The Lordship Of Christ 2

The Lordship Of Christ 2 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST by Bill Jackson (part 2 of 4) Chapter 2 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN

A Christian is a person who is eternally secure in Christ the Lord; he is not one who is asked to make Christ Lord. He is already Lord. However, failure to recognize this fact can lead to dismal failure in the Christian life. Recognition of and glad adherence to His Lordship are the only factors necessary for success in the Christian life. This be real and practical; it is easy to begin every prayer, “Lord Jesus, we love You”, and not truly obey His commands. Anyone can say “Christ is Lord”, but an overcoming Christian will gladly obey Him even when this leads in dark, perilous ways. It is in darkness, danger and trial that the Lordship of Christ becomes vividly real.

The first aspect we shall consider is that Jesus must be Lord of all our aims. Every person who is going somewhere must be aiming at something. A ship without a chart is a pitiable object on the raging sea of life. Hebrews 12 gives us a clear picture of the aim of every Christian’s life.

We are first reminded that we are encircled by a cloud of witnesses; these are testifying to the faithfulness of God manifested in the battles of faith in Hebrews 11. Note that many of the heroes did not seem, by earthly standards, to have won. Some wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. They were nobodies, but God says they proved their worth in an unworthy world. We can think that if God says “Well done” to some of us, He will have to apologize to these heroes of faith.

We are to lay aside every weight and the sin which often besets us, and run with patience the race that is set before us. This is speaking of cheerful endurance as we move through the fiery darts of Satan; it is the spirit like that of the immortal soldiers in Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade”.

“Cannon to the left of them,
cannon to the right of them,

Cannon in front of them
volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,
boldly they rode, and well

Into the jaws of death,
into the mouth of hell…”

When you are running the race, Christian, take heed that you are running on the right race track. You may be running for security, popularity, prestige; your church may be running for attendance, or results; you may be seeking a ministry or a wife; you may be running for 101 reasons, and yet be on the wrong race track. Pity the man who has attained, has won his race, has gained his prize, only to have the Lord look with sadness and say, “You ran well, but you ran the wrong race. I wanted you to run to Me, and I would have given you all this and more. You reached your goal, but you failed in the only valid race.”

This is pictured well in Philippians 3: “…I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:…, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” The substance of every Christian life is summed up, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Christian, consider what race track you are on. What is your object, your goal? “That I may know Him…” Unexciting indeed to many Christians of this age who have ambitious goals and aims. May our ambition be that we become nothing, that we may find our all in the one worthy goal of a Christian life.

“My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, My God. ‘Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His ‘At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.’

So faith bounds forward to its goal in God and love can trust her Lord to lead her there; Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard ‘Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark; No matter though the cost be oftimes great; He knoweth best how I shall reach the mark; The way that leads to Him must needs be straight. One thing I do know, I cannot say Him nay; One thing I do, I press toward my Lord. My God, my glory here from day to day And in the Glory there my great reward.”

As we faithfully pursue the goal that is authorized, God has promised to meet every need. If we need a wife, she will be there, when we need her! If we need some money, it will be there, when we need it! Whatever we need He will supply. If our only goal were to have, from Him, all and only what He ordains us to have, what satisfaction we would find in the Christian life.

He is the Lord of all our alliances, and has laid down specific rules for these in His Word. To flout these instructions is to invite decay and death; to obey them, though obedience may seem difficult, is an open door to His blessing.

II Corinthians 6:14 commands us not to take on an unequal yoke; i.e., ally ourselves with that which is not of Him. It may be in the business world that we are tempted. Someone is an astute businessman, and while not a Christian, he is really as good as some Christians we know. Could not I go into partnership with Him, and thereby really succeed so I can honor God with the profits of my business? The answer is simple: NO! God cannot be honored by that which is the fruit of disobedience. You cannot be a business partner with an unsaved man.

It doesn’t seem, however, that the Bible forbids your being in the employ of an unsaved man. If you are, God’s Word tells you to do your best “as unto the Lord”. It is the alliance that the Bible speaks so plainly against.

Most Christian young people will freely admit that the unequal yoke pertains to marriage: never marry an unbeliever. That is, most young people except those who dated unsaved people, fell in love with them, and therefore are basing their opinion not on the Word of God, but on the idea that “they feel good about it” and “they can always win the person after marriage.”

