True Faith?

One of the obstacles in the church today, is that people profess to be Christians with their mouths but not with the lives. Many would argue that all you have to do is "believe" in Jesus and you will be saved. They often even use scripture to back up that claim. John 6:47 says "he who believes has everlasting life. However, when people use verses like that (meaning like that is the end of the story) they tend leave VITAL parts of the story.

Example. A transcript of announcers at Chicago Bears vs Green Bay Packers game in overtime.
....field goal try to win the game. There's the snap, it up and it's GOOD!!! BEARS WIN!!! BEARS WIN!!
If someone (especially a bear fan) was browsing through that transcript and read BEARS WIN they would often conclude that the Bears won. However, if they kept reading, and in fact read the whole transcript, they would realize that the Bears right tackle jumped offsides, they were backed up 5 yards, and missed the next field goal attempt.   Green Bay took over, drove it down the field, and won the game.

Some may be saying, "Come on Mike we have heard for years, all you have to do is believe in Jesus. We go to church, we have been baptized, etc. etc. How can you say that is not enough?"

Well, as always, we have to go to God's word. Read Acts 8: 9-24 the story of Simon the Sorcerer. We see that Simon was man that was highly regarded because of his magic arts. in Samaria, he attracted big crowds from all different segments of society from the smallest to the greatest. They even claimed that he was the power of God. Then Phillip came to Samaria preaching the word, healing the sick, and casting out demons. And the people heard Phillip and were being baptized, men and women alike.

Then we see that even Simon the Sorcerer BELIEVED and was BAPTIZED. He started following Phillip and was amazed at what Phillip was doing.

We then see that the apostles came to pray for and were laying hands on the people and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw this, he wanted this power that the apostles had. He offered to pay for this power.  We see Peter's response to him in verse 20 "May your silver PERISH WITH YOU, because you thought that you could obtain the gift of God with money. Peter goes on to say that your heart is not right before God.

Peter tells him to repent, and says that Simon is still stuck in bondage to sin. Instead of doing what Peter instructs him, Simon tells Peter to pray for him.   Simon was unwilling to to do what is necessary to be approved by God.

So we see that Simon BELIEVED was BAPTIZED and even followed Phillip for a while.   However, he did not want give up his previous life and truly follow Christ as Christ said in 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  Even though Simon believed, he did not want to give up his previous sinful life and because of this he will perish as Peter said.

Do not be deceived into thinking that you are saved only because you believe in Jesus. We not only have to accept Christ as our Savior but also accept Christ as Lord of our lives. He is what we live for.    Until next time.

Welcome Facebook Friends

Welcome facebook friends. I hope that this works.   I started this blog a few months ago, feel free to take a look at it from the beginning.

Facebook

Well, for the most part, I started this blog as a way to share what the Lord is doing in my life with family and close friends. I have been reluctant to get involved in the facebook frenzy due to some of the downside possibilities that are associated with being exposed to the world.

However, there are some upsides also. After some deep thought, I realized that trusting God is not just something that we say. If we are truly committed to being obedient to God's word, then the challenges that come with that are to be welcomed. For as Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

It is my desire to do God's will, and when I start to worry about this earthly tent, then I am not trusting in God as I should.  As I step out in faith, my prayer is that God would be glorified in this new experience.

Challenge continued

As we continue our search of what a true believer in Christ looks like, we are reminded that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5.

However, when we examine ourselves, we need to measure ourselves with what God says in the Bible and not what the world says. That goes back to the false assumption that "good people go to Heaven"

After that examination, what did you find?  Im sure for most of us, what we found was not very appealing. When we went to Kansas a couple of weeks ago, there was a quote from Brennan Manning in the back of the church. It stated "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world is today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Jesus said this in Matthew 10:33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

In the first part of Matthew 7:21 Jesus says "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

What is IMPORTANT to understand from that verse, (and in fact from the whole Bible) is that God does not guarantee heaven to everyone who "says" they  have faith in Christ.

So, after the examination of ourselves, did we find that we are only confessing our faith in Christ with our lips?........If so, be assured just as Jesus said, you will NOT be going to heaven.

When we look at the second part of Matthew 7:21, we see what is required of us to get into heaven........"but he who DOES the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."

Do not be fooled, you cannot be a true believer by just professing your faith in Christ; your lifestyle has to show it.  Does EVERYONE: family, current friends, older friends, co-workers, etc. KNOW that you are a follower of Christ?   If not, be moving toward making Him known.    Until next time.