A sign outside of a church proclaimed: Tithe if you love Jesus. Anyone can honk! Yes, it's a preacher's idea of a joke. There is a lot of sentimental religiosity out there, people who get misty-eyed during prayer time on Sunday morning, who live like the Devil on Monday morning. And that just should not be the case. The Scripture reminds us- "God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life." (1 Corinthians 4:20, The Message) When we choose to identify ourselves with Christ, claiming to be His followers, we are obligated to live in a way that is distinctly different from those who are not Believers. I think most Christians 'get it' intellectually, but many fail to put it into practice. The question is, why?
Some are waiting for a magical moment of transformation to happen. They have confused the fairy tales of their childhood with the reality of the Christian life and believe that somewhere there is an experience to be found that will erase all evidence of the sinful human nature, take away every impulse to selfishness, and leave them blissfully above the seductions of temptation. So, they go right on living a dual life - talking like a Christian, living like the Devil. The Word tells us to "work out your salvation." An alternate reading says, "...you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear." (Philippians 2:12, NLT)
Others are simply abusing the grace of God. They know they ought to live differently, but they think that God winks at their behavior. "Jesus loves me and He's forgiven all my sins, so what's the big deal?" The big deal is that sin exacts a price from us. The principle of sowing and reaping is not set aside just because a person believes in Jesus Christ as her Savior. Yes, God's grace is wide and deep! But, if we sin with our eyes wide open, that sin will produce a terrible harvest down the road. For example, the Believing parent who lives an inconsistent Christian life should not be surprised if his son ditches church and the things of God in his early teens, after all, he may well reason, "if it doesn't 'work' for Dad, why waste time going to church?" To those who think that God's grace gives them liberty to go on living sinfully, the Word says, "Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2, NLT) Farther along in that passage, we read, "That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day." (Romans 6:12, The Message)
Some are just too casual about their faith life, too in love with the ways of the world. Keith Green sang lyrics that say in part, "the world is sleeping in the dark, that the church can't fight, 'cause it's asleep in the light!" Truth is, many Believers are just giving their best energies to the wrong things, deceived about what is really important - yes, asleep in the light. They live two lives, not so much intentionally, but out of immaturity and/or ignorance.
We need to commit ourselves to change, making the choices that lead us to holy lives. This is the will of God for every Believer. Even as I write those words, I am concerned that there will be some who misunderstand them and move into a rigid, rule-based, ugly perversion of Christianity! Those who think, even for a moment, that they can perfect themselves, that they can earn God's favor by adopting an ascetic lifestyle in pursuit of holiness - slide quickly into a Pharisaical religion that Jesus described as having a beauty like a "whitewashed tomb that is full of dead men's bones!" Can you say, U G L Y? True holiness is not a thin veneer of goodness glued over our lust, greed, and selfishness. Holiness is heart deep, resulting from pursuing God with our whole heart. Yes, there are choices to be made that open our lives to the work of the Spirit.
Regular times in personal and corporate worship, giving sacrificially, using our spiritual gifts in service, tithing (had to include that one!), prayer and meditation, confession, Scripture intake - and such things - create channels into our lives through which the Spirit of God flows, bringing real and lasting transformation from sinner to saint. It's a process that never stops until the moment we make the transition from life to Glory.
Get serious about being a great Christian, for the glory of God. If you're just dabbling in the faith, or if you have made peace with habits and sins that diminish the beauty of holiness in you, today is the day to get down to business with God. Tell Him you want to make His goodness known to the world, that you want to shine His Light for all to see.
Here's a word from the Word for your meditation today.
"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Corinthians 3:4-6, NIV)
_________________________________
Here's an old clip of the late Keith Green singing, "Asleep in the Light." I am not sure of the year, but for some of us, it's a trip back to our formative years in the faith.Watch and be blessed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHamV1pfMJU
No comments:
Post a Comment