A young man in a university was contemplating asking an unsaved girl to marry him. She was sweet and nice, and they seemed intellectually compatible. Just before he was to propose, he asked the advise of a Christian professor. This is the story that the professor told.

“When I was a young man, I too fell in love with an unsaved girl. She was so intelligent, and it seemed we were meant for each other. Before I proposed to her, I decided to ask my minister for advice. He strongly advised me not to marry her, and to immediately give her up. It was a tough decision to make, for I loved her very much. But I finally decided.” “You gave her up for the Lord?” “No, I married her. Jim, my wife is a wonderful person, but she

is not a Christian. I have never been able to lead her to the Lord. There are many things we share, but that sweet fellowship of a Christian husband and wife has never been experienced, and a large part of my life is barren because of my disobedience. It may be the hardest thing you can imagine, Jim, but my only advice is that you obey the Lord.”

Many Christian young people have this problem simply because they thought they could date an unsaved person and face no future problems. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It is never to be trusted. The only safe rule is never to date someone you cannot scripturally marry.

A great problem facing American churches today regards ecclesiastical alliances (ecumenism). This concerns allying ones self with other Christians or churches or denominations that are existing in known sin, especially the sin of being allied to God’s religious enemies. Such alliances must be shunned, even at the expense of fellowship you might desire. You must be willing to stand alone for Him.

In the Bible, a clear line of demarcation has been drawn between light and darkness. It is tragic that many Christians by-pass scriptural boundaries in their alliances.

We know there are many who are religious but lost. However, it has begun to seem that such ones, if they gain national prominence, can be sought as useful helpers in co-operative evangelism. We must protest! How can biblical evangelism be furthered by employing those who lightly esteem the Bible, reproach the Name of Christ, show disdain for the perfection of His Work and are in league with the arch-enemies of our Blessed Lord?

We must take care that we never solicit or employ the help of any such person or organization in our Lord’s ministry through us, lest we end up looking to His enemies to bless His Work.

Because Billy Graham’s crusades, movies and books have filled the Christian world, it is necessary for Christians to clearly and scripturally assess their attitudes towards this ministry, and to base their conclusions on scriptural principles. Too often, our reason for allying ourselves to a person or movement is that it works, or seems to be blessed. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our only criterion must be, What does He say about it?

Billy Graham’s motives and ministry are not our responsibility, but it is our responsibility to have the right attitude toward every child of God, and if my assessments be grounded in scripture, I must obey them, not just consider or pray about them.

II John 10 speaks of our attitude toward one who does not abide in the doctrine of Christ. Malcolm Muggeridge was one of the speakers at the 1974 Bill Graham Lausanne Conference. In his book, Jesus Rediscovered, he said, “I prefer to suppose that some body snatcher, accustomed to hanging about Golgotha… heard in his dim-witted way that the King of the Jews was up for execution… So he waits until the job is done, finds out where the corpse has been laid, drags the stone away and then making sure no one is watching, decamps with the body.”

I Corinthians 5:11 speaks of our attitude toward one who is an idolater. In the Catholic Mass, the congregation is called upon to worship the Host, a man-made wafer. On 11/21/67, Billy Graham received an honorary degree at Belmont Abbey College, a Roman Catholic school. In his message he said, “The gospel that built this school and the gospel that brings me here tonight are still the way of salvation.”

II Thessalonians 3:6 admonishes us to withdraw “from every brother that walks disorderly.” At a NCC luncheon, 12/6/77, Billy Graham said, “I don’t know anyone who has done more for the Kingdom of God than Norman and Ruth Peale.” Concerning Christ, Peale said, “I like to describe him as …the nearest thing to God.” (Modern Maturity Magazine).

Romans 16:17,18 tells us to mark those that bring offenses (snares). Certainly a major snare today is the senseless inclusivism of the ecumenical movement. The New York Star, 6/26/79, quotes Dr. Graham: “Protestants I have talked with are thrilled with the new Pope. He is almost an evangelist because he calls people to turn to Christ, to turn to Christianity. Sometimes at the end of my sermons I quote John Paul II because his is an evangelistic message to turn the world to Christ…”

The Roman Catholic view of the Sacrifice of the Mass, strengthened by the ultraconservative stand of John Paul II, has always been emphatic in attributing propitiation to the Mass. As the Vatican II document “The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” states, “It is through the Liturgy that, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, the work of our redemption is accomplished.”

