When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said it was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul (Matthew 22:37-38). When we contemplate the discipline required to get to know our Father in heaven as completely as Jesus commands, we quickly realize that a superficial relationship with God isn’t what He seeks from us. God desires a deep spiritual intimacy with his church.
This concept explains the chastisement Jesus directed at the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that they honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8). They were mired in the mud of legalism while failing to draw near to the law giver.
Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). This requires active and ongoing repentance; distancing oneself from sin and abiding in Christ. The apostle Peter advises in his second epistle, that believers ought to strive to cultivate a deep and effectual relationship with the Lord.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8).
Sadly, the lukewarm state of many Christians of today’s generation exemplifies the impotency that Peter says will accompany those who lack the qualities mentioned above. In verse nine, he adds, “But if anyone does not have them, he is near-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”
Intentional Commitment
As followers of Jesus, we do not accidentally grow in knowledge of the divine nature of Christ, nor do we naturally develop these attributes. In order for faith to be authentic, it requires intentional commitment. No one has ever grown in their faith by never attending a church, never studying the Bible, or never focusing on the author of their faith. A faith like that is insincere and isn’t a saving faith at all.
A.W. Tozer cites 1 Peter 2:3, and explains that if we have “tasted that the Lord is good,” the implication is much deeper than sampling or experimenting, but rather to experience and embrace. It is an act of reciprocity to God for experiencing humanity’s fallen state by incarnating in the person of Jesus and paying the price we deserve for sin.
Tozer goes on to say that God “did not experiment with death and see whether He liked it,” but conversely, He experienced it in the fullest sense of the word. In doing so, Christ established Himself as our high priest, the one and only intercessor between man and God. The only one qualified to bridge the chasm that sin had produced.
There is a real danger for those who identify as Christians but never pay any heed to seeking a deep relationship with Jesus, that they will hear the Lord say, “I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23). A superficial association with Christ will never be deep rooted enough to withstand adversity and prevent falling away during our personal time of testing.
Perseverance during trials and hardship stems from diligent commitment and conviction to the Savior. When nominal Christians face the allure of fleshly pursuits they often succumb to the temptation of indulging in worldly values under the guise of being saved by grace.
Peter warns, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” 2 Peter 2:20-21.
The writer of Hebrews shares this sentiment in Hebrews 6:4-6. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”
Persevering Faith
In order to be a saving faith, belief in Jesus as one’s Savior must be authentic and sincere. Otherwise it will never persevere through life’s trials. This is what Jesus alluded to when He said, “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13).
He wasn’t advocating salvation by works, but rather warning that unless people have commited their lives to Him, the gift of grace is not extended. That type of faith is a saving faith. Similarly, James 2:17 teaches, “In the same way, faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Paul writes in Philippians 2:12b-16a, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life,”.
Jesus has bridged the chasm that separates man from God. It is through Christ, then, that God works through His church and reaches out to humanity to accomplish the things Jesus spoke about in the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10).
For two millennia, the true body of Christ has been a blessing to the poor, comforted those who mourn, built schools and hospitals, acted as peace keepers, and cared for orphans and widows. Passionate people have served as missionaries all over the world, sacrificing their own interests in favor of the work of the Lord.
Today’s Counterfeit Church
In contrast, a great many people today sit back and bask in the name of Jesus, while continuing to serve themselves and indulge in worldly passions. They reject the gospel of repentance and misuse the concept of grace. They proclaim the popular Christian movement of today’s generation and ignore the majority of scripture while emphasizing Ephesians 2:8-9, and preaching half truths that amount to nothing more than placebos.
Charles Spurgeon wrote,”Surely no rebel can expect the King to pardon his treason while he remains in open revolt.” To believe that God, who never changes, now somehow accepts sin along with sinners is presumptuous and irresponsible doctrine. The gospel is and always has been a gospel of repentance.
Paul admonished the believers at Corinth not to become diluted by the influences of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). He asks,”What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” God calls us to remain faithful and strive to be holy. “Since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
God’s morality is not negotiable. Today’s churches must resist the temptation to be accepted by a culture that loves sinful behavior and to grow in numbers at the expense of God’s moral standard. Any church that desires to fit into the world, inevitably will fit the world into the church. Rather than Christianizing secular society the church becomes secularized.
Smith Wigglesworth once said, “The Holy Spirit is coming to take out of the world a church that is the perfect bride. He must find in us perfect yieldedness, with every desire subjected to Him.” The true bride of Christ is not who many Christians believe.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, Paul warns against being deceived by false teachers and believing false gospels. And in verses 13-15, he declares, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15-23 that false prophets would deceive many and be disguised as sheep even though they are wolves. Additionally, not everyone who associates with the name of Jesus will be saved, even if they prophesied and performed miracles in His name. These truths are casually ignored by many people today, who profess to be Christians. There is a real and present danger of falling for a counterfeit Christianity. This calls for discernment and wisdom.
James informs us of two kinds of wisdom. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:13-16).
One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10; Isaiah 45:23). However, every knee and every tongue will not be saved. On that day this will not be a confession of faith, but rather, an acknowledgement of God’s supreme authority. It will be a day of judgement. Only authentic believers, who have a deep spiritual intimacy with God, and who have gained spiritual wisdom from knowing God will escape condemnation (Romans 8:1). And for that we give all praise to Jesus Christ!
