An Authentic Calling: Representing Christ and His Kingdom through the Church

Session 2 A Call to Salvation Understanding an Authentic Call as a Call to Salvation

Rom. 8.28-30 (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 2 Thess. 2.14 (ESV) To this he called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 1.2 (ESV) To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

What can we learn in looking at these elements of the call of God?

• They are universal in the sense that they touch upon everyone within the covenant community (i.e., individuals, families, and the entire people) in a full, holistic way.

• They are integrated in the sense that they condition and define everything else connected to the fulfillment of God’s call.

• They are universal in the sense that they apply to all individuals and families equally, regardless of the particular call God has for their individual lives.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I. Understanding an Authentic Call as a Call to Salvation

Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. And the Lord of the universe commands every person to follow Him. His call to Peter and Andrew (Matt. 4.18-19) and to James and John (Matt. 4.21) was a command. “Follow Me” has always been a command, never an invitation (John 1.43). Jesus never pleaded for someone to follow Him. He was embar rassingly straightforward. He confronted the woman at the well with her adultery, Nicodemus with his intellectual pride and the Pharisees with their self-righteousness. No one can interpret “. . . Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” as begging (Matt. 4.17). Jesus commanded each person to renounce self-seeking pursuits, abandon his sin and obey him completely. When the rich young ruler refused to sell all and follow him (Matt. 19.21), Jesus did not run after him trying to negotiate a compromise. He never watered down his standard. Jesus simply said, “Whoever serves me must follow me . . .“ (John 12.26 NIV). . . . So when do you become a Christian, a disciple of Christ? When you walk down an aisle? When you kneel at an altar? When you weep sincerely? Not necessarily. Christ’s original followers became disciples when they obeyed Him, when they “immediately left their boat and their father, and followed Him” (Matt. 4.22). Obeying Christ’s command, “Follow Me,” results in self-death. Christianity without self-death is only an abstract philosophy. It is Christianity without Christ. ~ Keith Phillips. The Making of a Disciple . Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981. p. 16-17.

Phil. 3.14 (ESV) I press on toward

the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

23