Make Disciplers: Hebrews 7b thru 10a

Yes, that's right. I wrote "disciplers." There is an "r" at the end of the word. Christ did call upon us to make disciples. But the Apostle Paul later on says to "teach those who can teach others."

We are not saved by our deeds. Yet, in the New Testament Era, the Church Age of History, the followers of Christ are required to become active people. It is important to understand the difference between "works" and "activity." And the writer of Hebrews spells it out expertly.

The old world, and the old covenant of the Old Testament, was under the Curse. We would work and toil, without rest, because our first parents disobeyed God. We had an Eden, where God cared for us, and walked with us. But we chose our own path. We walked away from Him, and pridefully assumed we could make it.

But the curse upon us was more a prediction than a punishment. On our own, yes, we would have to work. And work is exactly what we did, and do to this day! Just open your ears and hear all the complaints about how tired people are, how little sleep, how boring their jobs, how unappreciated their efforts!

Think about it. The curse was actually a prediction that came true. It was not at all the summary pronouncement of a little God with hurt feelings!

But God promised us rest from our labors. And we do rest, today. Even the hardest-working Christian can feel rested, with the right attitude. We do what we do, because we want to do God's will and spread the Gospel to new places and people. Is that "work"? Well, maybe, but if you're a faithful Christian it will not feel like "work"!

There is the "work" of the Old Testament, and the "actions" of the New.

So he's abolishing the old standard [of offerings and sacrifices] and establishing the new standard of doing God's will, the same will through which we have been made holy by the body of Jesus Christ, offered once and for all.

The Old Testament, the Old Covenant, involved a lot of work and sacrifice. We lived as though we were under the curse, and we were. Many today still live that way - those that have not learned fully to trust Christ. They betray their lack of faith, even with their language - they will use the word "work" a lot. Perhaps they are worriers, doubters, discouragers.

But in the New Testament, or New Covenant, we have the sacrifice done once and for all, finished and completed by Christ upon the Cross. The work is done. Are you reading this? The job is done. Jesus finished it!

So instead of works and sacrifices, we are called upon to do God's will. Before, we worked and toiled to build our houses and put food on our tables. But now, in Christ, we trust God to take care of all that, and we focus on His will, which is forever and always to build His kingdom of people and not of land and buildings.

The Dexter United Methodist Church is currently in a theme that addresses this. We are to be "disciplers." Make disciples, but also make disciples that can in turn make disciples.

It is not work at all. But it is active and essential. It requires lots of energy, maybe a lack of sleep, lots of study and prayer. But it is not work. We have entered into Christ's rest. Making disciplers is all there is left to do, in God's great plan.

Please join me at the Dexter United Methodist Church Monday, October 5th, at 1:00pm, for a time of open prayer. We will meet in the Atrium and go from there.