A Challenge to Christians (Part 1)

I have been thinking lately about the issue of Christians living not like Christians! You know what I mean, the lady living with her boyfriend who is a youth leader at a local church, or the guy who buys his FHM magazines, but the issue is much bigger then that isn’t it? If we read books like 1 John and James we can clearly see that those people are not genuine Christians, however genuine, authentic Christians get lumped with the professing- Christians right, and thus the name of Christ is reproached by the world. However, I think as a side effect of this, the genuine Christians are being diluted by the world around us a bit, I’m not sure many of us would survive in a Puritan village. Fortunately the puritan villages are not the measure of What God expects of us, and so I would like to challenge you Christians out there, challenge you as Paul would, follow with me over the next few blogs and lets look together at Romans 12:9-21… I dare you to venture with me.

Romans 12:9a “Let love abide without hypocrisy”

After the long theological foundation of Romans 1-11 Paul drops this, so if you think you have your theology right, you may have it right in theory, but is it in practice (notice the therefore in verse 1 of chapter 12, therefore, meaning, as a result of this long theological treatise, offer your body up as a living sacrifice, and then he tells us how)?

Now it goes without saying that we are saved by grace, but our salvation allows us to obey, we are now free to obey God, Eph 2:10 nsays that this is why God made us in Christ Jesus, to do good works.

The one thing we should do is love, ‘agape’ (unconditionally, sacrificially love) one another. Not the “I love so and so in the Lord” kind of love (Translated, “I cant stand them but I put up with them). Its the kind of love that comes from above, its the kind of love that makes you not sound like a banging piece of steal (1 Cor 13). Do you have a lot of Bible knowledge? Can you preach in 20 languages? Have you given up your life to serve God? If you don’t have love you are like a piece of steal banging banging banging banging banging banging banging! Is that annoying yet? It is if you don’t have love (1 Cor 13).

Furthermore we are to love without hypocrisy, that is not just in word, but in deed and truth (1 John), not with false motives, not self see-kingly ( I encourage you to meditate on 1 Cor 13, see how your love matches up).

You know what the greatest thing is, this is so practical…

Who are you to love? Read the story of the ‘Compassionate (thanks Thomas) Samaritan’, in Luke. You are to love the first person in real need that comes across your path. Sacrificially and unconditionally, not based on you time or comfort (I don’t think we should stop and help everyone change a tire, but we can access if a person needs help or if there is already someone helping).

How do you answer the phone to: Your mother, father, wife, boss, brother, sister, friend, sales guy, annoying neigbour? Are you loving in the way you sound, dont go fake the love now, deal with your heart… go re-apply the doctrine of Romans 1-11 to yourself, cause you may not have grasped the point.

You see how applicable this is… How you speak, act and think, towards your family, friend, next circle of influence and enemies.

This article is already to long, Christians lets take up the challenge, mediocrity is not what we have been saved to live in. Dream big, live passionate for God.

1 John 4:20
If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

God Even Works Sin For Our Good

Oh sin, how the believer in time comes to hate it, and how I hate the time that I do not hate it. I do not want to sound in anyway in favor of sinning or sin, it is a most evil and disgusting thing, it destroys lives, it nailed the purest and holiest, the very Son of God to a tree- He that knew no sin became sin for those who are saved. Sin is so evil, so exceedingly sinful that is so corrupts man that he will never be free from it until he dies, it even brings about that death, for the wages of sin are death….

However, for the Christian, there is a blessedness in sin, for we know that God works all things together to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). Can it be that God can even use sin? Well the apostle says, ‘all things’ now, this is not to say we should then sin that God may use it, no, for if we say God uses our sicknesses and suffering, do we go out and make ourselves sick, do we hurt our own body and thus not look after the temple of the Holy Spirit, certainly not. Likewise with sin.

Sin troubles me so much, I often cry out like the apostle in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”… Christian listen to the apostle’s sweet answer, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”(v25a). I have noticed within me, when I fall, and I fall so hard, I am moved I am compelled, either to give-up or to fight! How easy it is to give up, the flesh indeed is weak. Christian don’t waste your sin!

If you have played soccer/football you will know what I am talking about, when you are tackled, you can sometimes feel a fire inside of you that says NO, and you turn and run to get the ball back from the one who took it from you, before he passes it and you are the one who is to blame for the subsequent goal. Or you could just give up and say, “I’m to tired, we will just have to make it up. Or you can wonder what you did wrong, and blame the ball, or the uneven ground.

Christian brothers and sister, it is the flesh, sin within you…. But there is one answer to it. And so when you sin, do not be weary, though I know it is easy, do not blame others, for James tells us when we sin we are led away by our own desires (James 1). Say rather the truth, “Woe is me, who will deliver me from the body of death!!!!

Let me tell you who will deliver you, it is the one who chose you, not because you are attractive, it is the one who saved you to make you glorified, not because you are glorious, it is the one Who became sin for you, Christ Jesus the righteous. So pure and holy, compassionate, tender, meek, merciful to those who come with a broken and contrite spirit. Oh may we Christians ever live with broken and contrite spirits, a spirit that will never trust itself.

Why do I then say sin is blessed?

Look at this list, and I am sure there are more then these, but these are what I have thought up in this short time.

1. My sin causes me to throw myself again at the feet of Christ, and shows me my utter need for Him
2. My sin cause me to love and cling to Jesus my savior so much more, for there is nothing good within me, but if I can just touch the hem of His garment I will be made well.
3. My sin crushes my pride and self-righteousness; it shows me my need for Christ and my lack in myself.
4. My sin reminds me of what grace and mercy is, and what a truly great gift Salvation is
5. My sin moves me more to hate it as I see it wickedness, it becomes a fuel to fight it with more and more
6. My sin makes me love my brothers, for I am the chief of sinners and the least of the saints

Christian fight sin, and let Micah 7:7-9 be your chant of war or your cry for victory as you press on

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.