Many
people today are hiding under the umbrella of Christianity. They lack
discipline, commitment, lazy about , yet want to be called Christian. I have trouble finding anything that even
remotely resembles “Christ” in them.
Many
Christians today are getting soft on Biblical principles, Christians of
compromise. Most support and engage in homosexuality (even when they knew the
bible is against it from cover to cover). Some engage in sexual immorality with
random people during the week with no intentions of marrying them(they seem to
forget the aspect of the bible that talk of marriage is honorable with bed undefiled).
Some seek for divorce once they get “bored”
with their spouse. If some display their character here, you will be tempted to
question their faith; they lie, cheat, steal, brag at every giving opportunity,
yet they tell you of how great a "Christian" they are.
Christianity
to most people today means you say a simple prayer to “accept Jesus as
your Lord and saviour ,” just endure you go to church on Sunday . Having confessed Jesus as their Lord
and saviour, they are free to do whatever their mind or heart desires. Of
course they are guaranteed of heaven. After all, they are “covered with the
blood of Jesus,” You hear them say, am living by grace, Christ has paid all the
price on the cross for me.
Please
don’t get me wrong. Seriously no one is near perfect. The bible says, for
all have sin and come short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23). I’m a
sinner saved by God’s grace alone (eph. 2:8). But we are not
saved into sin but rather saved from sin. Apostle Paul says, 1
Cor. 15:10, but by the grace of god I what I am: and his grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than all,,,,, Jesus
said that if we love Him, we’ll keep His commandments. Accepting
Christ means allowing Him to take over so we can become LIKE
Christ. It implies a total dedication to God’s will, and sin
certainly has no place near God.
Yes
we may slip into sin, but we certainly don't remain in sin. Can I tell you
something? Any sin not repented of cannot be remitted. Genuine repentance leads
to forgiveness of sin. You don't come and confess sin that you know if have the
slightest opportunity you will commit again. Let stop deceiving ourselves, God
knows all our heart. Being a “Christian sinner” is an oxymoron, because
Christians are called to leave habitual sin and turn to Christ.
Some \Christian does not seen anything wrong
with watching pornography, was perfectly fine that he openly engaged in a
homosexual relationship as a “Christian.” He had no intention of stopping, and
he really enjoyed speaking of God’s grace. This is utter wickedness and deceit.
In
the early days, Christianity meant serious compliance with God’s will–many
times resulting in great sacrifices (such as death!). This simply mean a total
dedication of one's life to God almighty. It was relatively easy to spot a
Christian by their actions and deeds. Their Christian fruit was easily
recognized, and there was just something “different” about them when compared
to the world in general. Today that meaning has apparently changed for
many “so-called Christians,” and that is sad.
Our Lord Jesus Did not come to license us into sin
The
obvious thing is that most Christian sees Jesus Christ death as an instrument
to engage. I repeat quickly . I often hear Christians defend obvious
sinful actions by abusing Jesus’ work on the cross. It is like
the “blood of Jesus” is the new “sin all you want” coupon. But the
question is did Jesus saved from sin or into sin.
But
unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth. Jesus never came to
make your life easier, friends. Nor did He come so that you may enjoy the
sinful pleasure of this world.
I
know that must seem like a shocking revelation to some, but it is true
nonetheless. Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)..”
Sanctification by the
Holy Spirit
When
you truly get saved, the Holy Spirit will take up residence in your body. The
work of the Holy Spirit is to mold you into the image of Jesus Christ, and to
do that, it’s going to take some work (believe me!).
When
you hire a physical trainer, they don’t come to let you sit on the couch and
eat potato chips. They make your life HARDER. They stack on more weights. They
demand you work out for longer. Why? No pain no gain, right? If the body
doesn’t go through a physical exercise that pushes its limits, it cannot
improve.
Ouch!
That doesn’t seem like much fun to me, and as we can see from history
that Jesus wasn’t exaggerating one bit. The early apostles suffered
terrible deaths (some were killed by stoning, some were reportedly crucified,
some beheaded, and worse). So Jesus certainly didn’t come to ensure his
followers were pampered with the finest luxuries. That doesn’t come until after the end of this age.
Not
only that, but nowhere does Jesus “lighten the spiritual burden.” so to speak.
Never does he say
to sin freely since we now have his “blood on us.” That’s an
abuse of God’s precious grace.
Instead,
he tells us to pray to God asking Him to deliver us from temptation. He warns
us against following the fleeting pleasures of sin. He says to repent of our
sins (which means to turn from a sinful lifestyle to faith in Christ). He says
that those who do the will of His Father will inherit the kingdom of God. What
is the will of the Father? To repent and trust Christ as your savior.
Jesus Make Life So Much Harder? Why the Extra Effort?
The
Mosaic law was given to the Israelites to help prepare them spiritually for
what was coming to be in God’s Holy Plan. It was a standard that couldn’t save
them from their sins, but it did define sin and revealed it in them. But the
Mosaic law itself mostly dealt with the “outward” signs of sin. It dealt
with murder, adultery, and so forth once they had been committed
externally.
The
Israelites did not seem to understand that those outward manifestations of
sin were simply the result of an inward problem. So while they sometimes
followed the letter of the law outwardly, inwardly they neglected to follow the
“spirit” of the law. They simply “didn’t get it.”
This
all just goes to prove Jesus’ point: Sin starts in your heart/mind and
works its way out. Therefore, stop sin where it starts (the heart/mind). If you
lust after someone secretly in your mind, you should immediately stop and force
those thoughts out of your mind before it manifests in a physical act of
adultery.
Feel
yourself hating someone? Stop and say to yourself, “Love thy enemies.” Those
things weren’t suggestions from Jesus, they were commands. Where did Jesus come
up with this? Jesus did what the Father told him to do, that’s how!
Free
any habitual sin you engage in today. If you bare a Christian live it. Live for
Christ in this end time. That is an insult to Christ. Place your faith in
Christ and trust in Him as your savior. When you do sin (and you will
because we all sin), then pick yourself up and confess it to the Lord and be
cleansed. Don’t remain in it.
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