Practical Christianity
Baptism, as we learned in lesson 31, is
a public testimony that we have died to sin and self, and we are now in a right
relationship with God. What a beautiful and exciting ordinance!
But what happens when, after we have
been baptized and publicly declared that we are dead to sin, we have a "flashback"
from our past experience of a broken relationship with God?
God has
promised to completely heal us, and to finish the work of purification he has
begun in us (Philippians 1:6). But do we need to be baptized over again
if we sin again?
Jesus instituted an encouragingly
beautiful ordinance to reassure us of God's unconditional love and
acceptance. Let's read about it in John
14:4-17.
A MINI BAPTISM
Even though they had lived and worked with
Jesus for over 3 years, the apostles still did not understand the spiritual
nature of Christ's Kingdom. According to the myths and traditions they had
heard all their lives, they expected Jesus, as the
Messiah, to soon set up temporal rule in
The time of the Passover celebrations had
come. While they ate the meal symbolic of the One who was soon to die, they
still held jealousy towards one another.
As they gathered to eat their last meal
together, they discovered that no servant had been provided to wash the dust
off their dirty, tired, sandaled feet.
Their hearts filled with thoughts of
coveted position and power, each refused to stoop so low. They each considered themselves
more worthy than the other to perform so menial and humiliating a task. No one
dared bring up the subject; no one said a word.
Silently, Christ got up and wrapped a
towel around himself in the fashion of a servant. He then knelt before the one
whom he knew would soon betray him, and commenced to wash Judas' feet.
Behold the character of infinite humility
of God! Watch the great Creator of the universe, God Almighty, kneeling and
washing the soiled feet of one who would soon turn him over to His cruel death!
Verse 3: "Jesus knowing...that he was come
from God... " Jesus had said, "If you have seen me, you have seen
the Father."
(John 14:9). Could it be possible that the Father would get
down on his knees and wash their feet? Evidently so! Here is clearly
shown God's character—his willingness to be a servant. He had demonstrated that the foundation
of God's government is self-sacrificing love.
Utter shock gripped the minds of all
present. Their King, their Messiah, the One Whom they believed to be the Son of
God, was stooping to perform a servant's task!
When Jesus came to Peter, the apostle
vehemently refused such an act (John 13:8-10). But Christ explained that only by allowing him
to cleanse him from his sins, as this act symbolized, could
When Jesus had finished washing their
feet, He asked them if they understood the meaning of his actions. He then
declared to them, and to all his followers down
through the ages, "I, your Lord and Master, have just washed
your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. I have set an example for
you, so that you will do just what I have done for you." (John 13:14,15).
This beautiful ceremony shows how Christ cleanses us from our sins; it
teaches us that humility and service for others is the very
nature of God and the pathway to redemption. Christ declared, "Now that you know this truth, how
happy you will be if you put it into practice!" (verse 17).
What enduring lessons are enshrined for us
in this service? Four lessons are
evident:
a) It is a memorial of Jesus'
life of service.
Jesus appointed the Lord's supper as a memorial to His death; Christian Baptism is a
memorial to his resurrection. And in the ceremony of the foot washing, we have
a memorial to His life of selfless service to others.
b) It is an opportunity to
perform a personal service for our King.
If an opportunity came for us to wash
the feet of our Saviour, as Mary did, would we not grasp it eagerly? Would we not count it a high honour? When we
wash the feet of the humblest Christian brother, Jesus
regards it as a personal service, performed directly on himself! (Matthew
25:40).
c) It is a perpetual reminder
that we are our brother's keeper.
Cain once callously and irresponsibly
asked the Lord, "Am I
my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). Throughout his life and especially in this
ceremony, the Lord answered that yes, we are our brother's keeper. Satan has
tried to convert us all into Cains, stifling our sense of responsibility
towards others, and to make us aloof, indifferent and unfeeling. But Jesus
testified by this action that God holds us directly responsible for our influence,
not merely upon our non-Christian neighbours, but also upon our own brethren
within the Church! (Read Romans 14:7 & I Corinthians 8:12)
d) It is an acted pledge that we
will do all in our power to keep our brother's life clean.
The Bible says, "Let us not therefore judge one another
any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his
brother's way."
Romans 14:13
THE LORD'S SUPPER
Immediately following the ordinance of humility,
Christ took up the unleavened bread. The Passover supper was highly symbolic;
each detail represented Christ and his sacrifice. The unleavened bread used
during the meal represented Jesus, the Bread from Heaven (John
He broke the bread, symbolizing his body,
broken on the cross, and bade them eat, saying, "This do in memory of me. "
He then took a cup of unfermented wine and
said, "Take this and
drink it. This is my blood, poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins."
Jesus bids us all, "Do this in remembrance of me." I Corinthians 11:24. When we have communion, we are not only publicly declaring that
Christ died for us, His body broken and His blood spilled; but we also are
strengthening and reaffirming our life-giving relationship with Jesus (John
6:48-58, John 15:1-5).
Jesus asked Peter, "Are you able to drink of the cup that
I will drink?" (Matthew
20:22) Christ was referring to the incredible suffering he would go
through. Jesus asks us the same—are we willing to take Christ's
self-sacrificing love and incorporate it into our very being?
1. What does Paul say we should do before we participate in the Lord's supper?
I Corinthians 11:27-28
Note: Paul is telling us we should examine ourselves; the test
comes two chapters later—I Corinthians 13, often called the love
chapter.
