Friendship With Jesus

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Introduction

A member asked me this week about my statement, “faith is not a gift but a decision”. Of course I recognise the concept of “faith” has many dimensions. In the Bible we find reference to faith as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) and to the spiritual gift of Faith (1 Cor 12:8-10), which are different aspects to what I was describing last week.

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Ephesians 4:11–13 CSB

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

I appreciated the question and feedback because we are in this together. Our calling to Christian community is to help each other grow to maturity (Eph 4:11-13). We will only grow to maturity if we are instructing one another, and that includes you instructing me.

As your pastor and teacher, not only am I a “gift” to you —please do not let me let that go to my head!— my job is to stretch your faith in Jesus and to challenge your Christian lifestyle.

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Why?

I will invariably say things you do not agree with. But do not make the mistake of dismissing me as one “trained in the Uniting Church”. Other than two advanced courses in hermeneutics and exegesis, all my training was more or less complete before I began formation with the UCA —they were training me to be a minister after having been a minister for over 20 years!

My faith was earned. As a result, because I am not invested in a theology by birthright, in my preaching and teaching I tend to challenge ‘sacred cows’ so as to find a better understanding. Let me give you example that builds on last week’s sermon so that we might have a better understanding of faith and salvation.

So What?

An Incomplete Prayer

a person praying with another

I imagine some of you have, at one time or another, been told all that is required to be saved is to pray a sinner’s prayer. Not-yet-believers are told, “Say this prayer after me, accept Jesus as your personal Saviour, and you will be saved.” But nowhere in all the New Testament do we find any person being led to faith in Jesus by a sinner’s prayer. The problem with presenting the good news about Jesus in this way is that it is bad theology or, at least, incomplete theology.

Billy Graham preaching

The sinner’s prayer approach to evangelism was developed in the early 1900s by D.L. Moody and made popular by Billy Graham in the 1950s. It is an easy and measurable method of evangelism, but it leads people to think all that is required for salvation is belief.

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John 3:16 CSB

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Now you might be thinking, “The greatest verse in the Bible, John 3:16, tells us believing in Jesus gives us eternal life”, and that is what it says. I could counter by pointing out these are John’s words and not those of Jesus, but I would rather highlight belief is essential just not enough.

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Matthew 7:21 CSB

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus stated how believing that he is Lord is not enough. Only those who live a Christian lifestyle by doing the will of the Father will enter the Kingdom —in other words, have eternal life. To prove this point further consider that demons believe in Jesus but they are not going to Heaven! (Jam 2:19).

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Matthew 7:22–23 CSB

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

Lest you think all you need is to live a Christian lifestyle —to do good, in other words— consider the rest of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7. There may be those who do good, even attributing it to God and Jesus, but they do not actually know Jesus in any real way, they do not really have faith in him. They will not enjoy eternal life (Mt 7:22-23).

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Believing in Jesus is not enough; doing good is not enough. What is required for faith and salvation is both believing and doing.

Instead of aiming for the bare minimum required for faith and salvation, how about we aim for the highest honour?

In the Bible, being a friend of God is the highest complement made of only a few of the notable and infamous figures whose stories are described in there:

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James 2:23 CSB

and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.

Abraham was called a friend of God (James 2:23)

Exodus 33:11 CSB

The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.

The Lord spoke with Moses face to face (Exodus 33:11)

Job 29:4–5 CSB

I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent, when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,

In his suffering, Job remembered when the intimate friendship of God blessed his house (Job 29:4-5)

John 11:5 CSB

Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus often hosted Jesus at their home and they shared a special relationship with him (John 11:5)

John 15:4–5 CSB

Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

The disciples got to ‘hang out’ with Jesus for 3 years (John 15:14-15)

John 13:23 CSB

One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus.

John especially felt that he enjoyed a friendship with Jesus (John 13:23) and was later granted an incredible vision of the risen Christ (Revelation 1:9–11)

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If I am to be counted among the friends of Jesus, I most certainly do not want to enter the place being prepared by Jesus (Jn 14:2-3) as if I am escaping the fire (1 Cor 3:15)!

Being a friend of God is a very special thing, something worth devoting your life to because, if God is real, then He is our Creator and more than capable of making good on the free, full and forever life promised by Jesus.

Now What?

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How Does Jesus Know You Are His Friend?

How does this change our understanding of discipleship?

How does Jesus know you are his friend? Does he know you ‘have his back’? Does he know your shoulder is always available? Are you loyal to him ‘through thick and thin’?

Are you a friend of Jesus or merely benefitting from the association to him? (Mt 7:22-23)

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Do People See in You All the Benefits of Being a Friend of Jesus?

How does this change our understanding of making disciples?

Do we teach a low view of faith and salvation? Do we encourage others in the bare minimum required or, even worse, only in one half of what is required for faith and salvation?

Do people see in you and in our community all the benefits of being a friend of Jesus?

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