The clear scriptural command is to avoid such a person and his ministry. Every Christian should avoid all involvement with such as Billy Graham meetings, films and books. We should pray, not for the success of his meetings, but for the man, and for other Christians that they may see the plain biblical commands regarding fellowship with such as Billy Graham.

Lest we imagine that such exhortations are formented by disgruntled fundamentalists of today, let us read the words of Charles H. Spurgeon (November 1887):

“Believers in Christ’s atonement are now in declared union with those who make light of it; believers in Holy Scripture are now in confederacy with those who hold evangelical doctrine are in open alliance with those who call the fall a fable, who deny the personality of the Holy Spirit, who call justification by faith immoral…

“Yes, we have before us the wretched spectacle of professedly orthodox Christians publicly avowing their union with those who deny the faith…It is our solemn conviction that where there can be no real spiritual communion there should be no pretense of fellowship. Fellowship with known and vital error is participation in sin.” (The Sword and The Trowel)

Thirdly, He expects to be acknowledged as Lord of our actions. Joshua was reminded, just before he entered the Promised Land, that his strength lay in obedience to God. Jesus said it very aptly, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?”

When deciding about any action, the question is never how much good does it seem to do?, but what does He say about it. If we are confronted with anything that is plainly forbidden in scripture, we should not consider it, pray about it or seek the will of God concerning it. We must obey, without question, what He says in His Word.

A young man, whom the Lord was using in Christian ministry, fell in love with a talented young lady. There was one problem: the lady had a living husband, whom she had divorced when she was not walking with the Lord.

Of course, they had the advantage of living in an age when divorce and remarriage are commonplace, and when it is easy to find Christian friends who are willing to look at all the spiritual possibilities of the union, and bypass scriptural restrictions. Although the man admitted not being able to justify the marriage from scripture, they were married.

Now the problems begin to surface. If the blessing of the Lord seems to be upon the union, those who know of the woman’s previous divorce have to think that God’s blessing is upon disobedience. If the blessing of the Lord is withheld, two talented lives are lost to the Lord’s service. If there is anyone in the local church who feels that it is not God’s will to continue in active fellowship with the church if scriptural discipline is not administered, that person is lost to the local church. If the oversight of the church knew about the problem, allowed the marriage to take place, and then allowed the couple to continue in the local church ministry, the whole concept of the Lordship of Christ in the local church is damaged. If, later on, there are others who are faced with any situation that demands sacrifice in order to be obedient to the Lord, they can always reason that this couple was not obedient and seem successful, so why should they sacrificially obey?

The problem, now out of hand, began when a young couple rather than trust the Lord by obeying Him, began to reason it out, sought counsel concerning the problem, and did everything except that which was required: simply obey.

Of course there is still a solution: repentance and submission to local church discipline. But it is possible that the couple can never know the fullness of the blessing that would have been theirs with obedience to the Lord.

It is so simple when reduced to scriptural priorities. God only demands from us unconditional obedience, total surrender and implicit faith. All of which are our most reasonable service.

There is absolutely no justification for those who try to attach conditions to our obedience to God: if I get the witness in my spirit, I’ll obey. The plain stand must be: if He has spoken, I will obey. We must not think that we will obey IF it seems that it is popular, or if we can see, using human foresight, that things will probably work out all right. Even when we march to the brink of Jordan, we must still go on if He has commanded, and bring our feet over the very brim in simple obedience. If He sees fit, He will roll back the waters; if He wills our feet to get wet, we march on though we march to the death for Him. He is not asking us to obey only in ways that seem prosperous and pleasant; He is asking us to obey regardless. If He delivers, all praise to His Name. He does all things well, and we must simply obey Him unconditionally.

The total surrender He demands is not a pleasant thought, for total surrender means to be reduced to nothing. Nobody wants to be nothing. We all aspire to be something. But we must remember that the power that will truly overcome is His Power; His infinite Power. Those who remember math from school will know you can add nothing to infinity. You cannot add anything or something, but you can add nothing. As long as we are something, the fullness of His Power will never be realized. The Spirit was given without measure to Jesus because of the mind of Jesus as revealed in Philippians 2:5-8.

