The freedom God gives us as Christians is to serve God and certainly not for us to do as we please. All Christians will have a total change of lifestyle when they believe and obey Jesus Christ. Many people feel boredom as they sit in the church service. Some folks feel regret when they put their money in the plate. Some feel they will be late to some eating place for being in church. These are sure signs that God is not first in their life.
A terrible thing has happened to the American Church in the last fifty years. Our leaders have been teaching that salvation is to only acknowledge the death of Jesus for us. It is not. (See yesterday's post about Aerie, the F-16 pilot) People believe they can come as they are with no need to change their lives. They are teaching that God's grace will cover a person regardless of the way they live their life. There is no friend of God who does not obey every word to the best of their ability. How did we ever get the idea that doing what we wanted was enough to please our Creator? The Church has forgotten that John the Baptist gave his life to tell people they must repent of their ways in order to follow our Lord. God is looking for people who want their life to be different. We must have a desire to know God or the blood will never be applied to our life. God has chosen those who want to know his righteous ways and will hate the ways of the world. It does not make sense to ignore our Creator's wishes.
Remember that the first lamb in the cleansing ceremony for the leper was slain to show our admission of guilt.(Post--The Leper and the Lamb - Righteousness) Our whole life is filled with the guilt of being human. Jesus said the Spirit is helping by convicting us of righteousness. We must deal with our unrighteousness every day by listening to the Spirit. The second lamb slain in the ceremony was to show us that our guilt will someday be transferred to the account of Jesus Christ. (Post The Leper and the Lamb - The Substitute (Our Sin) This will not be done for people who serve themselves and are not seeking Jesus and his Father every day of their lives. With the help of the Spirit we must convince people of their sinful condition and ask them to seek forgiveness from God.
When the church does not ask people to be contrite it is is dooming unbelievers to a spiritual death. Here is an example given to people that are in the church For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, no discerning the Lord's body. (1 Cor 11:26-29) We are not playing a game with God. If a person does not need repentance all of his life then why would we have this warning? This passage tells us that we can become guilty of insulting the sacrifice God has provided. There must be total respect for what Jesus did for us two thousand years ago. To be doomed within the church by eating and drinking damnation must certainly tell you that we must be careful of our behavior. Some churches teach a formal confession but redemption is not found in formality but in the heart and soul of an individual.
Paul also says that if we would judge ourselves, the Lord will spare us His judgment. He is telling us that as we obey every word of instruction, we must make sure we are doing it correctly. Many church people today are not trying to obey God at all. It is unlikely they will find anything wrong with themselves. Oh, that the Church would take God seriously. The terrible mistake is that people are being taught that they will be saved even though they do not obey our savior. This is not true. Please consider these Scriptures, And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. (Heb 5:9) It means those who obey all their life. And Paul says Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil 2:12) Why do people say we have nothing to do? And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Rom 13:11) Our salvation is getting closer every day!
We understand that by faith our salvation is here but as you know it is not at this time physically on earth. Who are kept by the power of God through (your) faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5) If you are not serving God with everything you own, then you may not have the faith that is required. Many church people are simply serving themselves and actually think they are doing God's will. This is why Jesus said, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter in the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. may will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in they name? and in they name have cast out devils? and in they name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. (Matt 7:21-23)
Please repent and do the will of the Father with your whole heart. Don't wait to hear the Lord say he never knew you. It is difficult to find Jesus among gyms, power lifters, banquets, dramas, special pews, great entertainers, golf, schools and gifts shops. You will find Jesus outside the city where we must share his suffering order to share his glory. (reference Rom 8:17)
In the Leper and the Lamb series, you can see that in the leper's cleansing ceremony (Lev 14), the sin offering was required after the guilt offering in God's divine pattern of salvation. It follows the guilt offering for a reason. This means that people must repent and obey the living God before their sin can actually be credited to Jesus Christ. God is watching our life right now and is interested in our behavior. Why do we not confess our sins and follow Jesus as if our life depended on it? Although the offering of a second lamb represents what Jesus provided without the Spirit, it is necessary for the Spirit to apply the blood in our lives for salvation. The Spirit will become visibly active in our life the more we obey God. The Spirit also brings instruction to us and helps us to stay right with God. We must learn to depend upon the Spirit until Jesus returns to bring physical salvation to the redeemed as it is written. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess 4:17) This is part of the beauty of our salvation as provided by Jesus Christ.
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