Christianese - Jesus Take the Wheel

Bob Murray
Pastor Matt continued in the Christianese Series with Jesus Take the Wheel this past Sunday.  To me, the thought behind this message spoke to the tendency of Christians wanting to hand off to Jesus as a last resort for our mess-ups instead of living out of our identity in Christ.  And the conclusion was one that is often missed, namely, when we live from our identity, there will be an inexplicable difference in how we conduct our lives.
This difference will be due first to Believers resting in the truths of the Word concerning Who they are in Christ; e.g., forgiven, accepted, righteous and complete.  But then there is the obvious overflow of this truth rest resulting in a walk from those truths; e.g., “that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”  Ephesians 4:22-25.
So essentially, our rest in the truths of our identity in Christ overflows into a walk from those truths.  And walking in the truth looks different than the worldly walk of non-Believers or Believers that are not resting/living in their identity.  In fact, when we believe and rest in the truths concerning who we are in Christ, we can/should have an expectation of what God will produce, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. 
And what will God produce?  He will produce what He alone can produce, namely the Fruit of the Spirit, which is ”...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance….” Galatians 5:22.  And this manifests in a walk that is not of this world, a walk that is not focused on self but rather on others.
But let’s back up here to understand that there is a key component that must be present for any of the above to work and not result in the Jesus Take the Wheel approach. And that key component is a knowledge of the Word of Truth, rightly divided. Pastor Matt pointed to this at the end of his message with the simple recommendation that Believers consider reading (and better yet studying) the words of Christ in the writings of the Apostle Paul (Romans through Philemon).  For without a knowledge of the rightly divided Scripture, a Believer does not have truths upon which to base your beliefs regarding who you are in Christ, and therefore, there cannot be a walk upon this basis.  
Believer, it begins with a belief of the Word, which leads to a rested belief, and results in an inexplicable walk from that belief.  But a knowledge of the Word is the prerequisite for such belief. Study the Word!

1 Comment


Gordon - May 3rd, 2023 at 2:07pm

"Jesus, take the wheel!"

"Οὐκ οἶδ’ ἐλαύνειν!"

We must all remember, Jesus never got a driver's license.

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