By Laura Torres
First of all, I must say that I truly don’t believe I am addressing that large of a group of people. Unfortunately, I feel that there are many more “professing” Christians than true Christians. I was one of those “professing” ones until one day I sat down and read the New Testament.
To my horror, I realized that although I considered myself a Christian, it was obvious that God didn’t. I was confused and very shaken by this revelation.
I was upset that all the times I said the “sinner’s prayer” didn’t work, but I was relieved that I still had a chance to make my peace with God. I knew without a doubt that I was a horrible person in His eyes and that I was done running my own show.
I knew that I was lost, and I simply admitted my wrongdoing and asked Him to take over and help me. From that day forward, my life has completely turned around.
It is only now that I can say with assurance that I am saved. Although before, I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that I was saved all my life. I now understand that having head knowledge and head belief of Christ is not enough. God knows the heart, and He knows when someone has truly repented of their sins or not.
Saying the words, “I repent” doesn’t mean you have repented, if in your heart you really don’t believe you are a lost sinner or plan on turning from your sins from that moment on. God knows what you believe and what you don’t. True Christians understand what I am talking about.
If your life hasn’t changed dramatically, if God isn’t first (above every single person and thing), if you are still deliberately sinning when you know it is wrong, then you are simply fooling yourself if you call yourself a Christian. We will sin accidentally all our lives, but deliberately sinning is quite different.
No one fools God and Judgment Day will prove this. When do you want to learn this crucial information? I know this sounds harsh, but when people have been spreading this fluffy Christianity that is doing more harm than good, one must speak the truth of the Bible.
I am glad I learned the truth and was “open” to learning it before that dreadful day. It is absolutely tragic that so many are blind where repentance is concerned.
Why all this information? Well, first I feel it is pertinent to help people understand that I am truly a Christian. God has made me a new creature and therefore, I am not just some professing lost person who doesn’t even know she isn’t saved. I live what I speak of here. I witness and I make it a priority to seek God’s will over my own.
Am I perfect? Not by a long shot. I would say that I am more aware of just how sinful I am, more than I’ve ever dared to understand before. The sinful nature runs deep and it is a battle within until we reach heaven.
What I feel a true Christian should be doing is educating the “professing” ones in order to have more people sharing the true gospel with the other lost people. Christian’s shouldn’t be stingy with God’s love through the gospel, but be going out of their way to share it. Yes, talking to friends, family and strangers.
Don’t act like a lunatic, but like a loving person who cares about people’s eternity. You are sharing it out of love and compassion for that person.
Christians should be equipping themselves with information on how to share it effectively. We go through years of “higher” education, yet how many people are out there getting a “Higher” education? How many people are joining small groups with their churches that teach people how to witness? How many people are reading their Bible’s daily to learn the answers to questions that will come up?
Unfortunately in this lukewarm day and age, one may have to ask how many churches even offer groups to teach people? Are you even going to church regularly? Do you have faith or just profess faith with no real trust that what the Bible says is true?
I feel Christians should have tracts on them at all times to leave everywhere they go. Sure life is busy, and we don’t have time to tell each person on the street about God, but we can leave a tract everywhere we go. We can give every customer service person one as we leave with our purchase. I bet there are some professing Christian’s reading this wondering what a tract is. I am not trying to make fun of this because up until 6 months ago, I didn’t know.
You can buy some tracts at many places. I get mine from www.wayofthemaster.com. They have the gospel message written on them in some form or another. I haven’t had one person negatively respond when they received one from me. But who cares, if they do? Are we so thin skinned that a little rejection of a tract is going to keep us from sharing our faith to the lost?
I feel Christians should remove from their lives that which they know is an abomination to God. I don’t need to list what those things are, for everyone has a conscience and knows what God does and doesn’t like. It’s time to get real and live what we believe. We need to stop letting people go to hell without a second thought.
Be an example and not a hypocrite. Live what you profess to believe. Prove your faith in Jesus by following His commandment to love your neighbor.
Christians should be educating themselves daily with God’s Word so that they will be further influenced by its miraculous power. Christians should be standing up for Christ each and every time He is attacked. So many times I hear “professing” Christians say things that prove their disbelief, yet they truly don’t see it that way.
What I am referring to is the false notion that everyone is going to make it to heaven as long as they have some spirituality or pray to a higher being. It doesn’t matter if they are Muslim or Buddhist or whatever, as long as they are spiritual or “good.” (Those with this flawed thinking believe they are going to heaven!)
