Unconverted Believers

Matthew 4:19
And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Luke 9:23
And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

In a world where everything revolves around self – protect yourself, preserve yourself, entertain yourself, comfort yourself, take care of yourself – Jesus said, “Slay yourself.” In Jesus the disciples found something worth losing everything for. Two thousand years later, I wonder how far we have wondered from this path. Somewhere along the way, amid varying cultural tides and popular church trends, it seems that we have minimized Jesus' summons to total abandonment.

The call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it's a summons to lose our lives. There is a cost that accompanies stepping out of casual, comfortable, cultural Christianity, but it is worth it. I am convinced that when we take a serious look at what Jesus really meant when He said, “Follow Me,” we will discover that there is far more pleasure to be experienced in Him, indescribably greater power to be realized with Him, and a much higher purpose to be accomplished for Him than anything else this world has to offer. And as a result, we will all – every single Christian – eagerly, willingly, and gladly lose our lives to know and proclaim Christ, for this is simply what it means to follow Him.

Just ask Jesus into your heart. Simply invite Christ into your heart. Repeat this prayer and you will be saved. Should it alarm us that the Bible never mentions such a prayer? Should it concern us that nowhere in Scripture is anyone ever told to “ask Jesus into their heart” or to “invite Christ into their life”? Yet this is exactly what multitudes of professing Christians have been encouraged to do, and they've been assured that as long as they said certain words, recited a particular prayer, raised their hand, checked a box, signed a card, or walked an aisle, they are Christians and their salvation is eternally secure.

It's not true. With good intentions and sincere desires to reach as many people as possible for Jesus, we have subtly and deceptively minimized the magnitude of what it means to follow Him. We've replaced challenging words from Christ with trite phrases in the church.

If our lives do not reflect the fruit of following Jesus, then we are foolish to think that we are actually followers of Jesus in the first place. People who claim to be Christians while their lives look no different from the rest of the world are clearly not Christians.

The first word out of Jesus mouth in His ministry in the NT is clear: repent. This word is also the foundation for the first Christian sermon in the book of Acts. After Peter proclaims the good news of Christ's death for sin, the crowds ask him, “What shall we do?” Peter decidedly does not tell them to close their eyes, repeat after him, or raise their hands. Instead, Peter determinedly looks them right in their eyes and says, “Repent.”

Repentance is a rich biblical term that signifies an elemental transformation in someone's mind, heart and life. From that point forward, they think differently, believe differently, feel differently, love differently and live differently. Jesus' call to repentance, then, was a summons for them to renounce sin and all dependence on self for salvation. Only by turning from their sin and themselves and toward Jesus could they be saved.

When we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. We literally die to sin and to ourselves – our self-centeredness, self-consumption, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-effort and self-exaltation. In the words of Paul, we “have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us.”

To say that we believe in Jesus apart from conversion in your life completely misses the essence of what it means to follow Him. Do not be deceived. Your relationship with Jesus and your status before God are not based on a decision you made, a prayer you prayed, a card you signed, or a hand you raised however many years ago. And the Christian life does not ultimately begin with inviting Jesus to come into your heart. That invitation comes from Him.

The most beautiful hands we have ever seen...

I love this illustration. Unfortunately I don't remember where I got it so I can't cite the source.

The home of an English family caught on fire. They thought everyone got out safely; but when it was discovered the baby was missing, the mother went back into the fire for her baby. She pushed away burning wood and finally reached into the cradle for her baby. Her hands were badly burned. For years the mother went about the house with her hands covered, which embarrassed the daughter. Her friends made fun of her mother's gloved hands. In fact, the girl became ashamed of her mother. But one day the daughter walked into her mother's room unexpectedly. There sat her mother with her hands uncovered. For the first time she saw her mother's hands. They were scarred and ugly. The mother quickly tried to cover them. The daughter said in disgust, Mother, those are the ugliest hands I have ever seen. Finally the mother felt she must tell her daughter about her hands. "When you were a small baby a fire destroyed our house, you were in your cradle. I had to fight my way through the flames to save you. I wrapped you in a blanket, dropped you from the window into waiting hands. Not being able to go down the stairway, I climbed out the window. My hands were burned; I also slipped and tore my hands as I fell. The doctors did their best to repair my hands, but this is the best they could do. I know that you are ashamed of my hands but these hands were torn and scarred for you. The girl, now grown, wept, took one hand and then the other, buried her face in them and wept saying, "Mother, I'm so sorry! Forgive me! Those are the most beautiful hands I have ever seen." One day all Christians will stand before their Lord and will be able to look at the nail-scarred hands and say, "Those are the most beautiful hands we have ever seen."

I am grateful that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin. I know that without Him and what He has done for me I would be a guilty sinner and deserving of eternal damnation. I'm glad His sacrifice was enough! God is completely satisfied with what Jesus did at Calvary and has released me from my sin debt. I can't add a thing to it. His blood covers it and that's all there is to it!

I can't begin to tell you how wonderful Jesus is to me. He is my Savior and I gladly follow Him. He is Lord and is worthy of all I give Him and more. Have you given your heart to the One who was willing to go all the way for you? Whatever your sins, no matter how far you think you are from God, the blood of Jesus is enough to satisfy God. Just take Him up on His offer of forgiveness and salvation. Talk to Him and let Him know you need Him.

If you have already done so, have you thanked Him for saving you today? We should be eternally grateful for what He has done for us. We should tell Him everyday how thankful we are for His sacrifice at Calvary. I thank God for saving me and I can't wait tell Him what His nail-scarred hands mean to me!

Agape,

Pastor Jesse

Read this article: The Sinners Prayer: The Unbiblical Component of Modern Evangelism.

"...God does not need your help to save anyone. Yes, He uses the preaching of the gospel to convert souls. But salvation is of the Lord. He doesn't need us to emotionally prep or prod lost people. He doesn't need us to make the gospel more palatable. He doesn't need us to add prize packages (Your best life now; health, wealth, and prosperity; a purpose you'll get a kick out of; mended relationships; etc.) to the gift of eternal life. In fact, I believe these kinds of "gospel helps" are an offense to God."

Good stuff. Worth your time to read the article and consider it.

Small Churches are the Next Big Thing – With One Condition

Great article on the possibilities for the smaller church. Click here to read it. The key is excellence!

"There’s growing evidence that this new generation will bring the greatest opportunity for Small Church ministry in 2,000 years.

Why? Because, as the first generation with a majority born and raised outside traditional marriage, genuine relationships and intimate worship – what Small Churches do best – will matter more to them than it did to their parents.

But this opportunity comes with one, big condition.

They won’t give up quality to gain intimacy."

I am believing that the small church is going to find it's place in the future of American Christianity. I'm counting on it.