Chapter 6
The Way of the Lord - One Allegiance
We are using the biblical concept of “the Way of the Lord” to build a mental model proven to help organize many of the core truths and principles we discover in the Bible about living in relationship with God. The ideas and concepts of these next chapters will provide a scaffold to support a life of learning as an intentional disciple of Jesus.
There is Room for Only One King
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But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. (1 Peter 3:15)
The Way of the Lord: One Allegiance
In this chapter, I want to answer the question, where do you start if you want to live your life as an intentional disciple of Jesus? The answer is, you must start where the gospel of the Kingdom starts with the recognition of who Jesus really is.
Consider the implications of the following two New Testament statements:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:36)
And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’ (Matthew 28:18)
These two verses are representative of how Jesus and the first disciples presented the gospel to their generation. They were adamant that Jesus came to take charge of the earth.
Because the early disciples understood that Jesus was the Lord and King, having authority over everything, they also understood that the gospel announcement was both an offer of forgiveness and reconciliation with God and a command to yield one’s life in total obedience to Jesus.
The Way of the Lord starts with the Obedience of Faith
Paul’s letter to the church in Rome begins and ends with the expectation that the gospel calls people to swear allegiance to Jesus, trust Him, and then obey Him as their absolute Lord. Notice the repetition of the phrase “the obedience of faith” in the following two passages.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1–7)
Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)
I believe the gospel’s central claim is that God has done everything necessary to rescue His creation when He made Jesus the Lord and the king who saved it. How did Jesus the Lord and the king save creation? He did it by voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross and by taking up His life again after three days. In this way, He defeated the principalities and powers, sin, and death. Because of what He accomplished, humans can be delivered from the power of sin and death, receive forgiveness of sins, and be reconciled with their Sovereign Creator.
In recent generations, that gospel message has been shortened and simplified into a formula for how to go to heaven. The formula involves a few things we need to do, like confession of our sins and certain beliefs, like that Jesus is the Son of God and died for us. God is generous and eager to welcome humanity home to Himself and so rushes like the prodigal father to meet any of us who turn back from our sin and try to head back to Him. However too often those who come back to God who only heard this truncated message miss the rest of the gospel, the parts that lead directly to intentional discipleship with Jesus.
Reversing the Rebellion of Eden
Intentional discipleship with Jesus begins by rejecting Adam and Eve’s bad decision in the Garden of Eden. The first image-bearers shifted their allegiance to that which was not God. The result was death, destruction, and sorrow, which has characterized the path of humanity ever since.
Why did this result in death? Because God is the only source of true life. To reject Him for something else is to turn to a substitute that cannot deliver. When you turn off the light, all that is left is darkness.
The story of the bible is, first and foremost, a call to all humans to come back to where they belong and give their One Allegiance to God again. Jesus’ response in the wilderness to the devil’s temptation demonstrates how it is done:
And Jesus answered Him, ‘It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”’ (Luke 4:8; see also, Deuteronomy 6:13; I Samuel 7:3)
This is why idolatry, the worship of other gods, has always been anathema to God’s people both to the children of Abraham in the Old Testament and the disciples of Jesus in the New Testament. In a famous confrontation between God’s prophet and the people of Israel, the book of I Kings describes a scene when,
“Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow Him.’”[1]
In the New Testament, Jesus took the same stance. “No one can serve two masters, for either He will hate the one and love the other, or He will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”[2]
The realization that Jesus is in charge means we must decide to whom we will swear allegiance and obey. Jesus did not say, consider what I teach and see if it works for you. Rather, He said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) and “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:14) He also said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and it’s righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
And yet we see that throughout the pages of the Bible, and even in modern history, people struggle with giving One Allegiance to God and then maintaining it.
Why Is One Allegiance to God So Hard to Do?
Many of us have grown up in a world with a different Mental Model than the one we find in the Bible. This competing mental model does not readily accept that our primary allegiance in life should be exclusive to the Sovereign Creator, or anyone else for that matter.
The mental model that permeates our culture is built from other assumptions about how to live the best life possible. Our culture sees a different vision of who we are, one that comes from the philosophy of humanism.[3] The often-unspoken assumption in our culture is that humans are the pinnacle of the evolutionary process and human reason is the final judge of truth and reality. Therefore, your allegiance should be to yourself and what makes sense to you not the myths and fantasies of religion.
Following Jesus and living with One Allegiance to Him often involves a journey from one mental model to another. This is not easy to do as we are dealing with deeply buried preconceptions about truth and reality that resist change. But change must happen if we are to be restored to our relationship with God and our role as His image in the earth. The first step is to recognize the idolatry of our culture, repent of allegiance to self above all else, and place King Jesus on the throne of your life.
Summary of The One Allegiance
As we walk in the Way of the Lord, our thinking and behavior are transformed as we are restored to a proper relationship with God where our allegiance, obedience, faith, and commitment are to Him and Him alone.
In the following chapters, we will show how the other elements in this Mental Model are vital parts of this transformational process.
For the life and mission of Jesus’ disciples to flourish, God must be first before everything and everybody else. Nothing else can be allowed to displace Him in this central place in our hearts or our lives.
Here are some questions for consideration and discussion.
What problems might someone experience if they followed Jesus but saw Him only as a savior and friend, not their King and Lord?
When Paul preached about Jesus, He expected people to respond with “the obedience of faith.” How would you explain the gospel if you had the same expectation when sharing Jesus with your family and friends?
Where do you feel challenged to change your life if you have become convinced that what seems “normal” to our culture is dead wrong and following Jesus means a real change in who is in charge of your life?
Chapter 6 Daily Scripture Readings
How to spend some quality time listening to what Jesus would like to say through the scriptures:
In preparation, acknowledge the Lord’s presence and love for you and settle yourself before Him (in your mind and heart).
Read the day’s text carefully; take your time.
Reflect on what you have been reading with a listening ear – what word, phrase, or sentence speaks to you from the text?
Now, talk to the LORD about what you hear from this text. What has Jesus stirred in your heart?
If you were with Him walking from one Galilean village to another, what would you say to Him about this?
Chapter 6 - Day One: Mark 14: 32-50
Chapter 6 - Day Two: Mark 14:53-72
Chapter 6 - Day Three: Mark 15:1-20
Chapter 6 - Day Four: Mark 15:21-47
Chapter 6 - Day Five: Mark 16
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[1] I Kings 18:21
[2] Matthew 6:24
[3] https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/definition-of-humanism/
There are two ways you can go deeper with this material, if you are finding this helpful.
First, read How to get the most from this book. I offer some suggestions about how to do more than skim the pages and move on with minimal impact.
Second, read How to use this book with a small group. This material was formed and proven in a small group setting that has been very effective at helping participants engage with Jesus at a much deeper and transformative level than is typical in our churches today.