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Life's Most Important Choices
Recently I've been asked about witnessing to “unsaved
believers” as one writer called them.
I usually refer to them as
Christians-in-name-only. They call themselves Christians
and do some things that make them appear to be
Christians.
They go to Church, make regular contributions, sign up
for volunteer service projects, even teach Sunday
School, but they're not born again.
Being born again
means you know you're a sinner in need of a
savior. You
believe Jesus died for all your sins and have asked Him
to be your Savior.
According to Jesus, people who are not born again
will be denied entrance into the Kingdom (John 3:3)
no matter how “good” they've been on Earth.
Very few Christians-in-name-only have actually refused
to be born again, they just don't think it's necessary.
They were taught that they're saved because they
were baptized as infants, or because they belong to a
certain church or denomination, or because they try to
live a good life.
They're relying on what someone has told them
instead of learning what the Bible says.
With all the necessary resources at their
disposal, they've staked their eternal destiny on the
opinion of someone who might not be saved himself rather
than do their own homework.
They're very difficult to witness to because they don't
think they need it.
Someone once said, "There is no greater
obstacle to learning the truth than the belief you've
already learned it."
The only thing we can do, which turns out to be
the best thing, is pray that the Holy Spirit will open
their hearts to the truth while there's time.
Two Alternatives
They don't realize that there are only two alternatives
available to mankind. We either choose God or we choose
Satan. If we fail to choose God we're choosing Satan by
default. There is neither any middle ground nor is
there another alternative. In Ephesians 2:1-5
Paul made God's perspective on this very clear.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and
sins, in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of
this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,
the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and
following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we
were by nature objects of wrath.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich
in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
We evaluate people based on how we think they compare to
others, but God's standards are very different (Isaiah
55:8). Even the good things non-believers do are
disgusting to him (Isaiah 64:6) and further the
enemy's cause (Matt. 7:21-23). This is not a
benign issue, and it's not a case where someone can sit
on the sidelines and not participate. In God's sight
people who fail to personally accept His pardon for
their sins have chosen to align themselves with His
enemy and will be treated accordingly. They will have
failed to meet His only requirement, and nothing else
will suffice.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works
God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in
the one he has sent.” (John
6:28-29)
Believing there's a God is not enough.
Neither is believing in God.
You must believe God sent His Son to Earth to die
for your sins so you could go to Heaven to live with
Him.
You can't experience God in your life but reject the
pardon He provided for your sins. Jesus said, "I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father but through me" (John 14:6). If
someone is experiencing God in their life, they're also
feeling the call of the Holy Spirit to come to the Son,
and by failing to do so they're rejecting the Father (John
5:23). The Son is the only way.
And Two More
Most of the people who visit this site have made the
choice to accept the Lord's pardon for our sins and have
been born again. Once we're born again there are two new
alternatives to choose from and those are to either live
the balance of our life in His will or continue living
in our own will (Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4:22-24).
If we choose to live our life in His will we can
bear much fruit for the Kingdom
and will receive
eternal rewards.
If we choose to live in our own will we can do
nothing of value for the Kingdom, no matter how good our
lives and deeds are perceived to be on Earth (John
15:5).
We'll still be saved and we'll go in the rapture but
we'll have nothing to show for the time we spent as
believers here (1 Cor. 3:10-15).
Most believers make the wrong choice in this regard, and
there are several ways to do that.
Some continue living their lives the same way
they always have.
To the casual observer they look just like their
unbelieving counterparts, except for an hour or so on
Sunday mornings.
They're hiding their light under a bushel.
Others set out to show the world just how good a
Christian they are. They take on great challenges and
appear to do mighty works, but the focus is always on
them, not the Lord.
Applying the world's standards of success to
their Christian life they completely miss the point.
It's not what we can do for Him that matters, it's what
we allow Him to do through us.
Still others wrap themselves in a cloak of self
righteousness. Like the Pharisees before them they make
a great show of living a “good Christian life” while
condemning those who don't, at least in their opinion.
They're known primarily for what they're against,
instead of what they're for.
None of these choices can result in
lives pleasing to the Lord because they're all self
centered instead of being God centered.
Those who choose to live in His will discover that He
gives us supernatural strength to accomplish His will.
In Romans 12:1-2 we're told to offer our
whole lives as living sacrifices to God as our spiritual
act of worship.
We're not to conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our
mind. This
is how we discover His will for us. Right after that is
a list of seven spiritual gifts that strengthen us to
accomplish His will.
Romans 12:6-8 lists gifts of prophecy,
service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and
mercy, and He gives each of us one or more of them.
These are all gifts that bring us great satisfaction as
we administer them, so don't get the idea that
living in His will means living a life of
deprivation and hardship. John 10:10 says He
came so we can have life and have it abundantly.
Romans 8:28 says God is working everything
together for the good of those who love Him and are
called according to His purpose.
Psalm 37:4 says when we delight ourselves
in the Lord He will give us the desires of our heart.
And Phil. 4:4-7 says we're to rejoice always, to
pray about everything and not be anxious about anything.
In doing so we can live in a state of peace that
surpasses human understanding.
Learning to live in God's will can be scary at times
because we're used to acting independently.
But after we get the hang of it, we find it's one
of the most exhilarating experiences we can have.
Blessings come in so many different ways and at the most
unexpected times, we're literally driven to our knees in
gratitude time after time.
There truly is
nothing like it.
What Does It Take?
Living in His will takes a little getting used to but it
isn't as difficult as it sounds.
It involves letting the Holy Spirit guide us away
from obviously inappropriate behavior, and responding to
the Lord's calls for action.
In Micah 6:8 He gave us three basic
principles to follow in acting out His will in our
lives.
They're the guidelines that keep us from going out of
bounds.
He Has Showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you? To act
justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your
God.
When we're in God's will, we'll be acting justly toward
everyone, knowing He will never involve us in anything
that violates His law.
When we're in God's will, we'll love to do things
for others that demonstrate His mercy.
We're not called to be agents of His wrath, but
to show forth His love.
And when we're in God's will we'll always be
humble, knowing that whatever good we're doing is at His
prompting and in His strength.
With rare exceptions, God doesn't suddenly uproot people
or put them through a time of discomfort when they offer
their life to Him.
Neither does He suddenly impose a lot of rules or
discipline upon us.
After all, our sins are already paid for.
Living in His will is mostly a matter of learning
to listen for His voice and doing what He says.
Like everything else, this becomes easier with
practice.
It's important to remember we're only responsible for
making the effort. The results are His responsibility.
He won't have us start telling others how to live their
lives, but He will give us guidance on how to live our
own. For
example, since His word says to give to every one who
asks (Luke 6:30) He may start prompting us to
respond generously whenever someone comes to us for
help. And since it says to not let the Sun go down on
our anger (Ephes 4:26), He'll prompt us to
forgive as we've been forgiven.
When you first make the commitment to live in His will,
He'll start with small things to get you used to
listening, so if you even think you've heard His voice,
do what you think He said to do, asking Him for the
strength to do it.
And what ever happens, don't take any of the
credit for a positive outcome.
The Lord gets the credit, you're just following
orders.
As you learn to respond to little promptings, you'll
receive bigger ones. Then one day you'll realize
you've gained enough experience at living in the
Lord's will that you no longer have to wonder about
whether you're doing it.
You'll find your actions and his will have become
one and the same.
I know we don't have much time left, but don't make the
mistake of thinking it's too late.
Begin implementing Romans 12:1-2 in your
life today and you'll be amazed at how much the Lord can
do with a willing follower, no matter how short the time
is. Selah
01-07-12
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