ON BEING A REAL CHRISTIAN: A TIME TO “FIGURE OUT”
ON BEING A REAL CHRISTIAN: A TIME TO “FIGURE OUT”
The matter of being a Christian has been trivialized today. In the attempt to get the crowd into church we have made the faith lighter than it ought to be. We tried to create a Christianity that the world would not run away from on account of a feeling that it is boring. We have fashioned out the trendy, jumpy Christianity that is all about enjoying life, raking in the goodies and generally living the life.
Of course there are doctrinal positions that make people become dull, cold, withdrawn personalities. I once heard a story about a strange Christian fellow who would never laugh out loud. The best you could get from him was a stiff, plastic, ‘holy’ smile. His reason was simple: he never saw where it was written in the Bible that Jesus laughed. One day someone saw him coming out of the toilet and asked him whether he ever read in the Bible that Jesus ever went to the toilet. Our brother burst into laughter and began to laugh since that day.
Anyway, the point is that Christianity is not to turn you into a cold bore. However our effort to adjust is leading to serious errors that will take people to hell. Recently I saw a show on TV. It was a variety show. There was dancing, singing, comedy and stuff. The ladies were dressed to kill as expected. The boobs were popping out, the cleavages were low and the skirts were skimpy. The young men were there in numbers, dancing away in reckless abandon. Some wore dreadlocks. I was going to change the channel to avoid “breaking covenant with my eyes” when I heard the lyrics of the songs. They were actually mentioning ‘Jesus’, ‘the lord’, ‘Hallelujah’ etc. I became curious and watched. It was actually a ‘Christian’ show. I was grieved in my heart, and I know God was grieved too.
Christianity has degenerated to this level because of the desire for crowds among preachers, and the reluctance among people to abandon the cravings of the flesh. Today, it’s hard to tell the difference between a Christian and a non Christian show, when the Bible actually warns: "'COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND SEPARATE YOURSELVES,' (2 Chor. 6.17).
I think it’s time to tell people to “sit down first and figure out…” so that they will know if they can fit into the real Christianity. The real faith is about “carrying the cross”. The means sacrificing everything (your pleasures, worldly dresses, worldly parties, sex outside marriage, dating that is not marriage centered, etc.) for the holy course
When Jesus saw a crowd following, he did not shout halleluyah! He knew it was NOT time to lead them on. He knew it was time to let them know what they were getting into and the need for them to properly take stock and decide if they could cope, so that they could opt out if need be instead of becoming spiritual liabilities to the church. Just take a look at this:
Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. 'You began to build but can't finish the job!' they will say. If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. In the same way," concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!" (Lk.24.25-35)
PEOPLE MUST FIRST SIT DOWN AND FIGURE OUT. THEY MUST KNOW THAT IT’S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL WHEN THEY JOIN CHURCH. IT’S A LIFE OF SEPARATION. IF THEY CAN'T TAKE IT LET THEM OPT OUT.
Church worker, think about this: church member, where do you stand?
The matter of being a Christian has been trivialized today. In the attempt to get the crowd into church we have made the faith lighter than it ought to be. We tried to create a Christianity that the world would not run away from on account of a feeling that it is boring. We have fashioned out the trendy, jumpy Christianity that is all about enjoying life, raking in the goodies and generally living the life.
Of course there are doctrinal positions that make people become dull, cold, withdrawn personalities. I once heard a story about a strange Christian fellow who would never laugh out loud. The best you could get from him was a stiff, plastic, ‘holy’ smile. His reason was simple: he never saw where it was written in the Bible that Jesus laughed. One day someone saw him coming out of the toilet and asked him whether he ever read in the Bible that Jesus ever went to the toilet. Our brother burst into laughter and began to laugh since that day.
Anyway, the point is that Christianity is not to turn you into a cold bore. However our effort to adjust is leading to serious errors that will take people to hell. Recently I saw a show on TV. It was a variety show. There was dancing, singing, comedy and stuff. The ladies were dressed to kill as expected. The boobs were popping out, the cleavages were low and the skirts were skimpy. The young men were there in numbers, dancing away in reckless abandon. Some wore dreadlocks. I was going to change the channel to avoid “breaking covenant with my eyes” when I heard the lyrics of the songs. They were actually mentioning ‘Jesus’, ‘the lord’, ‘Hallelujah’ etc. I became curious and watched. It was actually a ‘Christian’ show. I was grieved in my heart, and I know God was grieved too.
Christianity has degenerated to this level because of the desire for crowds among preachers, and the reluctance among people to abandon the cravings of the flesh. Today, it’s hard to tell the difference between a Christian and a non Christian show, when the Bible actually warns: "'COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND SEPARATE YOURSELVES,' (2 Chor. 6.17).
I think it’s time to tell people to “sit down first and figure out…” so that they will know if they can fit into the real Christianity. The real faith is about “carrying the cross”. The means sacrificing everything (your pleasures, worldly dresses, worldly parties, sex outside marriage, dating that is not marriage centered, etc.) for the holy course
When Jesus saw a crowd following, he did not shout halleluyah! He knew it was NOT time to lead them on. He knew it was time to let them know what they were getting into and the need for them to properly take stock and decide if they could cope, so that they could opt out if need be instead of becoming spiritual liabilities to the church. Just take a look at this:
Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. 'You began to build but can't finish the job!' they will say. If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. In the same way," concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!" (Lk.24.25-35)
PEOPLE MUST FIRST SIT DOWN AND FIGURE OUT. THEY MUST KNOW THAT IT’S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL WHEN THEY JOIN CHURCH. IT’S A LIFE OF SEPARATION. IF THEY CAN'T TAKE IT LET THEM OPT OUT.
Church worker, think about this: church member, where do you stand?
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