Colossians 2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
My theme for this month’s Kerusso sounds so basic. Having come to saving faith in Jesus during the second wave of “The Jesus Movement”, one of the buzz sayings was, “Keep Walking with Jesus.” To say, “Keep Walking with Jesus” sounds so simple, doesn’t it? It certainly doesn’t sound theologically profound or intellectually stimulating. But our study texts are the inspired words of the apostles Paul, Peter and John. Peter and John were men who had walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul had come to saving faith after Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus Road. All three of them saw the resurrected Lord and were inspired by The Holy Spirit to collectively write twenty books of the New Testament. In their letters, they cover the entire realm of Christian theology from the new birth to the New Jerusalem. Their writings have provided for us some of the most important fundamental doctrines of repentance, God-imputed righteousness, the gospel of the grace of God, the Person and work and gifts of The Holy Spirit, the rapture and Second Coming of Jesus Christ, to name just a few. In their writings, they dealt with personal and congregational issues that various churches were dealing with. They exposed and rebuked heretical teachers and teachings.
But take another look at those inspired passages that are recorded at the top of the page. What was the all-consuming message of these three disciples of Jesus Christ to those who called upon Him as Lord? Keep walking with Jesus. Why this emphasis on relationship? Because it is easy for fellowship with Jesus to be eclipsed by current events, or the hottest worship bands, or the cares of this life. Because, as it happened with the church in Ephesus, it is so easy to become a Christian robot, doing all kinds of Christian things without any love for Jesus at all.
What does it mean to have eternal life? John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” In the first two chapters of 1 John, he addresses the importance of experiencing the light of God. In chapters three and four, he addresses the importance of experiencing the love of God. In chapter five, he addresses the importance of experiencing the life of God. I do not want to diminish the importance of doctrine and theology, because you cannot have a healthy walk with Jesus apart from sound teaching. However, if all of our intellectual understanding about Jesus does not translate into a deeper intimacy with Jesus, what good is it? In our day and age of high tech bible apps with access to every teaching on any given subject from the best and anointed teachers, it is worth asking this question. Do we really know Jesus better? Is my supreme desire in life to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus? At the age of around 90, John tells us that the most important “take away” message of the gospel is: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:3,4)
Paul begins his letters to the Corinthians (in which he will be dealing with a multitude of issues) with these words: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) Is your deepest desire in reading Scripture more about knowing principles about the bible, or knowing Jesus? Is your deepest desire in prayer more about getting your needs met, or meeting with Jesus? We have just celebrated the glorious bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Hallelujah! Jesus is risen! Jesus is alive! Jesus has saved you from the debt of sin, to bring you into a living relationship and fellowship with The Father. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7) Keep walking with Jesus, beloved.
Walking with and desiring to know Jesus better,
Pastor Ray
