Let me begin by acknowledging that I know myself to be flawed. After all I'm still a sinner, I've just been saved by God's grace, through Christ's sacrifice, & my surrendered faith in Him as Lord. It's as the old song goes, "I'm prone to wonder, Lord I feel it".
Listen, we all slip, we all fall, but that doesn't define our faithfulness to Christ, but rather it demonstrates the faithfulness of His promise & love towards us!
Todays blog isn't about judging the flaws of "believers", but more about looking at the mindset of so many who profess themselves to be "believers". A mindset that has spread like cancer throughout the American church, across denominational lines.
For years I've listened to "Christians" talk, watched their behaviors, & in more recent days, have read their Facebook & Twitter posts, & I must say...it's disturbing to see what so many, who claim to be "followers of Christ", actually believe to be truth. Now, I could take on each issue individually, but that would take quiet a while & the chances of anyone actually reading this would most likely drop significantly, so I'll just cut to the heart of the matter...
This idea that a "Christian" can choose to believe what they want to believe, that one has the right to interpret scripture any way he or she sees fit, & statements like "I'm entitled to my own opinion", as a "Christian" is not only absolute nonsense, but is a complete contradiction to what is means to "trust in Christ as Lord"!
Let's look at what the bible has to say...
Jesus said, in Luke 9:23, that if anyone wants to follow Him that they must deny themselves, daily. Likewise, the Apostle Paul states in Romans 10, that to be saved one must "confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus"...which, by the way, is not a recognition of Jesus being God, but rather a verbal submission to Jesus as ones Lord & Master; this is the act of becoming a "bond servant", someone who willingly gives themselves to another as their life long servant!
When we as true followers of Christ make this covenant with God, we then forfeit the right to make our own descisions or to determine for ourselves what we will or will not do, what we will or will not say, or where we will or will not go...it's longer up to us, but to Him to whom we have pledged our allegiance. This is what it means to be a Christian.
I don't recall who said this or where I read it, but it's truth is so profound..."No one can say 'No Lord, for to say Lord is to say yes!"
We, who say we are Christ followers, must understand this...
Jesus did not die to fix us, He died to change us !
Jesus did not die to make us better, He died to make us new!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)
When we trust in Him for salvation we trust that His ways & His thoughts are higher than ours, that what He says (what the bible says) is truth, regardless of what we've formally thought, what we've been taught, or what society says. His views become our views...our opinions on all issues become molded & formed into what the Spirit of God tells us through His written word.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)
Here's my final word on the subject....
Ether Jesus is Lord or He is not!
