Today, we are going to talk about the last core area of our faith, which is Commitment. To bring clarity to the idea, I want to turn your attention back to our foundation. We must be Christ-Centered and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Christ-Centered simply means that everything, our actions, decisions, and worldview, is now filtered through our newfound relationship with Jesus Christ. From there, we commit to and obey His ways through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit and His Word (the Bible). In doing this, we honor and glorify God because we are fulfilling His will and purposes in our lives, and this is how we know we are maturing to be more like Christ every day.
Our lives are now hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:3, Galatians 2:20). It is Christ, through His Spirit, who sustains us and gives us the capacity and ability to live with strong spiritual commitment (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). In addition, you and I are still living our lives in real time. Although our salvation is secure in Christ (John 10:28-29), we have a personal responsibility to put forth the effort that leads to spiritual maturity and to continual worship and love of God (2 Peter 1:5-8). We cannot neglect our personal responsibility within our faith. Ultimately, we should desire to honor God as authentic believers, and if we never desire to pursue godly things, we should ask why and examine whether our faith in Christ is genuine (2 Corinthians 13:5). Tying all 4 core areas together works like this:
Spiritual maturity grows as our lives stay centered on Christ and empowered by the Spirit. As we deepen our Relationship with God, participate in Christian Community (the local church), live on Mission, and stay firmly Committed, our faith is strengthened and maturity in Christ takes root.
What does Commitment mean, and how do 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 and Galatians 2:20 tie into this core area?
A lack of commitment is the number one issue plaguing the modern Christian. Spiritual commitment is not just the ability to dig in and fight; that is only a small part of our responsibility. True strength within commitment works differently in our spiritual lives. It begins with surrender of self, and the harder part is to remain there daily. Today and over the next few days we will discover more about this topic.
We all go through moments in life where we get tired; that's normal as humans. The greater concern is how we allow culture to define this idea of commitment. The thought of being committed to something in our modern day culture is not a strong virtue. You might hear things like "If it's not working, change it" or "FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)." We live in a very rapidly changing world where we are focused on getting things "fast" and "now," or on the other side, worrying about "missing it." Although some aspects of "now" are very nice at times, there are major spiritual and mental benefits for long term commitments.
The reason this mentality of "fast and now" is dangerous, especially to the Christian, is that there is a maturity process that has to take place within the believer. There is no substitute for time. You will find that scripture and the Holy Spirit will constantly challenge the inward being throughout the course of life. Our being and will (or desires) are very stubborn, and it takes time to be shaped in the image of Christ. We are shaped by our obedience to what God is calling us to do. Many times when this is happening, it is extremely tough (emotionally/mentally), because God is working things out in us. If we lack commitment in these moments because we are not seeing the spiritual results we want "right now," we miss what God is teaching us, and it delays our spiritual maturity.
Scripture tends to shred and reshape our worldview in a major way. The Holy Spirit will challenge us to do things outside our comfort zone and convict us of things we need to get rid of. Again, if we lack spiritual commitment within those moments, we will find ourselves frustrated and discouraged, which will make us think this "God thing" is not working. We play an important role in our spiritual development, but thankfully, we do have help to break the cycle of our sinful nature, which comes from the power of His Word and Spirit.
After reading today, you should realize that after salvation, you still have personal responsibility in your faith. How does 2 Peter 1:5-8 help us see that?
Abiding
As we begin to shape our understanding of biblical commitment, the word abiding is a powerful word for us to understand. To abide simply means "to accept or act in accordance with." This word has a greater meaning for the Christian because Jesus himself used similar terminology to describe our relationship with Him.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing.
When you think of a vine and branches, these two parts are woven so perfectly together that they have this unbelievable strength. Since our life is now supposed to be hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3), we should be woven so tightly together, just like a vine and a branch, that we become "spiritually" strong in Christ. If we are apart from Christ, we will not be able to see the blessings and the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) manifest in our lives.
