Reflect

I am going to talk about a very serious subject today.  Are you playing Christianity or are you truly born–again?  This is very important question, something you cannot guess about.

I would like you to think about your walk with the Lord today.  Paul said, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”  2 Corinthians 13:5 

The great preacher, Charles Finney, once said, and I quote, “That most people that attend church are probably not born–again.”  What would make him make such a statement?  I think there are at least two ways to determine why.

One way of knowing this would be to study the scriptures and see what a Christian really acts like. The Word says many things about being a believer and I cannot cover them all in this lesson.  The Word does say, “By their fruits you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16)  The New Living Translation says this, “Yes the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.”  (Matthew 7:20)  Think about the kind of fruit you are producing, does your life honor the Lord or are you so earthly minded that you are no heavenly good?

I am reminded of penguins, hundreds of them, to us they all look alike but when the mom comes back from feeding, she finds her mate and baby with no problem.  If you hang around with certain people long enough you start to resemble them and dress like them and even talk like them.  I remember when I rode with different motorcycle gang members.  Most of us had Harley choppers and wore leather jackets and vests plus boots and similar clothing.  We acted somewhat the same and looked somewhat the same.  But there was something different about some of us, some were there because they just wanted to fit in and belong to something and some were die hard gang members that were capable of killing and destroying lives.  But someone looking from a distance couldn’t tell the difference because we looked, acted and talked pretty much the same.

Now we have to be careful here, that we don’t just go around judging everyone in the church because they are different than us and hold different convictions than we do.  There are many in the church who are babes in Christ and we need to help them grow and mature in their faith. 

There is another way you can know if a person, or yourself, is in the faith.  1^st John 3:6 says, “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.”  This means that you will not practice sin.  When God’s seed is planted in you, you are a new creation. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature the old things have passed away and all things are become new.”  You have been set free from sin, so if you, or someone you know, habitually sins then there is a good chance that you, or they, have been deceived and are not born–again.  

If you are truly born–again, you will strive for perfection.  I am not talking about sinless perfection I am talking about practicing sin.  There are people that believe because they went to an altar at one time and repeated what the pastor said, that they are going to go to heaven someday.  They have some idea that after they did that, they can live like the devil and still they are saved.  That is not the truth - many people believe that once save, always saved.  Nobody, or nothing, can snatch you out of God’s hands, which is true, but you can choose to walk away. That is called having a free will.  I have witnessed to people that used to go to church but they haven’t gone in a very long time, they are out in the world doing their own thing but they think they are going to heaven.  I have never read in the Bible that you can live like the devil and still go to heaven someday.  If this is you, or someone you know, there is deception taking place in your, or their, life.  

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’  As you can see this is very serious business.  

So if you find yourself, or someone you know, in this situation speak to them then humble yourself and don’t let pride get in the way and make things right between you and the Lord.  Don’t play games with your soul, the devil will be glad to find room for you where he is headed.  In 2 Peter 3:9 it says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  So humble yourself before the Lord and confess your sins and ask for forgiveness.  He draws close to the humble and resists the proud.  Don’t put it off any longer!

Have a great day.  May God bless you!