More specifically, what is your goal as a disciple of Jesus Christ? And if you can articulate your goal, do you know how your going to get there? In serving in the Army Special Forces, we often trained to fight and called it combatives. The combatives that I'm talking about here are not the ones we see in the video games and in the movie house per se. However, cabatives in the US Army and biblical are similar in that they are both fought for a honorable and principal cause.
When I joined the military and volunteered to be a Special Forces Green Beret, my motives we not exactly honorable. The motto within Special Forces is "De Opresso Liber" - To Free the Oppressed" and as time went on that motto took on a greater significance in what I was training and fighting for. In other words, I learned that I was fighting for something worthwhile and much bigger than I was or ever could be. I believe that part of the image of God (Imago De) of man is that we hunger for a noble fight.
I mentioned the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28) above and in a nutshell that's what discipleship is - image. We were created in the image of the Father but sin messed that image up and were put in a position of desperation for renewal (Romans 5:12-21). Christ's life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and soon return gives us that renewal and ability to relate again to a holy God as well with one another (2 Cor. 3:18; Colossians 1:15, 3:10). He (Christ) is our example and the One we must look to and at as a disciple, which means we must look away from our sin and self (2 Corinthians 4:6). That's why our vision here at Mt Zion Baptist Church is to glorify God by igniting a passion for Christ, period. This vision and gospel knowledge of Christ keeps is on course so that we not only behold but our transformed into the image of Christ to the glory of God. We fight for many things and my fighting in the Army started out in selfish desires but as I beheld the the cause as honorable and principled it changes me. The same is with discipleship - true nobility and honor converge at the foot of the Cross with the Person and word of Christ. It is a true when one says we become what we behold.
I am the son of my Father and he has rubbed off on me in so many ways. The same is true with many others who invested and poured their life into me. The problem, however, is Genesis three. Yes, we're saved but saved sinners. We still have that old nature in us and unfortunately find ourselves sliding back into the broken image. That's why the gospel - the person and work of Christ is not just for our new birth but that same gospel calls us back to look at Jesus over and over again. It's an everyday thing! It was the gospel - the initial grace of God through the drawing of the Spirit (Jn 6:44) that opened our eyes to see Jesus for our new birth and justification. But it is that same gospel that must continue to empower us to continue to behold Jesus and change us into the image of his glory (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). How can this be? Remember when Jesus ascended to be at the right hand of the Father, he did not leave us comfortless. It's the person of God in the person of the Spirit that lives within a believer and a true disciple must rely on the Spirit to focus and draw our attention to Jesus. However, that's where the fighting comes in - amen? Are you still hooking and jabbing with the Spirit to be like Jesus? I would submit to you that it's a definite goal worth fighting for, even to give our very lives to it. When was the last time, like Moses, you said "Please show my your glory" (Exodus 33:18)? Oh that we would be willing to fight the noble fight to behold the face of Jesus in our lives.
So what's the goal of a disciple? First, there is going to be a fight (1 Timothy 6:12). The fight to believe the gospel - a real belief that shakes us out of our culturally comfortable Christianity that has created our own gospel. Disciples of Christ fight in knowing that Jesus' death and resurrection is ours as well. Dead to sin and alive to Christ (Romans 6:11; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 3:18). We aren't fighting to be perfect as our perfection is already ours in Christ, but for BELIEF. Do we really believe it? If so we would be beholding Him more as revealed in Scripture and becoming more like Him every day. As we used to say in the Army, "let's gear up for the fight." Let's gear up for the fight and believe the gospel - it's a worthy and noble fight.