When we see ourselves in this mirror of
self-sacrificing love, we see just how far this love is above our fallen
nature. Satan uses guilt
to make us ashamed to go to God He leads us to sin, then stands back and
says, "How could you do such a terrible thing!" But "there is no condemnation" in Christ Jesus Romans 8:1). The Holy Spirit brings conviction of
our state and our need, to lead us to him, the fountain of living water (I
John
When we participate in the Lord's supper, we are making a choice; we are publicly saying,
"I believe in what this wine and bread represent. I believe in the principles of Jesus
Christ. I want to partake of his life; I
want to live like he did, for it to become a part of me."
THE MESSAGE OF JESUS
CHRIST
2. Jesus said all the commandments can be summed up into one. What is it?
John 13:34
John 15:12
3. What
kind of love is this? Is it what we are accustomed to calling love?
I Corinthians 13
John
13:34
Note: This kind of love is so different that
they had a totally different word for it in the Greek- agape. In modern
speech, we would call it self-sacrificing love. It is a love which seeks the
benefit, welfare and happiness of another individual, despite the consequences
to oneself. It is unconditional
love. Jesus showed us that it is
the gateway to eternity; the solution to all suffering; the nucleus of all
peace and is ultimately stronger than death.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life." (John 14:6). This does
not mean he came to do some magic trick on the cross or pay some legal penalty
so we could be saved; rather, he, the way he lived his
life, is truth and life.
4. What
did Jesus say would be the results of following his ways of self-sacrificing
love?
John
13:17
John
12:50
John
15:11
John
17:13
(Proverbs
14:34)
Note: The consequences of sin are inherent
in sin; they are not a penalty imposed by God.
The rewards of righteousness are likewise inherent within
righteousness. The power of this love is
so great that it raised Christ from the dead (Proverbs
5. In
contrast, what will be the results if we follow Satan's principles of
selfishness?
Jeremiah
17:6
Deuteronomy
25:65-67
Note: The human heart was created by God for
love and righteousness. Without these things, it is in the dark, lost.
6. Does
God's self-sacrificing love apply only to those who treat us well?
Matthew
5:43-48
I John
4:9
Note: Your "neighbour" is not just
the person living next door; it is anyone you see, anyone who needs your help,
anyone standing next to you—regardless of how they treat you.
Jesus was love personified; what was his attitude towards
the unrepentant men who crucified him (Luke
7. What
if I don't feel love towards someone? Wouldn't it be phony to act
as if I did?
Daniel
1:8
Proverbs
23:7
(Matthew
5:44-45, Jeremiah 31:33)
Note: Love is seeing worth in a
person, and treating them accordingly. It
doesn't mean you have to feel like it, or feel affection. God never requires that. But He does ask us to see worth in a
person. It is an attitude, a
posture, a mental frame-work or mental set from which you can see people. We may not feel affection towards someone,
but we can choose to love them.
There
are two kinds of righteousness: "imputed righteousness" and
"imparted righteousness." Both come from God; we cannot produce any
righteousness on our own.
Doing what God says (loving our enemy)
when we don't really have those thoughts and feelings towards them yet is
called "imputed righteousness."
We treat others like God said we should because we believe in Jesus and
the principle of self-sacrificing love.
If we continue to do this, it will
change us. Jesus has promised to put his law (love) in our hearts. If we follow
Christ's principles—even when we don't feel like it—the feelings will
come with time. Our feelings will follow
our thoughts; if we think negatively towards people, we will end up hating
them. But if we think positive, lovely,
pure, and good thoughts towards them, we will actually be changed into loving,
gentle, kind people. We will come to the
place where we will do what God says (love unconditionally) because we want to;
we think and feel the way God does. This
is called "imparted righteousness," because he has given or
"imparted" his character of unconditional love to us. Read 2 Corinthians
8. What
does the Bible say about religious people who do not practice self-sacrificing
love?
I John
4:20,21
I John
4: 7-8
I Corinthians 13:1-3
HEAVEN ON EARTH
9. What
announcement did Jesus make at the beginning of his ministry?
Mark
Note: For 3½ years, Christ demonstrated how he
runs his kingdom. He will rule the
universe for eternity in the same way he did while he was on earth; using only
mutual love, trust, respect and admiration.
10. How could self-sacrificing love affect
society on a practical basis?
Romans
13:8,10
Note: If we could all see the person standing
next to us (our "neighbour") as the most valuable and important thing
to us on earth, it would eliminate all wrongdoing. You cannot steal from, lie to or cheat a
person you are trying to save! It is
impossible—not because anyone is prohibiting you, but because love is
compelling you (2 Corinthians
11. I can see loving my family and friends
unconditionally. Why will Heaven be
"heaven"?
Acts
Note: The family and friendship
were tools God used to teach us about unconditional love. Heaven will be "heaven" because
everyone will feel this way about everyone they see.
God sees every human being as of inestimable worth. When we learn to see each other this way, we
will already have Heaven on earth (Luke
CONCLUSION
Soon we will hear Jesus' call to the
marriage supper: "Come,
for all things are now ready!" Luke 14:17
Jesus promised us, "I tell you, I will never again drink
this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father's
Kingdom." Matthew
26:29.
Do you choose to proclaim Christ's
love and humility through the communion service until that happy day when we
will drink the wine with him?
My response to Christ is:______________________________