There's a curious trend I'm seeing in Christianity right now. I hear the phrase "...if you love Jesus..." more and more from people when they attempt to defend their faith or explain their motives. A young lady my wife and I spoke with last night said that she got into a lot of trouble in the last few years, but that all of that had changed because she "loved Jesus" again. But what does that really mean? She seemed to indicate that to "love Jesus" meant to have a strong emotional experience with Him that overrides all of your sinful, selfish human desires. it's not based in knowledge or wisdom, but in a person's emotions. But emotions proceed from the heart, and we all know that "the heart is deceitful above all things; who can comprehend it?" [Jer 17:9]
So if a strong emotional experience isn't the answer, then what is? The Word tells us "this is love for God: to obey His commands." [1 Jn 5:3] And we know His commands by knowing His word, by knowing His son, by knowing Him. That only comes through study of the Word, through prayer and meditation on the Word.
And when you know the Father, you'll know why He wants to work powerfully in this world, and you'll eagerly, anxiously follow along in the things He's doing.
And that is the real definition of loving Jesus.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Wandering away from the truth
Y'know, it's funny but people can talk themselves into believing just about anything.
One of the most frustrating debates (arguments, really) in modern Christianity is that of whether baptism is necessary for salvation. The Bible clearly states that it is, but most of modern Christianity doesn't believe in it anymore, instead choosing to believe that one can be saved simply by saying a simple prayer....and possibly put it off until the 11th hour. Most just accept it without question, without searching the Scriptures, and never realize that it was a convention that came into practice during tent revivals in the last 200 years (as I'll demonstrate in subsequent blogs).
The debate about baptism usually includes some reference to it being an "action" and the claim that salvation comes through faith alone, apart from any deeds we perform. Well, this is partially true. If you don't have faith, then no amount of bathing is going to get you into the Kingdom of Heaven. But the deeds that don't result in our salvation aren't acts of obedience, but so-called "good deeds" that many people believe rack up points for us to earn a ticket to Heaven.
Jesus Himself said outright that we must be baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16), but this is just the most blatant reference among many. So, it is an action that must be followed, but it's not what saves you. The debate goes on whether baptism is necessary for salvation, or whether the Sinner's Prayer suffices. Until now, I had thought that it was at a standoff. But I recently read a wikipedia article that indicates that some are now trying to presume that not even this simple prayer is necessary for salvation, but that, somehow, one just lapses into salvation as a result of faith without even this prayer. Wiki article
What is the future of this debate headed to now? Will those who currently maintain that only faith (apart from a prayer, apart from baptism) is necessary for salvation completely abandon the need for repentance and a resulting change in one's life after salvation? Will those who follow that line of thinking eventually come to believe that faith....in a Higher Power (and not in Christ) is enough to gain access to Heaven? Since there are billions of people who already believe that, I can only assume it will.
True disciples of Christ will seek to do things the way He did them and told us to do them. They'll trust the Word of God alone, and not just listen to a fallible preacher on Sunday mornings. They'll know what it says and trust that it's true, and their lives will be transformed by it. Ultimately, this is what determines who's really saved.
One of the most frustrating debates (arguments, really) in modern Christianity is that of whether baptism is necessary for salvation. The Bible clearly states that it is, but most of modern Christianity doesn't believe in it anymore, instead choosing to believe that one can be saved simply by saying a simple prayer....and possibly put it off until the 11th hour. Most just accept it without question, without searching the Scriptures, and never realize that it was a convention that came into practice during tent revivals in the last 200 years (as I'll demonstrate in subsequent blogs).
The debate about baptism usually includes some reference to it being an "action" and the claim that salvation comes through faith alone, apart from any deeds we perform. Well, this is partially true. If you don't have faith, then no amount of bathing is going to get you into the Kingdom of Heaven. But the deeds that don't result in our salvation aren't acts of obedience, but so-called "good deeds" that many people believe rack up points for us to earn a ticket to Heaven.
Jesus Himself said outright that we must be baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16), but this is just the most blatant reference among many. So, it is an action that must be followed, but it's not what saves you. The debate goes on whether baptism is necessary for salvation, or whether the Sinner's Prayer suffices. Until now, I had thought that it was at a standoff. But I recently read a wikipedia article that indicates that some are now trying to presume that not even this simple prayer is necessary for salvation, but that, somehow, one just lapses into salvation as a result of faith without even this prayer. Wiki article
What is the future of this debate headed to now? Will those who currently maintain that only faith (apart from a prayer, apart from baptism) is necessary for salvation completely abandon the need for repentance and a resulting change in one's life after salvation? Will those who follow that line of thinking eventually come to believe that faith....in a Higher Power (and not in Christ) is enough to gain access to Heaven? Since there are billions of people who already believe that, I can only assume it will.
True disciples of Christ will seek to do things the way He did them and told us to do them. They'll trust the Word of God alone, and not just listen to a fallible preacher on Sunday mornings. They'll know what it says and trust that it's true, and their lives will be transformed by it. Ultimately, this is what determines who's really saved.
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