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Overview

  1. Relationship
  2. Fruitfullness
  3. Discipleship
  4. Ministry

Primer

Relationship

We read in Genesis how God walks with His people. Sin drove man out of the garden. It makes us to set ourselves against righteousness. But we are reconciled through the work of Christ: As a new creation, we are called to live for Him and through Him.

We are saved once and for all time through faith in the gospel. We cannot add to that salvation. Yet we read in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15:

Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

We are called to be a light in the world, salt in the earth. To be unstained by the present evil age and obey the Lord of Hosts by two great commandments. The first--love the Lord our God:

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

And the second is like it--to love our neighbor.

The Kingdom of God is built on roles and relationships. God is a father, a king, and a savior. We are called to be bondservants of Christ Jesus, children of the most high, and reign alongside Him as priests.

The flesh cannot do the will of God. Even the "good" we do is useless. What sort of people, then, ought we be? (2 Peter 3:11-14)

Fruitfullness

When we are filled with the Spirit, it is evidenced by our behavior, thoughts, and speech. When are hearts are inclined toward Christ, and the Word is our meditation, we are fruitful.

The wise virgins were prepared when the bridegroom arrived. The oil in their lamps is a sign of their vigilance. The importance of preparedness is especially important when deception is rampant and persecution increases. If we do not know what God has to say about a thing, if we are driven by opinion and speculation, how can we be ready to serve YWHW?

Therefore, to be faithful servants and be counted great in the Kingdom, the follower of Christ must believe in the cross and walk in the light.

When firmly rooted in the truth, we will be sustained in every season and bear fruit in the appointed time.

Discipleship

Our walk has two important channels. Most essential is our relationship to the Lord. The second deals with our treatment of other people. The apostles journeyed through the world, not to baptise or win converts. They wanted to inspire those called of God to leave everything to follow after Christ.

It is not enough to declare oneself saved by the blood of Jesus. A wise teacher desires his pupil adopt a lifelong pursuit and love for knowledge. That same teacher's success depends on the example he sets, his integrity, and his discipline.

Mature believers must be temperate, gentle, able to exhort and encourage the weak and reprove the backlidder (Titus 1:7-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 2 Corinthians 6:3-10).

Ministry

As we become established in the faith, we are to recognize our place in the body and use our gifts to support the saints (Galatians 6:6-10). We must shine like stars, proclaiming His name until the end of the age.