Apprentice 2 Jesus

Why Christianity DOES work…

Christianity works because JESUS works. It is not us. Yet, there is the combination of us and the Spirit of God. As Dallas Willard would say: “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.”

The life of God is powerful. It is most powerful when we will choose to be apprentices to Jesus. We will LEARN from him and take up the call to be LIKE him.

The picture I have is of Karl Barth, one of the most influential theologians of the 20th Century. The most impressive examples I have from him are these:

1. He loved the Word of God.

After the failure of Germany in WWI and the failure of German nationalism, he plunged himself into the Word of God. He studied and studied. He wrote and wrote. As a pastor he published a commentary on Romans that rattled the liberal theological cages of Europe. It put him on the map for the rest of his career. He was known for marching down the halls of the universities were he taught calling out, “Exegete! Exegete!” He wanted people studying the Word!

2. He loved the church.

When he was a professor at Basel he preached every Sunday in the city jail. He could preach ANYWHERE…so why the city jail? He said if he preached in some well known pulpit, people would come to hear Karl Barth. In the city jail those guys had no idea who he was. He could preach the Word of God with pure motives.

Jesus works. Change happens. It begins when we will decide to apprentice ourselves to the Master. Plunge into the Word! Read and read! Study and study!

Live in the power of the Kingdom!