reflects our heart, and for that reason, in the verse above, we are told to “watch” ourselves-to make sure we are abiding in His teaching, and in the same verse we find a sobering warning for the one who does not abide in His teaching. The over-riding truth is that Jesus came and He introduced us to the kingdom of God and He taught us how we are to live in His kingdom! Now, as followers of Christ and as good students and disciples, we are to abide in His teaching. There is no higher wisdom and no greater teaching other than what Jesus taught and demonstrated, and when we abide in His teaching, we experience life to the fullest. We must remember the warning found in Psalms 14:12 which tells us that “there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to destruction.” Today, let us desire, let us choose to abide in the teaching of Christ and discover life as God designed.
Matthew 7:24: “Therefore; everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
2 John 8-9: “Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; for the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”
A lot has been said in Christian circles about believers not being under the law but under grace, and that is certainly true. However, at the same time, there has been misunderstanding and confusion about what it means to live under grace. Being under grace is not a license to do as I please and grace does not absolve me from the instruction to “abide in the teaching of Christ.” We have been freed from the Law and now we have been bound to Christ-to honor Him and serve Him, and in fact, we find true freedom only when we find that we have been joined to Christ and we live as belonging to Him-that’s how we are designed. Grace is not an end in itself, but is an enabler that makes living according to God’s design possible, and the instruction to abide in the teaching of Christ is not to be taken lightly, but rather it should be our focus in life. Jesus taught and demonstrated the kingdom of God, and what He taught was in sharp contrast with the ways of the world. Even though what Jesus taught was from the all-knowing, Creator God, His teaching and its application to everyday life was easily understood. The key point is that what Jesus was taught was not meant to be a set of rules, but was a picture of what kingdom living looked like in the practical. The focus of His teaching was on the heart of man. When we are living according to the new nature-our new heart- that we have been given, our lives will automatically be consistent with the teaching of Jesus and we will not be living by “rules.” When we are abiding in His teaching, we will love our neighbor; we will speak the truth; we will honor others; we will be givers; we will be concerned for the welfare of others; we will pray to our Father; we will forgive; we will have wholesome thoughts; we will not live in fear; we will speak words that build up; we will do what we do as unto the Lord; etc. Again, the life we live reflects our heart, and for that reason, in the verse above, we are told to “watch” ourselves-to make sure we are abiding in His teaching, and in the same verse we find a sobering warning for the one who does not abide in His teaching. The over-riding truth is that Jesus came and He introduced us to the kingdom of God and He taught us how we are to live in His kingdom! Now, as followers of Christ and as good students and disciples, we are to abide in His teaching. There is no higher wisdom and no greater teaching other than what Jesus taught and demonstrated, and when we abide in His teaching, we experience life to the fullest. We must remember the warning found in Psalms 14:12 which tells us that “there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to destruction.” Today, let us desire, let us choose to abide in the teaching of Christ and discover life as God designed.
Matthew 7:24: “Therefore; everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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