So I am finally finishing up the second part of my review of a book I read recently,
The Missional Mom. I have been putting it off for weeks now, but here goes....
"We have not shown the world another way of doing life. Christians pretty much live like everybody else. They just sprinkle a little Jesus in along the way." Shane Claiborne
Since apparently 85 percent of Americans identify themselves to be "Christians" and many of those lives obviously look no different than most of the non-Christians, I don't like using that term to identify the elect. So I'm going with Christ-follower to be more specific in who I am referring to. I think it cuts to the heart of what I'm getting at today.
And now I get to the part of the book that completely floored me. I literally had to put the book down and just sit in silence to absorb an idea that I had only previously toyed with in the far corners of my mind.
Here is the big, ugly thought: There are thousands upon thousands of people going about their lives, many of them probably sitting in church on a regular basis, who believe themselves to be Christians...when they actually are not. Let's look at the Scriptures.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23
When I actually was willing to examine this passage for what it is, I was overwhelmed with the realization of the existence of this "Christian Lost" population that exists! I was also filled with devastation, thinking of what it would be to hear these words spoken to me by Jesus when I meet him. The author points out that in so many churches the push to "make a decision" for Christ has become almost as if we are selling fire insurance. People say a prayer of salvation but their lives are
never drastically altered. The author goes on to say, "Jesus makes a clear distinction between those who say they believe--and those who live like they do."
As for me, my testimony is a bit too lengthy for this post. In fact, God's sanctification and redemption of me is lifelong and continual. Suffice it to say, this assurance of salvation issue is something I have struggled with off and on since I was about 13 years old. For my whole life. I cannot tell you at what point I really "got saved" except that I am one of God's chosen children and I have been called by Him. (I will not go into my Calvinistic theological views for now. :) I grew up in church hearing the very sermons on hell meant to inspire fear, thus driving lost souls to Jesus. Problem was, this only promotes "the fire insurance" ideology as opposed to actual discipleship. I specifically remember one of our youth leaders saying that because a certain famous Christian stated that he did not have a "moment" he could identify where he accepted Jesus, that person couldn't be saved. I was relieved in my reading of this book to find a lot of people actually have "a process" instead of "a moment" and that this is okay!
So how do we know? How can we examine our lives to see whether we're "in" or not?
"Whoever says, 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him...By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." (I John 2:4-6) Ah ha! The book of I John was basically written to those who were struggling to have assurance of salvation. It is full of "tests" for the soul. How happy was I to see that others have struggled with this assurance, as I have! "By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him..." (I John 3:19)
Are you doing what Jesus commanded? In Matthew 22. In Acts 1:8. In Matthew 28.
Around the same time I was reading through
The Missional Mom, I stumbled upon this blog post by Geoff Ashley of The Village Church, "
Assurance of Salvation", and this sermon by Matt Chandler,
"Dealing with Doubt".Please also consider this recent sermon by Matt Carter,
"The Pursuit of the Sinner". Beautiful, wonderous depiction of Christ's mission and whom he came to call. In short, the Great Physician came to heal those who were sick, not the ones who don't need a doctor. He pointed at Matthew who was literally sitting in his sin and said, "I want YOU. Come!" My paraphrase. :)
In summary, I realized, slowly, over the last few years, that just saying yes to Jesus, as a one-time deal, isn't enough. Just living life "the right way" isn't enough. That's what the Pharisees were doing, is it not?
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion...Take care brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God." Hebrews 3
Because there is no guarantee you will ever hear it again. Cry out to Him. His Word promises that if he we seek him with all of our hearts, he will not disappoint.
"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."
He is Risen! Maranatha!