It is when we become nothing that His power is realized. One reason we find it hard to be nothing is that we are always trying to prove to people that we are something. Therefore, the first step is to realize what we are in Christ; He has made us somebody, a partaker of the Divine nature. When we know who we are in Him, we lose all desire to prove anything to anyone. He could empty Himself, and in so doing He fulfilled God’s requirements and proved the truth of God’s Word in His humiliation and exaltation.

It is the same with us; we understand all that we are in Christ, and we know that our worth to God depends not on our abilities, attitudes or accomplishments. It rests completely upon His Work for us (not in us). Then we can fully yield ourselves to God, Who will do what He wants with us through His mighty power. In this way our Christian lives become fully utilized by God as, in ourselves, we recognize that we are nothing that all may be of Him.

Our problem is that we say we want to decrease because we believe that, in this way, we can increase. So we strive to decrease but all the time we’re really aiming to increase. If we strive to be anything, we deny the biblical truth that we are complete in Him.

Implicit faith. Why? Because He is faithful that promised. The quality of our faith can only equal the completeness of our dependence upon Him, and we can only allow ourselves to be completely dependent on One Whom we know to be completely dependable. Thus, “that I may know him”, becomes more than a sentimental dream; it becomes the foundation upon which our faith may be firmly grounded. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” To know Him is to love Him, to trust Him, to obey Him.

God has an aim for our lives, and that aim is expressed in Hebrews 2:10; “…bringing many sons unto glory…” Jesus is not satisfied with just having washed us in His blood. He wants us to live glorious lives. In the last day He will have to tell the truth about us, and He wants it to be a pleasant truth. He wants to say “Well done”, but He will not tell a lie. It is with profound regret that He will lay many stripes on the backs of them that knew the Father’s will, and did it not (Luke 12:47). “When I stand at the judgement seat of Christ and He shows me His plan for me. The plan of my life as it might have been had He had His way and I see How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there and I would not yield my will; Will there be grief in my Saviour’s eyes; grief, though He loves me still? He would have me rich and I stand there poor; stripped of all but His Grace. While memory runs like a haunted thing down paths I cannot retrace. And my desolate heart will well nigh break with tears that I cannot shed. I will cover my face with my empty hands; I will bow my uncrowned head…” Of course, when we hear of being led to Glory, we think of a King

upon a throne. God’s idea of Glory is very different. It is a King, knowing He is King, laying aside His garments and washing His disciples’ feet. (John 13:3-5)

We read in Job 1:8 that God has a good testimony to give to Job, “a perfect and upright man”, that might seem glorious to us. However, the real glory came several days later when Job, sitting on a dunghill and scraping his boils said, “though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

It matters not (although it often matters a lot to us) whether we finish our days on a throne or a dunghill; what matters is whether we have obeyed Him, surrendered fully to Him, really trusted Him. The Captain of our salvation wants to bring us to Glory, that, with nothing or with plenty we have all things in Him.

The ancient hymnist wrote: “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart Nought be all else to save that Thou art…” We all know certain facts, and because these facts are finite, we

can know many. But to know God, the Infinite One; if we were to truly know Him He would so fill our finite minds that anything else we know could only be known in relationship to Him. May He so be our vision that He completely fills our horizon and we know all things as fully subject to the great Fact in our lives: our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of us have sung the hymn “He’s Everything to Me.” What we really meant was that He is a great deal to us. We must challenge ourselves. Do we really want Him to be everything? Do I want to lose all claim to popularity, all claim to everything? Do I really want to know Him?

Paul, in Philippians 3, states that all things were counted as loss “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (refuse, garbage),” that I may know Him. We have all had God take things from our lives, and then we recognized them as refuse. How many times we have been tempted to leave the vision of Christ, through Whom we see all things aright, and go back and sneak a look out of the back window, with a magnificent view of the garbage can!

Do we mourn for that which He took away? Do I spend a pleasant Sunday afternoon meditating about my garbage can? “The pleasure lost I sadly mourned but never wept for Thee ‘Till grace my sightless eyes received, Thy loveliness to see.”

Entered by Sherie Bennett for S.O.N. (Salvation Online Network) Edited by D. Moore (Computers for Christ #11)