Secret Church

One-Time Resolutions and the Everyday Christian Life

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:05 PM PST

Some of the most unforgettable encounters with Jesus in Scripture involve someone forsaking everything to follow Him. Of course, every believer is called to renounce everything for Christ (Lk 14:33), but I’m talking about those accounts where someone tangibly gives up his occupation or his earthly possessions.

Think of Zacchaeus giving away half his goods, Matthew leaving his tax booth, or Peter, James, and John saying goodbye to their fishing nets and their families. The lesson from Scripture is clear: when we come to Jesus, He takes priority over everyone and everything else in our lives.

These encounters with Jesus are vivid pictures of His authority and the response we owe Him, truths which we must continue to trumpet in a culture, even a Christian culture, that thinks lightly of Christ’s lordship. However, it’s possible for us to read these encounters (out of context) and get the wrong impression: a one-time resolution to surrender everything for Jesus is not the whole of the Christian life.

Following Jesus is a daily pursuit. Simply look at the lives of His disciples, these men who left everything to follow their Lord, and you’ll find individuals who continued to struggle with sin, unbelief, and treasuring Christ above the opinions of men. Even after Pentecost, Peter had to be soundly and publicly rebuked by Paul for his hypocrisy (Gal 2:11-14). Not exactly a picture of a fully sanctified man!

Jesus speaks of this everyday aspect of following Him in Luke 9:23: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Taking up your cross is a day-in, day-out process that involves repenting of sin and trusting in Christ’s promises. It means continually putting to death your selfish desires and pursuing that which brings glory to Christ. And the good news is that God empowers us to do this with joy by His grace in the gospel. He declares us to be righteous once and for all at the moment of our conversion, but the process of becoming more like Jesus plays out over a lifetime.

In light of these truths, we don’t simply need to think of grand resolutions we plan to make for the kingdom someday (not a bad thing necessarily), but perhaps more importantly we need to ask questions like…

Am I daily dying to my sinful desires?
Am I daily trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection for my standing with God?
Am I resting in God’s provision instead of seeking security and happiness in other things?

These are the kinds of questions we’ll be led to ask in this upcoming Secret Church, “The Cross and Everyday Life.” We’ll be exploring how the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection affects everything about us, from the time we roll out of bed in the morning to the time our head hits the pillow at night. This is what it means to follow Jesus.

Will you join us for the Secret Church 14 simulcast as we think through these important questions?

Why They Recommend The Simulcast

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 03:06 PM PST

We’ve been encouraging people to register for this year’s Secret Church simulcast for a while now, but check out some of the reasons that others encourage you to register in response to the following Facebook question: “If you’ve participated in a Secret Church simulcast, why did you do it? Would you recommend it to others?” Then hop on over to our Facebook page to read some more comments or leave your own. We look forward to hearing from you, and we hope you’ll join us this April 18 for SC 14: The Cross and Everyday Life!

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