Articles
I have Jesus in Me, So Just Let Me Be!
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
August 2019
Written as a Follow up to the “Free in the Spirit?”
Series for Wisconsin Christian Newspaper
In our Christian walk most of the focus is on the salvation issue, which has been presented as "all there is." “Jesus and me—I don’t need anything else!” As an Undershepherd and Personal Life Coach, I see the need to move beyond this early stage of faith.
We have, as Christian disciples, to continually recognize that much of what is called Christianity today is not the Christianity of the New Testament; it is distinctly different in generation and manifestation. …He does not look on men and women as babes in the wood, but as sinners who need saving, and the modern mind detests His view.
Oswald Chambers from The Highest Good, 1937
In the process of recognizing the genuine need for salvation from sin, it seems we have overshot the mark. Salvation alone! Therefore, we have been more focused on what God can do for us and how He is merciful, etc...what others have called “belly button Christianity;” with the limited focus on how He provides for us. It is all about how grateful I am for what God has and can do for me. (We are!) It is all about how gracious He is when we fail to live up to His expectations. (He is!) And, unfortunately, with the pattern of belief that the Torah is the OLD Testament, emphasis, OLD and supposedly no longer valid, this has translated into a belief that we are "Free in the Spirit" to do whatever we want to do, knowing that in His mercy, we will be forgiven! (Oh no! It’s not personal anarchy!! We are free from the bondage to sin, free to obey Him!)
People reject the commandments of the Father in the OT, finding them to be irrelevant and too hard because we are “Free in Christ! “ (Please see recent “Free in the Spirit?” article.) We only have to follow Him! Exactly what that means--the commandments of Jesus-- is vague and thus, difficult for many Christians to articulate and apply. It really shouldn’t be!
My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.
John 7:16 Berean Study Bible
Our Father’s commandments ARE Jesus’ teachings! People often have no understanding of what it means to be righteous, thinking that Jesus accomplished all this for them. It has been forgotten that Jesus’ atoning work on the cross was to make a way back to the Father for all of us! Very little, if any, attention is given to the subsequent sanctification process, the development of maturity and discipline of our faith.
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.…
Hebrews 5:11-13 Berean Study Bible
From a Hebraic viewpoint, we are indeed grateful for Messiah’s salvific work on our behalf. We agree that it is the beginning and of crucial importance! But there is much more to follow! We also hear His call to come up, to learn to yield to Him, to let iron sharpen iron, to be obedient, to walk in community with His people, to remember that this is not all about us, but instead, all about Messiah! Few traditional Christian leaders teach discipleship and maturity. In those “seeker friendly” and “emergent” churches, anything that could be discouraging or difficult seems edited out, thus not really teaching the whole counsel of God. I wonder what Oswald Chambers might say today!
As we see Messiah mirrored in the Seven Feasts of YHWH, there is a progression of faith right there in the pattern of holy/set apart days: from the salvation and deliverance on an individual basis through the Spring Feasts-- the Passover Lamb, and Messiah's fulfillment of them, through the Count of the Omer and Empowerment of Shavuot or Pentecost, in a corporate sense, preparing all for the corporate fulfillment, and to the Fall Feasts—the corporate sanctification process indicated in the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonements and the Feast of Tabernacles. This is all part of preparing Messiah's Bride, to be ready for Tabernacles, which is also the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.
Many do not as yet comprehend very much about this second part of our faith journey, the walk of faith and sanctification. Our faith walk is not only about gaining knowledge of Him, but also about character development and the attainment of maturity as we grow. As we observe YHWH’s Feast Days, some fear that there is an element of control and a violation of their sense of freedom in "all that Christ has done for me" and "I should never feel any constraint!" “God understands what I need and my personal relationship with Him is the only thing that matters.”
We do agree on this: Personal relationship with Messiah is the ONLY genuine basis of faith! However, we do NOT agree that it is the only thing that matters! Once one has declared belief, He calls us to get more intimately connected with Him and His ways, not preferring our own ways. We pray: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! We do not pray for “MY” will to be done on earth-- at least if we did, it would be a BIG mistake!
Many people who have begun to walk after Messiah also do not understand that there is both a personal and a corporate fulfillment involved. We learn to walk after Him personally, but then, we need to learn to function as part of a body because He calls us that way! Here is only one of several such references:
And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
Hebrews 2:22 Berean Study Bible
It is not realistic to expect people new to this faith walk to understand and fully apply all the aspects of discipleship and sanctification immediately! Commitment is a concept that seems foreign or outmoded. On the other hand, it’s not good to be secretive about where our Abba leads us. It seems wise and appropriate to set out the goal before the eyes of all, including ourselves! Individual and corporate righteousness in Messiah before our Father!
One of the pithy maxims of SAM has been that "His mercy is for when we FALL short, not when we AIM short." We see the sanctification process as a necessary follow up to salvation; a part of the maturing and preparation of the Bride, which is a corporate body, male and female. If the focus remains on personal salvation alone, we see this as aiming short of honoring Him.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:15 NKJV
When we are young in the faith, we are indeed most grateful for His mercy and long suffering with us! However, as we mature, we are expected to move beyond childlike things, no longer needing the basic doctrine (of salvation) as a focus, but the subsequent goals of sanctification and coming of age and full understanding. We understand that He loves us where we are but as the saying goes, “He loves us too much to let us stay there.” (Please go to our teaching on “Shema” and “Shamar” for more depth about what it means to “keep” His commandments.)
We, for our part, proclaim him; we warn, confront and teach everyone in all wisdom; so that we may present everyone as having reached the goal, united with the Messiah.
Colossians 1:28 Complete Jewish Bible
As we mature, letting Messiah work in us, our focus on our own needs and expectations of God toward us, becomes less of an issue, as we comprehend more and more fully that HE has all knowledge and wisdom. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and it is in our best interests to learn to submit to His ways first! No more do we tell Him all about what we need, instead learning to lean into His Word, and seek His will first; not our own understanding. May it be so for all the days of our lives!