Believe "In" Or Believe "What"?
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
I have often pondered what it means to “believe” in Jesus or to be a “believer.”
I recently read David Ausburger’s book Dissident Discipleship. Even if you do not agree with all of his strong Anabaptist perspective, it is definitely a thought provoking, worthwhile read. One of the most poignant statements for me was a quote from Clarence Bauman.
Correct belief about Jesus, important as it is, or pietistic experience of believing in Jesus, meaningful as it may be, only point one toward discipleship. Becoming a disciple requires actually believing the Master and slowly coming to believe what the Master believed. [1]
The belief we are called to is far more than just accepting by faith a set of theological propositions about Jesus. We are called to believe the very things that Jesus believed. Belief that Jesus is, is not enough. Agreeing with the teachings of Jesus is far different from believing in them as right and necessary way to live. We are called to embrace the very things Jesus embraced.
To believe in electric light is very different from turning on the lamp to read in an otherwise dark room. The goal is not to just live as Jesus lived, but to be totally in agreement with Jesus, in belief and act. It is to embody the sermon on the mount. It is to embody the way of the servant. It is to embody grace, mercy and love. It is to reflect what it means to be a reconciled, redeemed and sanctified person.
I am not suggesting that we do not teach about Jesus, but Bauman’s thesis that we must believe what Jesus believed pushes us from an observers seat into radical participation. Being a disciple demands that we do not observe the world with detached piety, rather that we engage the world as Jesus entered into the world.
[1] Clarence Bauman as cited by David Ausburger, David Augsburger, Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God and Love of Neighbor (Grand Rapids, MI: BrazosPress, 2006), 39.