Why Work

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
These are, perhaps, the most misunderstood and most ignored verses in all of the Bible. Most Christians want noting to do with what we are directed to do in this passage spoken by Jesus. Most commonly the people in churches on Sunday morning are not in the least interested in the Great Commission and will often tell you or anyone else that inquires that they pay their Pastor to cover their responsibility for this duty.

There is a complete laundry list of problems with this idea and I'd like to discuss some of them here. First of all we need to understand what there is to learn in the book of James about the works of the follower of Jesus. Let's begin with an understanding of who Jesus is and not who He was. In John 1:1-3 we learn that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament and in Mal. 3:6 we learn that He never changes. This alone discards all of the New Testament and New Covenant Christian's perspectives, there is not nor has there ever been a change in the guard... so as to speak.

In the Gospel accounts we are taught by Jesus that if we love Him we will obey His commands. Much to the distress of many, wishing to rationalize the Ten Commandments away, the Ten Mosaic Laws, written by the finger of Jesus on stone tablets are ten commands of Jesus and to make understanding them easy, He simplified them into the Two Greatest Commandments. (Matt. 22:36-40) I am not today nor will I tomorrow tell you that you or any other person can live the Commands and Commandments of Jesus, nor has any other man ever done so. The most common mistake made today is the belief that men were once saved or they were given the opportunity to be saved by living the law. In truth, no man has ever been saved by anything but grace and that of God.

Gal. 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. (NASB) Paul, one of the, very, best Bible Scholars to ever live, having been seated at the feet of Jesus in Asia Minor for three years put it as clearly as it ever need be said, the Mosaic Law is our teacher.

This might seem the long way around to get to the Great Commission but then, there are an awful lot of hard heads in this world that, like myself, do not breath through gills and do not live in the Gulf of Mexico and just like me, you folks need a ring in your nose for a good teacher to jerk on and, inflicting intolerable pain, lead you into the path of righteousness. The Great Commission does, indeed, apply to your Pastor, just as it does also to your Deacons... but it does not loose it's influence there. You have been commanded by Jesus to fulfill this same command. You meet people, every day, that your Pastor will never have the chance to see if you fail to do your duty as the Great Commission points us,.

Duty, there is a word that will lead you, neck deep into heresy very quickly if you're not careful. I will explain to you that I am a slave bought and owned by God and in one manor I owe Him everything but be careful, do not get trapped there! I can work because of that truth and accomplish moving myself straight into the Eternal Death found in the Lake of Fire.

On the flip side of duty to God is love! When my dad married my mother I was ten years old but in a very short time I knew that he loved me and that translated into my love for him. Dad, a military man, had duties that he required to be performed by me but he wanted me to do them not, because he commanded, but rather because I loved him so much that I feared disappointing him. I was not afraid of punishment, punishment was a badge to be proudly worn and I had my rear beat on a good bit at and in school for the things I did there. I and others often bragged about our latest meeting with Coach or the Principal. No, my fear was of the disappointed look on my dad's face and that just killed me because I loved him as much, I like to believe, as he did me. I work for God/Jesus because of that same type of love.

This is a conversation starter and not an exposition of the subject and it is my prayer that I have not understood my Jesus incorrectly and that he will use this to touch your's and other's hearts and that fruitful conversation will ensue.