Over the years, I’ve heard or been a part of endless conversations about the relationship between grace, faith and works.
I don’t mean to oversimplify things or overcomplicate things in this never-ending discussion, but after so long, you have to come up with an explanation that you can live with.
There are many things that can be said, but for this article, I’ll simply share one of my favorite responses.
In the ministry of Jesus, he proved to be the son of God by two primary means. First, by His preaching and teaching and second, by performing miracles to validate His teaching and preaching.
Throughout His ministry, He continually said “follow me.” It may not be clear in a theological argument, but it is clear when we read the Gopels, that Jesus not only wanted people to believe He was the son of God, but having believed in Him, He called people to follow Him.
To me, this is the biggest disconnect I see when people want to argue about what it means to be a follower of Jesus today.
So, what would following Jesus today look like, since we cannot literally follow Him anymore? Jesus answers that question in Luke 6:46 when He said,
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
A big part of the disconnect is not understanding that to call Jesus, “Lord,” is to call Jesus, “Master.” It helps us understand the verse better to replace Lord with Master.
The question is no longer lost in its cultural language. Jesus is asking, why would you claim that I’m your master when you don’t obey any of my teachings or commands? He’s asking, why do you claim to follow me, but when I look around, you’re nowhere in sight?
If learning and obeying the teachings of Jesus are not the top priority of your life; If Jesus is not your master, evidenced by your following Him, no well-worded theological argument is going to save you.
Someone might argue that what I’m describing sounds like a works-based theology. It’s the farthest thing from it – I follow Jesus because I believe He’s the Christ. I follow Him because I believe that He lived, died and rose from the grave.
And I believe that it is His blood that cleanses me of my sin, and not anything that I do. But I also know that if I only believe and do not follow, that there is no evidence that I believe and if there’s no evidence that I believe, I will hear the dreaded words that Jesus says in Matthew 7:23,
23…‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Is there more that can be said, that should be said? There always is. But this is a good starting point. Who is your Master? You don’t have to answer with words – the evidence lies in who or what you prioritize in life.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