Don’t lie to people who God loves and died for. Are they going to be more offended now hearing the truth from you or later on Judgment Day from the Lord? Risk your reputation for their salvation. That is what it means to love your brother as yourself.
When I encounter people I ask, “Why did Jesus say He was the only way, then? Why did He die for us and say we must follow His commands, if He isn’t the only way?” I usually get blank stares or people just flatly say they just don’t believe He is the only way.
We need to confront all people to make sure they are truly in the faith because we love them. If God is first, then His message should be more important than our reputation. Who cares if people hate you because you told them the truth? Do you believe or don’t you? Prove it by spreading the Word.
True Christian’s love all people no matter what their beliefs are. Do we love gays? Yes! Do we love Muslims? Yes! We love everyone and we prove it by telling them about what Jesus did for them. We may not be able to win everyone over to salvation in Christ, but that doesn’t mean we just give up and keep silent. We don’t know who we might bring to heaven with us, so we must tell everyone in order to save some.
All people were created for one thing: We are here to glorify God with our lives. We need to stop living for ourselves and ask God to help us live for Him. We need to stop trying to make Christianity some country club of elitists who look down at the unsaved and passively ignore our responsibility to bring the Good News to all the people that God loves.
I believe anyone who does this is no more saved than the person they are looking down upon. God loves everyone, but not everyone loves God. Christians need to stop pointing fingers at any number of people for their sins. Stop judging and start loving!
Does that mean we don’t tell them that they are sinning against God? No! Tell them the whole truth about how liars, fornicators, blasphemers and people who hate others etc… are not going to get into heaven. Show them the Ten Commandments because that will be the law they are judged against if they die without Christ.
Let them feel the fear of God’s wrath upon them so that they will understand why they personally need Jesus. Then tell them this is why Jesus came and died for us because no one would ever make it without Him taking our punishment. We broke the law; He paid the price. God will see Jesus’ perfect life instead of our sinful life when He looks upon us.
There isn’t one person who lives a life that is so bad that they don’t deserve to hear God’s Word. God is much more forgiving and merciful than we are, so spread the Word generously. God’s Word is going to convict people (it is supposed to), but that doesn’t mean you should withhold it. Sure you might get yelled at, you might be hated but you also may be the person who helped bring someone to salvation. Let God convict someone’s heart so that their precious heart is ready for the good news of God’s mercy.
Don’t tell them about the mercy first…the knowledge of the law’s that have been broken is what prepares the heart…stop candy coating the truth. You aren’t going to sneak people into heaven without them doing what it necessary. The truth hurts, but it also can bring healing with Christ. We are all sinners, but we all must admit to our sin sickness in order to get the antidote of Christ’s forgiveness.
Stop lying to people about how they aren’t “that” bad. Stop lying to yourself. We are all bad and sinful and a disgrace in God’s eyes. He is holy and pure and He isn’t going to contaminate heaven by allowing sin enter it. We all need to recognize that in order to see our need for the Savior.
Don’t withhold this pertinent information from people because you are afraid to offend them. They will thank you later, if they heed the warning and humble themselves before Holy God and receive His abundant mercy. (Or else they will receive His justice and that is a fearful fact if one dies in their sins.)
Christians should be involved in the task Jesus gave to all of His children. Bring His Word to the entire world. People aren’t going to hell because they don’t have Jesus. They are going to hell because they broke God’s law that He has written on their hearts by way of the conscience. We only get to heaven because Jesus paid our fine for sinning and we have in turn turned away from our sins and put our faith in Him.
We simply put our faith and trust in Him for the rest of our lives…not temporarily. No one will claim they were so good and that is why they are in heaven…no one is good enough to make it on their own. His full Word is convicting and also merciful and forgiving.
If you only tell of God’s love, then you have omitted the important ingredient to find God’s love: repentance. If someone doesn’t realize they are in need of a Savior, if they never see themselves as people who have offended God, then they will never experience God’s gift of salvation.
Will you be fruitful and multiply your faith by spreading the gospel? Those sinners in need of God are the potential fruit on your branches. Don’t be caught on Judgment Day with no fruit of your labor. Be brave and spread the full gospel and as far as everything else life has to offer…it just doesn’t matter.
