As followers of Christ, we Christians have embarked on a journey of faith. A journey requires movement. A change in the way we live. In order to get where we desire to be and where God is calling us to be, we must maintain motion. A stationary faith is not a journey, it is a stagnant faith.
There is nothing in the gospel message indicating that believers ought to be spectators as part of the body of Christ. Yet many popular preachers today would have you believe that since there is nothing you can do to earn salvation, there is nothing you need to do to keep it.
Not only is this counterintuitive to the logic of following Jesus, it is counterproductive in accomplishing the works that were prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). The act of following implies motion. Repentance becomes the metric through which that motion is measured, along with the fruit that is produced by it.
A genuine born again believer does not remain unchanged. They are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). This outward change in behavior demonstrates an inward change in mindset and a spiritual alignment with God. Its one thing to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, its quite another thing to surrender to His lordship as the Lord of your life.
Change involves giving up the old way of living in favor of the new way. In order for change to occur, it requires one to move from a “present ” state to a desired “new “state. It means moving away from sinful behavior and moving towards holiness through obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Conversely, a backsliding Christian has not only ceased moving forward toward holiness, they experience regression in the direction from where they were previously. Regression is defined as: a return to a previous and less advanced or worse state, condition or way of behaving.
If someone is ambivalent regarding their Christianity, they are neither progressing or regressing. If they still indulge in the sinful behavior they once loved, their belief in Christ is simply nominal and they really aren’t saved at all. 1 John 3:6 states, “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.”
Neutrality Is Not Affirmation
One cannot sit on the fence when it comes to Jesus. He is perhaps the most polarizing figure in human history. He declared in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” And Luke 11:23 records Him as saying, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
Preachers who claim there is no need for believers to die to self because Jesus already died for them are misleading their congregations. The apostle Paul clearly articulates that following human nature (which is our sinful nature) is contrary to following the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17).
He goes on to say In Romans 8:13-14, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
Furthermore, in Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul emphatically states, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Paul does not teach a static profession of faith, but rather a constant progression of repentant transformation as the will of the Christian is drawn into alignment with the will of God. Jesus Himself demonstrated this concept by His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42), “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul admonishes believers to refrain from sexual immorality. In verse fifteen, he declares, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself?” and later in verses 19-20, he proclaims “You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” He is directing these comments at Christians.
This is the narrow path that leads to life. While multitudes are travelling down the wide road that leads to destruction, you can be sure that your salvation is secure when you are not among them. Heed Paul’s words: “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19).
Christians are called to change and to make change.
Mathew 28:19-20 records the great commission, where Jesus instructed the disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This is a call to action that exemplifies the desire of God to spread the gospel of Christ.
When we surrender to Christ, we become servants of the Most High God. And as servants, we are obliged to serve. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus illustrated that those who do nothing with the goodness they have received cannot expect to be warmly received by the King when he returns.
When the King returns we ought to be about the King’s business. In reverence to His sovereignty, we must focus upon the tasks He has assigned for us. It is our obligation to be diligent in the work of the Lord so that we can hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” at the culmination of our service and we stand face to face with the King.
May we find ourselves in commonality with Paul when that day arrives, who asserts in 2 Timothy 4:8, “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”
One doesn’t get anywhere by standing still. The writer of Hebrews advises us to focus on Jesus. He is the one who began our journey of faith and He is the one who will complete it (Hebrews 12:1-3).
To follow Jesus means to imitate Him. In the west, many who identify as Christians fall into the Laodicean church of Revelation 3. They risk being rejected because they are spectators rather than going about the King’s business.
If Christians ever hope to have God’s power manifested in their lives, they must be wholly and completely dedicated to serving Him. They must be filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11b). The chaff must be burned up because only the wheat will be taken into His barn.
Matthew 7:21-23 warns Christians to do the will of our Father, or risk being sent away with the words, “I never knew you.” Seek the Lord with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul. Pursue Him! Follow Him! Hang onto the hem of His garment with all of your strength! And when that day comes, I pray that He knows you!
