It was John Wesley who once evaluated what he called “The whole of Christianity” or “the Christian enterprise” and reduced this life to five commitments he referred to as “Christian Duty.” It was his way of saying, “what is the essence of faith being lived in a person’s life?” How would you answer that Question? This is what Wesley said:
o The renouncing of ourselves (Matthew 16:24)
o The devoting of ourselves to God (2 Corinthians 5:15)
o Self-Denial (Philippians 2:3)
o Continually advance in self-mortification (Gal 2:20)
o Christ lives in me! (Ephesians 2:5)
Everything about these five “rules” says less of me and more of Him! The Bible suggests (commands) that you and I must die before we can truly live. It is the greatest paradox we must overcome if we are ever to embrace “a new heaven and new earth.” What looks and sounds like hardship and defeat is nothing less than deliverance and restoration into “the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19). Turns out that our “Christian Duty” is to follow through on the greatest gift in all of history. Heaven awaits our response. Flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Only that which is born of Spirit will endure for all eternity. Isn’t it time to ask – “What world do I want to belong to?”