I don’t believe I am
incorrect in stating that every “professing” Christian today has the
mindset
that they are a true Christian even though nothing has changed in their lives.
They believe that because somewhere down the line they mouthed a few words that
Jesus is Lord or they believe in Jesus, or walked the aisle, or filled out a
card, or joined a church, etc., etc. they are “okay,” even though nothing has
ever changed in their lives in relationship to Jesus.
True belief in Jesus will
produce a life that is honorable to Him. Perfect? No, but honorable. The Holy
Spirit, who takes residence in the soul of the new believer, will see to it
that he/she grows in the Lord. There will be fruit. There may be just enough
fruit that only God can see, but there will be fruit.
On the other hand, some think
they must produce fruit first in order to be saved. That is also false. Works
do not save anyone. That would be a total contradiction to Ephesians
2:8-9. However, once a person is saved,
they are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will produce fruit
in the life of a true believer (see Galatians 5:22-26).
No person can be saved apart
from God’s grace working through genuine faith in His Son. No works can be
added by man. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The Bible is very clear on this. It is also
just as clear that every true believer in Christ will grow in His grace. Some
may grow much. Others may grow very little, but they will grow. They will be
changed. No man can come to God in true
belief and not be changed.
We live in a day when
ignorance of God’s Word abounds from the pulpits to the pews. Ours is a day
when the “feel-good, it’s all about me” gospel is proclaimed throughout the
land. “Just say the magic words and hop on board to the soul train bound for
Heaven.” “Live for the devil down here. Live for God up there.”
One of the most religious men
of Jesus’ days on earth was Nicodemus, but Jesus told him he must be born again
(John 3:3). He told Matthew, that thieving tax collector, to follow Him
(Matthew 9:9). Jesus, in the Gospels and through the writings of Paul, Luke,
John, Peter, James, and Jude made it very clear to those who will hear that
being His disciple is more than a casual response.
No amount of religion will
save a man (just ask the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 23) and no depth of sin
will keep a man or woman from Christ if he/she really wants to know Him as
Savior and Lord (just ask the Samaritan woman, John 4:5-30 or the man from
Gadara, Mark 5:1-13).
The Lord Jesus seeks to save
all those who know they are not righteous and will follow Him.
“And Jesus answering said
unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)
The problem in these last
days is that so many people are deceived in thinking they are not sick. They
think they are righteous, simply because they say the magic words, “I’m a Christian.” They live no differently
than Satan’s crowd and actually are fool enough to think that God must approve.
“Because thou sayest, I am
rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that
thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel
thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
(Revelation 3:17-18)
Read Luke 5:31-32 again. If
you have never really repented and turned to Jesus, you are not one of His.
Jesus wants all to think about “Who He is.” (Matthew 16:13) If you really
believe, as Peter did, that He is “the Christ, the Son of God,” you have come
at a crossroads in your life, and it is here you either believe in Him or you
just shrug Him off.
Look, let’s say that I have
actually met Glen Campbell, talked to him and shook his hand. Does that make me
a groupie? Of course not, and this is the plight of many “professing”
Christians today. Maybe they met Jesus at a church service. Just because they
met Him doesn’t mean they are a groupie. Why? They will not follow Him. Many of
those in the first century, when Jesus walked the earth in bodily form, did the
same thing. They liked what He had to say. They liked the meals He prepared and
the miracles performed, but they were not interested enough in Him
to follow Him.
Go back to Luke 5:31-32
again. It says a lot. It says that works won’t save anyone. It says that you
cannot be saved until you humble yourself before Him and admit you need Him and
are willing to commit to Him.
You may notice that I have
used several Scriptures from the Gospels. Now some dear soul is probably going
to write me and say, “You can’t use those verses because they’re in the Old
Testament era, before the cross and have nothing to do with the Church.”
If it is true they have
nothing to do with the Church (and it is not true), then I suppose we had
better never use John 3:16 to witness to the lost. Oh, and we had better never
use John 14:1-4 for a Rapture reference. Why? Both of these Scripture passages are before the cross (pre-Church age). Since
they actually part of the Old Testament, we’ll just ignore them. (I’m being
facetious.)
How has our God always saved
people? It has always been by faith in His Son. That includes from Adam to
Abraham, from Abraham to Moses (Law), from Moses to Pentecost, and from
Pentecost (Church) to today. It has always been by faith, real legitimate faith
in Him working by His grace. If we don’t have that, what we have (if anything)
is nothing. We don’t have the life-giving water of God, but instead just plain
water that runs through our fingers and a thirst that can never be quenched.
The attitude of Laodicea
reigns supreme today. Oh there are also plenty of Philadelphians (who will go
up in the Rapture), but far too many who say they are Christians today think
they are rich and have no need of a Physician. What does Jesus say about that?
He said via the apostle Paul,
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
(2 Corinthians 13:5)
Then He said via the apostle
John, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
(Revelation 3:20)
Are you actually a Christian
or are you just playing church? Who are you living for, you and your pleasures
or Jesus Christ?
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
