I have always struggled with this concept of "The Sunday Christian" or the "Get out of Hell free card" and even the popular modern saying: "Once you accept Christ into your heart, there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation." While these statements may hold an amount of truth, they are only a recipe to be taken out of context and used to the advantage of lukewarm Christians, and we all know how God feels about lukewarm Christians.
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. -Revelation 3:15-16
God is pretty blunt about how he feels about lukewarm Christianity--maybe I am misinterpreting, however, I do not think the expression of spitting something out of your mouth is a term of endearment.
Knowing full well God despises the middle ground, how then do people claim they have had their life "drastically changed" by God, yet do not live their life "drastically changed?" Lukewarm Christians talk about a time in their past when they accepted Jesus into their heart, yet hearing the message that there is nothing they can do from that point on to lose their salvation, take that as an invitation to continue living their life exactly how they were living before. They walk into church on Sunday morning, still hungover from the night before. But God loves us anyway. But I am never going to be perfect, so why try? Theres nothing I can do to earn my salvation, so why should I waste my time on fruitless efforts?
Do you understand the problem with these somewhat biblical truths, and how they cause so much havoc to the mission followers of Jesus Christ are called to? Do you? I would be so bold as to say you don't because if you did, wouldn't we have started a revolution?
HOW DARE those who represent the power of the Holy Spirit, walk out of this church and falsely bear witness.
HOW DARE THOSE LUKEWARM CHRISTIANS broadcast that they way they live is the power Jesus Christ has in Christians's lives.
HOW DARE YOU SUNDAY CHRISTIANS CLAIM TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A HEAVENLY FATHER WHEN ALL YOU WANT IS A PASS OUT OF HELL--WHEN ALL YOU WANT ARE THE REWARDS OF HEAVEN IN ADDITION TO THE REWARDS OF EARTH.
Sorry, folks. But you have to choose. You can have glory and fulfillment in the material things of this earth, or you can have eternal fulfillment in Heaven. You can't have the best of both worlds. Sorry, but the Hannah Montana of my childhood has been dead for years.
There is nothing comparable to the change God brings in your life when you surrender your will, your life, your dreams, ambitions, hopes, fears--everything to him. There is a drastic change. You become a new creation. An entirely new creation.
Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. -2 Corinthians 5:17
A new way of living. Which means that you must live differently now than you did before. And if you don't? I am not saying you are condemned to Hell if you don't read your bible everyday, however, if you are not drastically different than before you gave Christ complete reign over your life, maybe it is time to start reevaluating how sincere that decision was.
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? -Matthew 7:16
You are a tree. And you produce a fruit. Everyone does. You cannot claim to be an apple tree if you are producing pears. You cannot say, but I really want to be an apple tree, and I have studied all about how to best be an apple tree, and I really like apple trees, and I grow right next to apple trees all summer long. No matter how much you claim to be an apple tree, your fruit will speak for you--we wont need any Lorax up in these here parts.
Am I making you uncomfortable? maybe a little squeamish? A little sweaty?
Good. That is precisely my intention.
Because GUYS. This is important.
God despises lukewarm Christians. He said he will
spit.
us.
out.
of.
his.
mouth.
like poison; like something gone rotten; something that is so detestable that it is not even worth swallowing.
(& I've swallowed some pretty gross food in my time. i.e Anything pumpkin)
Are you understanding me? Am I getting through?
Our lives must be radically changed. We should be so filled with the spirit of God that we are yearning to do his works, that it brings us the upmost joy to shamelessly live the life he has called us to live. We cannot simply be the bench warmers, yelling "Go team" every once in a while, yet playing Angry Birds--is that still a thing?--on our phone the whole time. You can't act like that, and then expect to carry the trophy home when your team wins. Your team would drop kick you faster than you could say "lukewarm."
Its. The. Same. Thing.
Except this isn't some meaningless high school game. This is your eternity we are talking about. This is your relationship with the CREATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH we are discussing.
So maybe I was wrong. Maybe its not the same thing. Guys, its so so so much more than that.
We cannot take this mission God has called us to lightly. We can not shrug our shoulders and say well I tried, God doesn't expect me to be perfect. Oh well.
NO!
Is Yale going to accept a 2.0 average student because they tried really really super duper hard, and wanted it more than anyone? You can bet your britches they wont!
I know this is a hard topic to discuss, and I know I am not an on fire Christian 100% of the time. But Ladies and Gentlemen, if we are willing to settle for the lame excuse that we are naturally sinful human beings, we have no right bearing the name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for my sins, as well as yours so we could send him an IOU and a list of our good intentions.
No one changed lives with a list of good intentions.
No one made it to Heaven on a pile of good intentions.
We must never settle for good intentions.
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