IMPASSIONING TRUE BELIEVERS

To God be the glory, forever and ever, amen. 

The above is how we need to be positioning our heart before everything we do, say, and think. And… we all fail to do this, more often than we want to admit, myself included.

Now, a more critical person may believe posing such a candid point renders fruitless the purpose of claiming it. But the reason I bring up the reverential heart positioning of a Christian is not to point out our failure to uphold it; rather, I pose the claim to impassion true Christians towards the spiritual action of desiring God over the lukewarm complacency of living within our faults.

PUTTING TO DEATH THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH

Yes, it is as backwards as it sounds: the paradoxical security of believing the inaction of faithless living to be the climax of spiritual integrity. 

If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), then loving God (through our reverential fear) with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5) foreshadows placing a lower value of significance on anything underneath what belongs or adds to the Kingdom of God. In other words, if we truly fear the Lord God Almighty, then the wisdom we receive from God by His grace, translates into the Holy Spirit “adding to us” (Matthew 6:33) the true ignition of what it means to passionately put the death the desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:24), and live only for the glory of Christ.

EXPOSING TRUTH DELIVERS THE FIERY INCENTIVE TO CHANGE

Our faith is what pleases God (Hebrews 11:6), so our desire to do His will by crucifying our fleshly desires requires a mature faith that doesn’t give rise to humoring the twisted and incomplete ideologies of religiosity, ritualistic living, nor any weightless routines that keep us busy but unsaved.

I’ll say it again: we all fail to position ourselves humbly before God with a 100% success rate. But living into the knowledge and awareness of this fault brings to light the pure, God-given desire to be disciplined in living out the opposite of spiritual dormancy.

FAITH IN ACTION AT CHURCH

For example, rather than continuing to go to church only to be entertained by worship music and sit through a sermon we don’t intend to be challenged by, we could instead be determined to attend church with the focus of blessing God by worshiping him in truth and spirit (and song) (John 4:24), to serve others with a fervent, Christ-like love, and support and encourage the community around us by voluntarily and eagerly seeking opportunities to uplift, inspire, pray over, and meet unmet needs.

Church isn’t about us, but about God. So when our heart is positioned the biblical way, we won’t go for us, but for Him.

NO “LONE WOLF CHRISTIANITY” IS VIABLE

This is why there is no authentic or viable “Christian who doesn’t go to church” lifestyle. Every Christ-follower needs to be in community—not just for their own sake, but for the sake of blessing God through everyone who shares our faith (Hebrews 10:25). To think we are only under the impression that going to church is for ourselves makes the relationship between us and God to be selfish. But let’s think about that for a moment, because it’s not biblical. The very act of Jesus coming out of His glory and entering into a painful (Philippians 2:6), sinful reality in order to make it possible for us to be with an infinitely perfect God, while we’re still sinners—is the fundamental opposite of selfishness.

We can’t possibly believe church is a place meant to entertain us when we are the Church, not the building!

NATURAL EXTENSION OF OUR FAITH JOURNEY

We’re not here to wait for the Church to be the Church. After becoming a part of the church body through repentance and baptism, it’s not out of obligation that we visit a religious building once per week. Rather, it is a natural extension of our faith journey to be among of the community of believers who mutually share in the joy and the impact of Yeshua’s life, death and resurrection on our eternity!

We represent the church in every situation. Therefore as Christians, we aren’t waiting for Sunday to prove anything that isn’t already on display in our lives, because our faith follows us wherever we go.

If it doesn’t, can we really say we follow Christ and not ourselves? If we’re honest, are there more “Christians” who merely follow the idea of a hearers-only version of Christianity fed by culture, but not as taught in the ‘doers’ Bible? (James 1:22-25)

FRUITS, SERMONS, AND GENEROSITY IN THE NAME OF RELIGIOSITY

Writing so bluntly is sometimes what must be done to hit the point on the head. There’s no need to sugarcoat things that are already so sweet that even instant gratification is easily pleased.

When we sugarcoat the ugly truth of “instant Christianity”—where we believe ritualistic behavior equates to and justifies the appearance of being saved rather than the reality of being saved—we forget Jesus’ meaningful instructions to look for the fruit of the person who makes religious claims about themselves.

We forget that a lack of fruit equates to a fraud; a false prophet; a liar. They are perhaps the epitome of a cunning person lacking any true innocence (Matthew 10:16). They take what a pastor says, give their tithe and leave the message behind in the building along with their “generosity.” Are we a cheerful giver when we aren’t actually thankful, or are we only following suit based on the expectation that the bare minimum “earns” us what no works can (Ephesians 2:9)?

GOD HAS A 100% SUCCESS RATE ON OUR BEHALF

Jesus didn’t fail, knowing we would. He didn’t give up, knowing many of us would throw in the towel, apologize, and try again, even thousands of times. Talk about ’77’ times to forgive (Matthew 18:21-22)! And yet here we are making excuses to not be on fire for the God who came and died for us while we were still in our sin, incapable of ever paying back our wages. How does that not humble us?

What would it take for Jesus to feel more real? He is spiritually available to anyone who answers His knock on their door. “He hasn’t been doing any knocking,” we say. This very article is a knock. I’m only a vessel for the risen, living Christ who sits at the right hand of God the Father. Notice… Yeshua’s grave has been empty for over 2,000 years. He is indeed knocking!

ANSWERS THAT LEAD TO AN ETERNITY-ALTERING DECISION

Don’t wait to answer. Don’t keep going to church just because it’s Sunday. Remember if you are a born again believer of Jesus the Christ, you are the Church! And if you’re not born again, it’s time to comes to terms with what’s stopping you from believing.

Don’t let an unanswered question be the reason you reject Christ and live eternally separated from God in hell. You can’t comprehend eternity. We can barely comprehend any period of time anymore (does anyone know what day it is, besides two days from Christmas?). It’s time to ask the hard questions and dig deeper than ever before. Your soul depends on finding the answers that leads to an eternity-altering decision!

NO MORE WASTING TIME WE HAVE SO LITTLE OF

We aren’t promised tomorrow, or even another breath. Time is short, and we are in the last days. Jesus loves you—died and rose again so you wouldn’t have to pay for your sins in hell! This isn’t about shaming you, it’s a reminder of how good God is; how merciful and gracious and patient… don’t waste His grace and His mercy on stubborn, hard-hearted living. Repent, turn to Jesus, be baptized for the remission of sins, and come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

He knocks and awaits, but there will come a day when there won’t be any more knocks… only heat and agony. Don’t let that be you. No more wasting time thinking this life is as good as it gets. Yeshua is infinitely better! May this bless you where you are and help bring you the inspiration needed to take the next step.

I’m praying for your salvation. To God be the glory, forever and ever, amen. 

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