Life’s Two Most Important Questions
Tony Cooke
Saul of Tarsus was a man on a mission. He was sincere, but he was on an entirely wrong path. In speaking of his former violent opposition to the church, Paul later said “I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim 1:13 NKJV).
When Jesus supernaturally interrupted Saul on the road to Damascus, he made two inquiries, and I would propose that these are arguably the two most important questions a person can ever ask. Following the blinding light and the astonishing voice, Saul asked:
“Who are You, Lord?” (Acts 9:4 NKJV)
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” (Acts 9:6 NKJV)
Likewise, if we can get those two issues accurately settled in our hearts and minds, we are going to be positioned to do tremendously well in life. Let’s look at each of these individually.
Who Are You Lord?
Because Jesus warned of “false christs” (Matt 24:24 NKJV), it must be extremely important that we know who the real Christ is. A false christ cannot save anyone. We also know that the genuine identity of Jesus is important because of the way he questioned his disciples about who people said he was. “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matt 16:14 NKJV).
Many people would go on a major ego trip if they were thought to be, or were even compared to such great biblical figures, but Jesus was unimpressed; he knew the reality of who he was, and wanted his disciples to know also. Then the Lord took it a step further and made it profoundly personal, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:15 NKJV). Because of the Father’s revelation, Peter’s response was spot-on: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16 NKJV).
As powerful as that statement was and still is, it is only one of hundreds of revelations from Scripture about the identity of Jesus. We cover a vast array of these in my book, Magnificent Jesus, but let me share just a few with you here.
Atoning Sacrifice
Author and Finisher of Faith
Author of Life
Bread of Life
Brightness of God’s Glory
Chief Shepherd
Eternal High Priest
Exact Likeness of God
Head of the Church
Heir of All Things
Hope of Glory
I AM
Judge of the Living and Dead
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Lion of the Tribe of Judah
Lord of Heaven
Messiah the Prince
Power and Wisdom of God
Prince of Peace
Resurrection and Life
Ruler Over the Kings of the Earth
Shepherd and Guardian of Souls
Sun of Righteousness
Supreme Over All Creation
True Light
Visible Image of the Invisible God
Can you imagine these descriptions and titles being applied to anyone else, or assumed by any other person?
You would be shocked if someone came up to you at church next weekend and said, “Hi. I’m Jim, and I’m the Author of Life.” Or, if someone said, “Hello. I’m Rebecca, and I’m the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” We would consider such statements to be the most ludicrous things we had ever heard.
This is why a thirteenth century church leader said that “Christ was either liar, lunatic, or Lord!” And yet we know that the Lord Jesus truly embodies and rightly personifies all of the titles and descriptions in the previously-cited list, and a myriad of others as well.
When Saul was overwhelmed with the glory of his presence and asked who he was, the Lord simply answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5 NKJV). The very name of Jesus encapsulates every other name, title, description, power, work, and accomplishment related to him.
Lord, What Do You Want Me To Do?
After asking about the Lord’s identity, Saul’s next question was one that reflected a submissive heart — one that wanted to obey. “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6 NKJV). We would not have faulted Saul if he had posed the same question as the Philippian jailer: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30 NKJV). As he was baptized and began his spiritual journey of faith with Jesus, Paul would learn much about the means of salvation and its ramifications in life. For example, that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works, and that salvation is a gift (Acts 2:8). He would come to understand that “those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17 NKJV).
From our perspective today, we understand that receiving is pre-requisite to doing. However, Paul was wired as a man of action, both before and after receiving salvation. He would also teach believers and churches to become people of action. As we expand on a verse referenced earlier, Paul wrote:
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Paul understood and articulated that our salvation is not “of” works, but that we have been saved “for” good works. We should never be content simply to receive something from God without it having a resulting, outward expression through us and from us. This is also revealed in Jesus’ statement, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:8 NKJV).
As we consider this, we realize that works (and I’m speaking of good works) are never the root of our salvation, but they are the fruit of our salvation. Good works are never the cause of our salvation, but they are the result of our salvation.
Paul’s willingness and eagerness to do something for the Lord was a major emphasis in his writings. In one of Paul’s shorter books, the Epistle to Titus, he gave his spiritual son five directives regarding works.
- He told Titus to show himself “to be a pattern of good works” (Titus 2:7 NKJV).
- Paul said that Jesus redeemed us so that we would be “His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14 NKJV).
- Titus was instruct believers “to be ready for every good work” (Titus 3:1 NKJV).
- Paul instructed believers to “be careful maintain good works” as “these things are good and profitable to men” (Titus 3:8 NKJV).
- Finally, Paul admonished, “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14 NKJV).
Can you imagine a group of believers who were sincerely eager and hungry (a) to know Jesus more and more, and (b) to work productively for God? I would propose that we don’t just ask these questions once in our life, but as a matter of consecration, that we ask them again and again.
Just because we know some things about Jesus doesn’t mean that we can’t know him more fully. The first part of Philippians 3:10 in the Amplified Bible reads, “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…” If Paul could want to continually be growing in his knowledge of Lord Jesus Christ, can’t we as well?
Further, Paul labored through many seasons and was ever-ready to tackle the next assignment that God had for him. Though he asked the two questions initially, I don’t think he ever stopped asking, “Who are You, Lord?” and “Lord, what do You want me to do?” What about me? What about you? Are we still in pursuit of ever-increasing knowledge of him? Are we eager to labor for him in any capacity in which he asks us to serve?
May God help us all to value these two all-important questions, not just observationally as we see Saul having asked them, but personally, as we embrace the same heartfelt passion to know and serve the Lord with all of our hearts.
Afterthought
If you want to read about “Who are you, Lord?” I would suggest my book, Magnificent Jesus. To Learn more about “What do you want me to do?” I recommend my book, The Work Book: What We Do Matters to God. Both are available at www.tonycooke.org or by calling 918-645-9120.
