The Old Has Gone...

Okay, I admit it.  I love being a Methodist.  In fact, I love it so much that I'm sure non-Methodists get a little tired of me talking about how much I love my denomination.  I will be the first to admit that our church makes mistakes, sometimes falls short, and has people involved in leadership who shouldn't be.  However, overall I love being a person called a Methodist.

One of the main doctrines of the church that I love to read and study is about the new birth and Christian perfection.  John Wesley, our father in the faith, had a lot to say about that.  When I first joined the Methodist Church, Christian Perfection, holiness, was a new concept for me.  However, the more that I read and studied about it, the more I realized that it is indeed Scriptural.  In fact, it is not only Scriptural, it is the essence of Christianity.

I'm afraid that many Christians, including those in my own denomination, have lost their understanding of the truth of the Easter message.  For so many people, Christianity is nothing more than "fire insurance."  People want to be saved from the pits of hell.  Or as many people put it they "want to go to heaven when they die."  But is that all there is to discipleship?  Is that all there is to mission?  Is that all there is to Jesus' message?

1 John was one of John Wesley's favorite books in the Bible.  It has quickly become one of mine too.  This short sermon packs a lot of punch in a small space.  It gives meaning to the resurrection and a purpose for mission work.  It lays the foundation for discipleship and a means for understanding the teachings of Christ.  There is so much more to Christianity than simply a free card to heaven.  There is so much more to salvation than crossing over into the Promised Land with streets of gold and glassy seas.

Our walk of faith during Eastertide should be focused on the reality of the resurrected Christ.  Our destination may be heaven, but that is simply "icing on the cake" (as one of my professors used to tell us).  Through my own growing and learning I have discovered that salvation is a current event.  It is a gift given now.  I have been saved from my old way of living life.  The old Dustin is dead.  He is gone.  He is not invited back.  Thank God that in his place is a new Dustin.  A Dustin who has the very seed of God abiding in him.  A Dustin who loves like God loves.  A Dustin who has "this hope in him" and "purifies himself as he (Christ) is pure.

The truth of the great salvation through Jesus Christ and the re-birth from the Holy Spirit is sweeping across the globe.  I have witnessed the great awakening happening in foreign countries first hand.  It is truly exciting to see how God is transforming people from old into new.  It is fascinating to see how people from all tribes and languages and backgrounds are loving "not in word or speech, but in truth and action."  It is awesome to see the old "selfs" banished while the new creations in Christ are growing up.

As we continue to walk through Eastertide 2012, let's not forget the amazing love that transforms sinners into saints.  Let's not forget the fullness of salvation.  Let's continue to search the Scriptures and seek the truth of God's desire for each one of us.  Let's live sacrificially...let's rejoice whole-heartedly...let's live holy.  Until next time...

+May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.






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