By Charles Fleming
What does it mean to accept Christ? How do you know when you have accepted him? Do you need to accept Christ as the Lord of your life? Do you need spiritual renewal?When we hear these questions it is easy to get defensive and ask: "Are you questioning my conversion?"
However, one of the first to throw out this type of challenge to a group of Christians was the apostle Paul.
At the end of 2 Corinthians--after expressing his love for the Corinthians, correcting them and giving them loving advice--Paul challenged them with an admonition wrapped around a single, haunting question: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test" (2 Corinthians 13:5-6).
By placing this statement at the end of his letter, he seems to be saying that the myriad problems and deep pain in the congregation were symptoms of a bigger problem. The real problem of many in Corinth was an inadequate relationship with Christ. Either they needed a revival or they needed to accept Christ.
Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves.
Maybe we can empathize with the Corinthians. For some of us the question is, Am I in the faith? For others, Was I ever in the faith? And for yet others, Will I remain in the faith?
Paul's challenge can be understood on two levels. First, it can be seen as a call to test ourselves to see if we are Christians in fact and not just in name. He stresses that a Christian is one in whom Christ lives. The second level on which it can be understood is calling on us to see if, as Christians, we need a spiritual revival.
How do you accept Christ? The Scriptures and experience show that there is no one way. In fact, it seems that each individual follows a unique path. Christ meets us at a point of need in our lives and builds a special relationship with us.
Let's compare and contrast the conversions of Paul, Nathanael and Thomas. Their different personalities, circumstances and needs led them on radically different journeys as they responded to Christ's call.
Paul--the passionate, intellectual man of action--preferred to meet the issues of life head on. Enmeshed in a legalistic religion, his strong convictions often led to confrontations with those he disagreed with.
When Christ decided to have a close encounter with Paul, he did so in a dramatic, emotional manner that challenged Paul's basic beliefs. It seems that Christ adopted an approach that was tailored to Paul's personality and needs.
Jesus was speaking Paul's language. The call was a direct challenge to everything Paul held to be true--intellectually and emotionally.
In a matter of days Paul went from "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1) to preaching "that Jesus is the Son of God ... proving that Jesus is the Christ" (verses 20, 22).
There was little down time for emotional readjustment in the face of such a radical change in direction. But then that was Paul. In the face of his need to change, he passionately confronted his errors and immediately went into action to set things straight.
Our Savior met Paul at the point of his greatest need (a theological mind-set opposite of what God stands for) and did so in a manner that made sense to Paul (a head-on confrontation).
Unlike Paul, all it took for Nathanael to accept Jesus was Jesus' reference in John 1:43-51 to some need that manifested itself "under the fig tree," as Jesus phrased it. Would such a gentle, indirect call have worked with Paul? It seems unlikely. Our gracious Lord knew Nathanael's need and how to speak his language.
In contrast to the easily influenced Nathanael we read in John 20:24-28 of Thomas. It took more than veiled references to convince Thomas.
In spite of living with Jesus for years and seeing his miracles, Thomas was not going to accept anybody's story of a resurrection without hard evidence. His personality was such that he needed to see for himself. Again, our Lord customizes our calling. He met Thomas at his point of need, and did so in terms that made sense to Thomas. Thomas got to see. To touch. To handle.
Three different people. Three different personalities. Three different sets of needs. Three different journeys. But they all arrived at the same destination. They surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Notice how each of these people described their relationships with their living Lord.
Paul exulted in "the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). How personal Paul is in describing his Lord's love for him. The reality of Christ's love for him would forever shape his life.
Nathanael enthusiastically declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel" (John 1:49).
For his part, Thomas surrendered in the face of clear evidence and acknowledged Jesus as his personal Savior. Thomas calls him, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
The destination we all must arrive at is a total surrender to Christ. That surrender only takes place, however, when we recognize our brokenness.
Whatever our journey, we must all end up broken at the foot of the cross, broken in the sense of understanding how helpless we are to live the righteous life. Broken in the sense of understanding what Jesus meant when he said, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
We need to understand that because of our uniqueness as individuals we will express our brokenness differently. Some of us are more expressive than others.
So the test of brokenness is not necessarily how we talk, or how we worship. Rather, brokenness is a state of mind that includes the following:
* Being broken means you know you have nothing to offer God that can earn you his favor--or keep you in his favor. Your actions won't do it (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5).
Financial success won't do it for you (1 Peter 1:18-19). Your words won't do it (Matthew 7:21). Neither will your thoughts and good intentions (Romans 10:4).
* Being broken means accepting God's point of view that even our best attempts at righteousness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). At our best our motives are still a mixture of altruism and self-centeredness. Not even our tears of repentance earn us forgiveness.
* Being broken means accepting forgiveness as God offers it. James Bryan Smith, in his book Embracing the Love of God, puts it this way: "There is nothing that we have done or can do to earn this forgiveness, and this is precisely what causes many of us to reject it. We often prefer to be in control, to show that we are worthy, and to prove that we deserve to be forgiven. God's forgiveness cannot be earned, no matter how hard we try, but there is still something in us that wants to try.