When we say blessings, this can be identified as physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual health. God is not a genie in a bottle or a lottery ticket; He is "Abba" (father) and you are His child, and He loves you so much and wants to provide for you (Matthew 6:26). There will be times when God answers prayers in a financial sense, but it is important to acknowledge and see the emotional, physical, and spiritual provisions He provides us as well.
Also, if we find ourselves apart from God, we will not be able to live out the life He intends: "Apart from me, you can do nothing." We need to have a strong trust and dependence on God; that trust and dependence are what form this strong bond in our relationship with God. That is why when people say they need to "fix themselves" before coming to God, this is completely backward from what God wants us to do. He wants us to come to Him first and accept Him as Lord in our lives, then, through this new bond, we can start to be transformed by Him.
John 15:4-5 describes the vine and branches as deeply connected, showing that our strength comes from remaining in Christ. What happens when we begin to drift from that connection, and how do we return to a place of spiritual strength in Him?
Remaining Healthy
How do we know we are healthy (spiritually speaking) within our commitment to God? If you think about the Pharisees and Sadducees, they were "spiritually committed" but were unhealthy and did not really know God (Matthew 23:27-28). Unfortunately, there is a mindset (especially in the West) that once I accept Jesus and get baptized, "I'm good." The reality is, we gave our lives to Christ in the form of a commitment to follow Him.
This pattern occurs within many Christians after salvation and baptism, where they will very quickly say such things as "I don't sense God's presence" or "I don't see God working in my life." One reason this can happen is very simple: they're not abiding in Him. There is no sense of commitment toward God outside of just believing in Him. James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder." What James is saying here is that real faith is demonstrated not only with thought, but also with action. For us to remain healthy within our commitment, action is required on the part of the believer.
It's important to note that we can experience God through peace, silence, reading, worship, and many other ways. There will be times when God seems silent, not because He does not love you or because He is angry with you, but simply to help you grow in faith and trust Him. Your emotions are not the deciding factor in whether God loves you or in His faithfulness to you. We will speak more about this on Day 25. As you read Scripture, remember that you are reading the highlights of individuals and groups of people whose stories unfold before you. Most of the time in Scripture, you do not see the hours, weeks, and years of buildup, silence, and difficulty that led them to that place.
As we continue with this idea of remaining healthy, there is a verse I want to introduce you to. In 1 John 2:4-6 it says, "Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did."
In this verse, it doesn't say, believe in God, but do whatever you please; it says we must walk as Jesus did. Living like Jesus is impossible if you are not committed to His leading and direction. This is where the understanding of abiding comes into play, but it's equally important to identify what Jesus commits His life to. As mentioned previously, we have His Word (the Bible) and the Holy Spirit to help us. Since we have God living inside of us (Holy Spirit), we can live like Jesus, but we must engage our will to be committed to His ways.
Jesus Modeled The 4 Core Areas
Relationship: Jesus modeled for us the perfect example of what a relationship and life with God would look like. (1 Peter 2:21, John 13:15, Matthew 11:27, John 5:19-20, John 16:7)
Community: Jesus established His community, which is called the church, through His disciples. The church would become a movement of people who carry the "Good News" to the world. (Matthew 16:18, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 18:20, Acts 2:42-47, Ephesians 4:11-12, John 13:34-35)
Mission: Jesus had a mission to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be saved. His goal was to provide a way to restore our relationship with God the Father. (Matthew 20:28, Acts 1:8, John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:9-10, John 14:6)
Commitment: With just these few verses listed above, we can clearly see that Jesus was committed to showing us how to live on earth in a relationship with the Father. He was also committed to the success of His community, the church, by teaching, modeling, and sending the Spirit of God to equip and guide them. Jesus was committed to His mission of conquering sin and death through the power of His resurrection, to set people free from the bondage of sin. Lastly, we must remain committed to Him in these areas for the duration of our lives.
Now that you understand the 4 core areas of After Salvation, how do they work together, and what should be the outcome? (R.C.M.C.)
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.