Are You Abiding or Sliding?

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him,“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed (John 8:31 NKJV). 

So, let’s see if we have this straight – Jesus is telling those people who already believed Him that if they would abide in His word, THEN they would be His disciples.  Interesting because I thought the only prerequisite to being a disciple is to “accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.”  This definitely borders on that age old debate of are we saved by faith alone or faith plus works.  Well, I think Jesus is making the case here that it is both.  It is what James explains in that often quoted verse:  “Faith without works is dead.”  This does not mean that we must have works in order to be saved – which is the misconception on the one side of the argument, but it does mean that the faith alone by which we are saved in Ephesians 2:10 (the other side of the argument) will produce works in synch with His Word.

The middle ground of truth on the works vs. grace debate resides in that concept of abides.  This is an interesting concept that we should not step over too quickly.  Noah Websters’ 1828 dictionary defines abide to mean:

·      To rest, or dwell.

·      To continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and immovable.

·      To remain, to continue.

·      To wait for; to be prepared for;

·      To endure or sustain.

·      To bear or endure patiently.

So, Jesus is telling those who believe in Him that if they rest, dwell, continue permanently, immovable, enduring patiently in His Word, THEN they will be His disciples.  By the way, last time I checked, those people in the category of those “who believe in Him” include you and me.  So the matter moves from a theological debate and becomes quite personal, leaving us with some extremely probing questions - Are we abiding in God’s Word?  And if we are, what should our life look like?  Does it?

When you consider how many people describe their religious affiliation as “Christian,” yet do not manifest even a trace of God’s principles and heartbeat found in His Word, you can begin to understand more fully the implications of what Christ is telling us in this admonition.  And you can appreciate the Apostle Paul’s warning to the Corinthians in Chapter 13:5 when he says,

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV).

Let’s connect the dots.  If Christ is truly in you, is He not the Word incarnate?  So, if Christ dwells in your heart – BY FAITH, then by the very definition of that word in Hebrews 11:1 - would not the substance of that unseen individual be the evidence of a changed life – one that looks like Jesus?

Today, I need to examine my every action and thought to see if I am truly resting, dwelling, continuing permanently, immovable, and enduring patiently in God’s Word in a way that is evident to others.