Go and Do Likewise

September 6, 2018

Go and Do Likewise

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.

Romans 13:8a

Our churches today have almost as much contention as there is in the halls of Congress. When two persons are contending, the issue is always the same: who has control or power. For the Christian, the issue of contending is a bit of a conundrum. The danger of contention in the church is that it causes disharmony, and the unity of the Body of Christ is breeched. Jesus told his followers, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). I believe the decline of the Christian church in America can be directly traced to the lack of respect, the lack of unity within churches, and among the various denominations and independent churches. Without love, we have no proof we are the disciples of Jesus; thus the world ignores our witness.

If two people are contending over an issue, the fix is easy. Just one of them has to stop contending. The conundrum is in knowing when to walk away. It has been my experience that the issues that internally divide churches, as well as those that divide denominations, are for the most part minuscule in comparison to our grand mission to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Yet the grand deceiver tempts us to make mountains out of the mole hills, and tragically, so many individuals, and churches, yield to this temptation.

John Wesley, the Methodist, was confronted by Simeon, a devoted Calvinist. Before he broke fellowship with Wesley, Simeon asked him a few questions. “Pray, Sir, do you feel that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?” Wesley: “Yes, I do indeed.” “Do you look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?” Wesley: “Yes, solely through Christ.” Simeon: “But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?” Wesley: “No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.” Simeon: “What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?” Wesley: “Yes, altogether.” Simeon: “And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?” Wesley: “Yes, I have no hope but in Him.”

Simeon then affirmed that Wesley’s faith mirrored his own and said, “Instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree."

My Takeaway: “Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37b).

Sē’lah

Alex

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.