"The major obstacle to accepting God's forgiveness is our unwillingness to accept God's offer as it is. We like to add to it, modify and adjust it, to make it more realistic.
"After all, who would forgive us once and for all? Who would forgive us even before we sinned against them? Who would forgive us even before we asked for forgiveness? Only God is able to do that.
"I had to come to the point where I needed to let go of my own standards and simply accept God's gracious invitation.
"I think it was my pride that hurt the most. As long as I had my own method for getting forgiven, I was in control. Accepting God's offer of forgiveness humbled me because I could do nothing to earn it. All I could do was stand in awe, which, incidentally, is a good place to stand."
* Being broken at the foot of the cross means we see ourselves as desperately in need of the spiritual healing only Jesus can give us.
In the face of our spiritual depravity we see ourselves as disqualified from having a relationship with him.
Paul calls it being alienated from God (Colossians 1:21). But in the face of God's love we see ourselves as fully accepted and cherished (Titus 3:4-5).
* This is the wonder of being broken at the foot of the cross. Out of our brokenness we are made whole. Out of our spiritual sickness we are healed.
In the face of our sinfulness we are lovingly called, forgiven and restored. We are given a life at peace with God and live in empowering hope (Romans 5:1-3).
What has your journey to Christ been like? Some may be like the tempestuous Paul, the passive Nathanael or the skeptical Thomas. Or we may be different from all three of them. But the beauty of God's love is that it is an inclusive love. He loves us all, and shows that love by considering who and what we are and what it takes to get our attention. He meets us where we are and leads us to where we need to be. Truly, God's call is to an intimate, personal relationship with him.
Our personal journey with Christ should also lead us to only one ambition in life. "So we make it our goal to please him," Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:9.
We know we are broken at the foot of the cross when we realize that we do not have a life without Christ. With him we have life-- and we have a single ambition--to obey, serve and please him (verses 14-15).
These, then, are some areas to explore as we accept Paul's challenge to see if we need a spiritual renewal or even to accept Christ for the first time. Evidence that can prove whether our brokenness has taken us beyond merely intellectual acquiescence and into an intimate walk with Christ includes the following:
* We know we have accepted Christ when we live the kind of life described in Titus 2:11-14. Such a life is a life in which we have the peace that comes from knowing we have salvation: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared. As a result of experiencing such great salvation we learn to say no to ourselves, and yes to Christ" (verses 11-12). Receiving salvation leads to a profound commitment to live holy lives.
* We know we have accepted Christ when our lives are characterized by freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). First, a personal freedom from the guilt, shame and self-blame that characterize lives enslaved to sin (Galatians 5:1; Hebrews 9:14). Second, a commitment to giving others the freedom to be themselves, because we do not feel a need to impose our personal standards on them (Galatians 5:13). We trust Christ enough to let him be the master of their lives and so we do not judge them (Romans 14:4-5).
* We know we have accepted Christ when we live in moment-to-moment dependence on his leadership to guide and empower (Romans 8:9). That utter dependence comes from knowing that he is our Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4), because that is exactly what he is. He is the rock-solid foundation on which we must all collapse when we see our brokenness.
Some of us, like Nathanael, seem to have already been broken by life's buffeting when we first meet Jesus. Such people collapse with relief on that solid Rock.
Others, like Paul, seem to need to be dashed against that rugged Rock before they surrender to a life of dependence on him.
* We know we have accepted Christ when we see just how intimate our relationship is with him. Probably the most striking thing is that God's calling and our response cannot be reduced to a formula. Christ addresses himself to some important area of a person's life. The result is an unforgettable forging of our identity with Christ's. We, individually, become a new man or a new woman in Christ. We do this by letting Christ take charge of our lives (Galatians 2:20).
* We know we have accepted Christ when we allow ourselves to be held accountable, by God and fellowman, to fellowship with others in ways that are responsible and mature (Hebrews 10:24-25); accountable to respond to the spiritual leaders God places over our fellowship (Hebrews 12:7, 17); and accountable to do our part to support the body of Christ as it represents him (1 Corinthians 12:12-21).
* We know we have accepted Christ when we are willing to give up rights (even spiritual rights) because our love for others means we will not do anything that may offend a brother (Romans 14:19-23; 15:1-7).
* We know we have accepted Christ when we live confident, joyful lives in spite of the physical circumstances that may exist (Philippians 4:7).
Like our Corinthian brothers and sisters, we too find ourselves confronted by Paul's haunting question. It is a question we must answer. It is a question that can only be answered by each of us individually.
Finding the answer requires some private time with our Lord. But it is time well spent.
He knocks at the door, ready to initiate a revival or to start a relationship, depending on our circumstances. All it takes is for you to open the door of your head and heart. And he will come in and supply whatever may be lacking in your life.
Please open the door. He will show you the way.
Charles Fleming is regional director for the Spanish and Caribbean areas. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Feb. 18, 1997, WN, pages 4 and 5
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