August 30, 2007

I am a Platypus

"I'm a platypus", Charles stated as he stared Dr. Stephens square in the eye.

"You… are a platypus?" questioned the confused psychologist.

"Yep, that is correct. An Australian once told me," confirmed Charles.

Charles was convinced he was a platypus despite the fact that he had absolutely none of the characteristics of a platypus. He didn't look, sound or even act like a platypus, but nobody was going to convince him other wise.

A similar instance happened with a tree named Thorn. He was convinced he was an apple tree. In fact, Thorn would try to convince others that he was an apple tree by tying apples to his limbs. Some were fooled, but others were not. They knew that apple trees bear apples by nature. No matter how many apples Thorn tied to his limbs, he still wasn't an apple tree.

Then there was Judas. He claimed that He was a follower of a man named Jesus from Nazareth. Jesus knew better however. Judas may have convinced some, but Jesus knew his heart. His actions eventually revealed this as he betrayed Jesus into the hands of those who would eventually crucify Him.

Now, how ridiculous is it to mistake a human for a platypus or to mistake a tree that never produces any apples for an apple tree. Wouldn’t it be just as ridiculous to profess to be Christian while not showing any signs of following Christ?

Before I go any further, let me make something clear. I am not teaching salvation by works. That would be extremely unbiblical. A person can only come to Jesus Christ by God's grace through faith. Our good works or deeds will never save us. Salvation is a gift and what a wonderful gift it is! However, a misunderstanding of God's "grace" can get a professing Christian in a heap of trouble.

The most dangerous thing that has happened in our day is that Christians have started teaching others that if they repeat a certain prayer that they will be saved.

Matthew 15:8
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Faith is Jesus Christ is not repeating a prayer. On the other hand, it is not a set of religious morals either. Neither one of these things makes us a Christian any more that saying that a person likes movies makes them a movie star.

It all starts with the intent of the heart. Period. A person can repeat a prayer whose heart does not desire to follow Christ. A person can have wonderful morals but not have a true love for God. By the way, love is action; and that is the purpose of this article. It is love in action that reveals the intent of the heart.

James 2:17-19
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Even though good deeds, obedience to God, works, etc. cannot save a person; the result of a person's salvation is good deeds, obedience to God, works, etc.

Salvation is transformation; literally not figuratively. It is supernatural. It is a divine act. It is like the thorn tree being transformed into the apple tree!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Those aren't just words! If a professing Christian doesn’t bear fruit then they are not what they claim to be. God has not transformed that individual. He/She never has truly repented of their sins and given their life to Christ. They may have said a prayer, but that was with their lips and not with their heart.

Again, let me stop for a moment and explain myself clearly. Christians aren’t perfect. I doubt there is a day that goes by in which I do not sin. A Christian who thinks that they no longer sin has been led astray by their own self righteousness and no longer needs Christ (or at least that is their attitude).

1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

There is a difference between a sin and a lifestyle of sin however.

1 John 3:9
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him,
and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

And though nobody but God knows the heart of an individual, the Jesus did say that there will be signs that reveal true believers.

Matthew 7:17-20
So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Not only should the heart of a new creation in Christ desire not to do wrong, but to do what is right. Yet sadly, so many have no desire to pray to the very God they claim to have a relationship with. Nor do they desire to know Him better or to grow by reading His Word. Many do not even attend church nor believe that they should. Though that is unheard of in Scripture, it is understandable that a person who is not reading the Bible would have that view.

Salvation is not head knowledge that Jesus died on a cross for sins. It is a decision to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior. This decision transforms a person by the Holy Spirit of God in to a fruit bearing disciple of Christ.

A professing believer should ask themselves these questions:

If you've done so, what moved you to pray for salvation? Was it because you were sorrowful for your sins or was it just because you didn't want to go to hell? Hopefully it is the former and not the latter.

Since that time, is your innermost desire to follow Christ's lead? I’m not asking if you are perfect. However, more than anything else, is your biggest desire to grow as a Christian and to know God more? Be honest with yourself. If your answer is yes, congratulations; you love Christ and can rest in the fact that the Holy Spirit working inside of you. You can be secure in the fact that you are a Christian.

