Answer to My Question?

The Answer to My Question

Warning: This is a rambler

Since January 2009 I have struggled with a very difficult question. Whenever I had the chance to talk with a pastor or other Christian I would always ask them this question that has really bothered me. This crisis can be summed up in the following statement about professed Christians: “we acknowledge Christ with our mouths and deny Him with our actions. This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

I find it unbelievable. We worship a God who has the power to move mountains yet we see people who make a profession of faith and remain unchanged. There is no difference in their life. We see them that Sunday, shake their hands after the service and never see them again. Later we find this person living their old life and no change remains. I tend to believe that if it looks like the world, smells like the world, and acts like the world, it probably is of the world. I will acknowledge that there are numerous reasons for this which could be no follow-up, lack of discipleship or no instruction. But, dealing with my question…how can people be saved but not exhibit an effort to be holy or change their ways? One pastor said to think of this logically with the following example: If I came in late for work and told my boss that I was late because my tire was flat and as I was changing it, I was hit by an 18 wheeler. I would be called a liar because I could not possibly have an encounter with an 18 wheeler and not be hurt, killed or otherwise changed. So, how can a person have an encounter with something as big as God and not be totally changed?

As I said I have asked many people and tried to study this topic. Well, today I believe I got my answer. My Bible study has been in the book of Romans. I have read this book several times and it always left me feeling confused. I find it to be a very tough book to break through so I decided to use a Bible study and go through it again. I found the answer in Romans 6:16, it says “ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to life, which leads to righteousness?” Then in verse 22 Paul says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

I can’t judge a man’s heart, I can only go by what I see. And, if what I see is someone striving to live holy, who shows a love for God, and his thoughts are Gods thoughts I can not help but to believe that that person is a child of God. When we become a slave to God we are focused on His work. Paul says that we will reap the benefit of holiness. This may not happen over night. We, after all are human and will always make mistakes and fall short. Thank God for grace because we would be hopelessly lost without it. We could never do enough things right to get to heaven. This is a good time to throw in a disclaimer. I am not advocating legalism! The Israelites couldn’t even follow God’s laws so I don’t know how we could be expected to follow rules made by man and make it to heaven. I am simply concerned with the habitual actions of people. A true salvation experience brings about repentance and a process of sanctification which will be evident in the lives of a believer.

I apologize for this post. It may seem disjointed and all over the place but so are my thoughts on this subject. I believe this is a good thing to be burdened about, the souls of men. It’s just when you read that on judgment day people who claim to know the Lord and do His will, will be turned away. That is scary and should make us want to disciple our new Christians to make sure they know it’s real. Maybe this will help…My Bible study summed it up this way:

“Jesus Christ is not looking for people who want to add Him to their life as insurance against hell. He is not looking for people who want to apply His high moral principles to their unregenerate lives. He is not looking for those who want only to be outwardly reformed by having their old nature improved. Jesus Christ calls to Himself those who are willing to be inwardly transformed by Him, who desires an entirely new nature that is created in His own likeness. He calls to Himself those who are willing to die with Him in order to be raised with Him, who are willing to relinquish slavery to their sin for slavery to His righteousness. And when people come to Him on on His terms, He changes their destiny from eternal death to life.” ( McArthur Bible Study Series: Romans, 2006)

Jesus does not want to be the “cherry on top”, He wants to be the whole “bowl of ice cream.”