Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
One of the men
who has accompanied my husband on many a Bible study has a favorite saying, “A
text without context is pretext for heresy”.
He loves saying it and truly enjoys it when Mark brings the whole truth
out in a study and not just a single verse. And he is right. We can’t take the Word out of context, so I
must study the Word in order to understand It.
I believe I will study my whole life and never even scrape the surface
of It’s treasures, but I will enjoy trying!
I remember as a
young soul winner, I led many people to say what we like to call, “The sinners
prayer”. In my mind, as long as I could
get them to the point where they would pray that prayer, they would get saved. It makes me cringe to think of how many
children and Spanish mom’s in Chicago have a false hope of salvation because I
once led them to say a prayer. I would
quote Romans 9:10-13 and tell them if they would just call on Jesus, they would
be saved. But, it isn’t the act of the
calling that saves….that would be works….it is the act of repenting and trusting in Christ and His sacrifice as being the ONLY way they will go to Heaven. Had I studied Romans from the beginning, I
would have understood that.
Now after many
years living in a predominately Catholic country and studying their language
and culture, I realize that just because I believe in Christ Jesus, does not
mean I transfer that faith to someone because I get them to pray a prayer. I have the responsibility to present Christ and
His Gospel to people, and let the Holy Spirit do the convincing in their
hearts. They must understand and
consciously place their faith in Christ, not just repeat a prayer. If the prayer saved, then most people I talk
to would be on their way to Heaven because many of them pray the same prayer of
salvation every single night, but they also pray to Mary and their selected
saints. See the danger in just a prayer?
Here in
Colossians, Paul is warning these folks about those who would twist the sound
doctrine they had heard and believed into something spooky and mysterious. Yes, it is difficult to wrap one’s mind
around how Jesus was 100% man at the same time He was 100% God, but it is true
nonetheless. Salvation is simple enough
for everyone to understand but so deep you can never explore all it’s
riches! Well, Paul lays out his case of
who he is as an apostle, who Christ was and then he gets to this verse where he
tells them to walk in Christ Jesus the Lord.
You and I do
not believe on some mysterious thought of who we think Jesus is. We believe on the Christ who is the Son of
God, and that He actually gave His life, rose from the grave and is exalted on
the Throne right this very second. There
is no puny power in Him! He is God and
we are to walk IN HIM.
Walking in
Christ is not something only for older Christians. It is not only for Pastors and Deacons,
walking in Christ is something we ALL should do. So, what does it mean to walk in Him? To be under His influence. Not copying a movement, a preacher or a
denomination. It is the constant looking
to Christ for what move He will make next and allowing Him to guide us. I don’t need yoga to center me on that
thought, I just need the Scripture.
To be quite
honest, I feel this study is WAY over my head.
I have asked my husband a thousand and one questions as I tried to
understand what was written. But at the
same time, God speaks to little old blonde me and is guiding me in His
Truths. I can’t explain that, but I know
it to be true. How can I go wrong if I
am obeying His personal order to WALK in HIM?
Don’t take just
one Scripture this coming year and pull it out of context. Don’t give false hope to people by making
them pray a prayer either! Get to know God well enough that you can talk about Him! Walk in
Christ. He knows what He is doing, whose
path He is going to cross yours with and will give you the words to say when
you need them. Knock on doors, stand on
the streets and pass out tracts, get the Gospel out, but don’t go on your own
for your own selfish reasons of being a “faithful soulwinner” or wanting to be a spiritual giant in other’s
eyes. Go because Jesus said to go and go
IN HIM so your words are full of grace and not pride.
Live this year
learning more and more about the Bible and the God of the Bible. Keep your influences good and your mind
focused on the prize. Tell others about
this wonderful Salvation gift and walk under the influence of the One True and
Living God.
Until next
time, Lord willing,
Sheri
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