If you can't tell a difference between yourself and your lost friends, beware because you may be one of them. If you say you love Christ but it is just words; if you say you follow Christ, but you are continually leading; if you say you believe, but all that means is that you have head knowledge of Christ, than Jesus has not become Lord of your life. Lord means ruler. You cannot call Jesus Savior without calling Him Lord! You can’t have one without the other.

I realize that I may have angered some by writing this. In fact, this may be the most offensive column that I have yet to write. However, I don't write this because I want to purposely offend anyone. What would be the purpose of that? What would be my motive? It is because I, like other Christians, believe the Bible when it says that there will be those who claim to know Jesus Christ on the final day of judgment, but they will be horrified to find out that they were dead wrong! ( Matthew 7:22-24) How horrible and tragic! I don't want to see that.

The Gospel is great news! There is nothing like being a friend of God. There is nothing like being His child. There is nothing like knowing that He is working everything out in life for your well being, whether in good times or bad. There is nothing like knowing that salvation is truly a gift that cannot be taken from you and not only did Jesus Christ save you from an eternity in hell, but He is preparing a wonderful place beyond imagination for you in heaven. There is peace and comfort in salvation. There is joy and forgiveness. There is nothing the Christian has done to deserve this, but He does it anyway. That is what Grace is. All we have to do is repent and place our trust in Him. He does the rest. If fact, He already has on the cross. So works do not produce salvation, God does. The point of this article is that salvation produces works.

The “Judas” type of believer is nothing new, but it is still just as tragic. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, there were those who claimed to follow God but did not. Christ dealt with the same type of people in His days on earth. A few hundred years ago in what is now referred to as the "Great Awakening", preachers like George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards cried out to glazed over congregations to question their salvation. They understood that sitting in a church pew didn't make someone a Christian.

I believe that America needs another awakening! There are many who know they don't believe and don't really care. May God change their hearts as well, but I write to those who may not realize they are lost. Are you in God's Word? Do you pray God's will be done? Do you truly have a relationship with your Creator or are you just religious?

If not, I beg you; prayerfully consider the following passages today:

James 1:22-25
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

"Abide" means to remain.

John 8:31
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

John 15:4-6
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

1 John 2:6
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 3:6
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

1 John 3:24
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 4:13
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

2 John 1:9
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

Matthew 7:20-27 (Jesus speaking)
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."


--
Scott A. Hescht
Psalm 22 Ministries

http://www.psalm22.net/
LifeSpring Church
http://www.thespringchurch.com/

August 20, 2007

A Sign of Wisdom and Christian Maturity

1 Corinthians 10:23 (ESV)
"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.

About three-fourths of the German autobahn road system has no blanket speed limit; and in those areas, the average speed is about 93 mph. While most European car manufacturers operate under a "gentleman's agreement" to limit the top speeds of their cars to 155 mph, autobahn speeds of up to 186 mph are not unheard of.

Even if you could legally drive that fast, would you really want to? Just because things are possible doesn't always mean they are advisable. There are plenty of lifestyle choices we are free to make that are permissible, but not healthy or safe. The apostle Paul made that point when writing about spiritual freedom—and when it's best to practice self-restraint for our own good and the good of others. God places strict limits on some areas of life (see the Ten Commandments) and "wisdom" limits on other areas. The mature Christian is the one who chooses those things that are permissible and wise at the same time.

The next time you have a decision to make, ask yourself who all will be impacted, and how. Let wisdom and restraint be your guides.

- David Jeremiah

August 01, 2007

Spiritual Tuning

We have turned, every one, to his own way.Isaiah 53:6

Recommended Reading 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship." These are the words of A. W. Tozer, who clearly understood the importance of fellowshipping with believers in order to keep our minds and hearts turned toward the Lord.

On our own, it is easy to become out of tune and start living a life that is in disagreement with God's standard. But when we surround ourselves with the body of in-tune believers, our ears are suddenly opened, and we hear our need for a spiritual tuning.

Keep yourself in tune with the Lord by staying in consistent fellowship with other believers.
There are many things which a person can do alone, but being a Christian is not one of them. As the Christian life is, above all things, a state of union with Christ and of union of His followers with one another, love of the brethren is inseparable from love of God.
William T. Ham --from Turning Point

DAVID STONE
NORTHWAY BAPTIST CHURCH
281-441-9473