God has called me as a prophet to bring back the truth of His Word which has been lost over the many years, but I have to admit this has been a very hard and frustrating task. Sometimes I wonder why God picked me for do this task. Even though I didn’t get to choose this gift that He gave me, I will be faithful to do the task that God has set out for me. The main problem with bringing back God’s truth to His loved ones is that the current deceptive things people believe as truth are so ingrained into them that they are not willing to let go of it to receive God’s real truth. I have tried not to offend people and sugar coat God’s real truth as much as possible without degrading the truth, but I realize most people are not getting it and are still heading down that lost path of deception. So I have decided to fight head on against the devil and his lies. I know this will make some people very uncomfortable, but God’s Word must prevail in order to conquer the devil’s evil schemes.
One of the simple truths that we must all return to is discerning who is a true Christian and who isn’t. This letter is not to have any one person tell you whether you are a Christian or not, but for you to evaluate yourself against what a true biblical Christian is. Like most definitions in this world, the term “Christian” has been watered down and made politically correct. In today’s world, we want to include almost everyone into the Christian group. Even if a person’s actions and walk don’t show faith in God’s Word, but they might have said a prayer, even once, then who are we to exclude them from the Christian name - right, or else we might be accused of judging. We must not judge, that is God’s domain, but we are called to evaluate ourselves and others.
I want everyone to understand that being a Christian is an exclusive thing, even though everyone has the option to become a Christian through a relationship with Christ. Becoming a true Christian can be the result of the process that can happen while we are in a relationship with Christ; it is not a single event that most people have come to believe. Most have made the mistake of proclaiming a relationship with Christ as the same thing as being a Christian. God wants and will have a relationship with anyone that accepts what Christ did on the cross, but only the few that fully submit to His Lordship will be called Christians in God’s eyes. The only way to become a Christian is to have faith in Jesus Christ, His truth, and His love. No one can be called a Christian unless they are living by faith in the truth which is found in Jesus Christ alone. If anyone is living any part of their life outside the boundaries of Jesus Christ’s truth and love, then they are not a Christian.
The well accepted definition of the term “Christian” within the Christian circles is to be a “follower of Christ”. Another definition is to be a “disciple of Christ”; we can find this definition directly out of God’s Word.
Acts 11:26 - The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Other definitions of a Christian include, being a “believer in Jesus Christ”, or any person that is considered a “son of God”. All of these definitions are true and can be used to define a Christian, but how the human selfish reasoning has degraded these definitions is where the problem lies. We need to look at the un-watered down biblical views of these meanings to see if we fit into the Christian profile.
Let us start with examining the definition of being a “follower of Christ”. Anyone that is following in Jesus Christ’s footsteps, as all Christians are called to do, will find themselves in the path of living a sinless and loving life, just as Jesus Christ did when He was on earth and in the flesh, just as we are in the flesh now. We do this by the power of His Spirit living inside us. A follower of Christ is no longer living by the ways of his selfishness, but by the ways of God’s love. If anyone is walking in the footsteps of Christ, then they are walking in righteousness and void of any sin, but if anyone wanders off the path of Christ and sins, then they can no longer be called a Christian, because they are no longer following Christ. Within the footsteps of Christ, there is no sin. Anyone that goes off and is no longer following in the footsteps of Christ is no longer in right fellowship with God until they confess, repent, and get back on the path of Christ. Until a person gets back to following Christ whole heartedly, that person cannot be called a Christian, but if they call themselves a Christian and do not immediately repent of all their sin, then they should be called a hypocrite, or a un-repentive sinner. So in essence, if anyone has sin in their life, they cannot be called a Christian, because there is no sin in Christ. If anyone has sin in their life, they are living by their own selfish spirit and not by Christ’s Spirit.
Now let us take a look at what it means to be a “disciple of Christ”. Anyone that has become a disciple of Christ has been made into the likeness of Christ. For Christ to make a person into a person like Himself, that person has to sacrifice themselves to the work of Christ, just like Christ sacrificed Himself to the work of His Father. To become a Christian (disciple), a person must give up everything they are so that Christ can make them into the likeness of Himself.
Luke 14:26-27 - If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple . And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Matt 10:37-39 - Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
These scriptures clearly state that to be a Christian (a disciple); a person must give up all of themselves to become worthy to become His disciple. If a person is still sinning, then that person has shown to themselves and others that they are not worthy to be called a disciple, because they are acting out their love for someone or something else other then Christ. Usually sin is the act of loving ourselves over God, but sometimes we might actually love something else other than ourselves, but still not loving God with our first love. Our first love represents who we love the most. If we cling to and love anyone or anything over God, then that is sin and this situation will result in sinful acts against God. Again, if we understand that a Christian is a disciple, or a replica of Christ, then we must also understand that a Christian (disciple) cannot live with any sin, since Christ lived a sinless life. As long as we have sin in our life, then we are not a disciple of Christ, but instead we must admit that we are yet a disciple of the devil, at least until we truly repent of all our sins and walk in a way worthy of being Christ’s disciple.
1 John 3:7-8 - Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he (God) is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
For anyone that truly believes in Christ, they will be called a Christian, but what does “believe in Christ” really mean. Can we say that we believe in Christ and in that belief go and sin against God and/or our fellow man. Is there anything within the realm of believing in Christ that would make us sin? Of course the answer to this question is NO. So when we sin, it shows that we do not believe in Christ, but in someone or something else other than Christ.
When we say we “believe in Christ”, we are not just saying that we believe in Jesus Christ’s existence, we are actually believing in everything that Christ is and represents. Jesus is our Savior, He is God, the Alfa and Omega, the beginning and ending of all things, the Word of God, the Truth of God, the Son of the living God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the One reigning in God’s Kingdom, and the One that sees and knows all, etc……
John 12:44-46 - Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
John 14:9-10 - Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
A Christian doesn’t just believe that there is a God; a Christian must have the faith in God and all the aspects of God that He has opened up to us. Faith is a belief in the unseen reality of God, His Truth, and His Spiritual Kingdom. We must have the faith to search out God and become one with Him. Many people believe in the existence of God, including the devil and his demons, but they are not one with God.
James 2:19 - You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
If anyone truly believes in Christ, then they will stop loving themselves through selfishness and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
1 Peter 1:8-9 - Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
If we say we believe in Christ (God), but do not love Him over our own souls, then we are liars, because we are still believing and relying on our own selfish souls as the god of our lives, but if through our faith we give all of our heart and soul to God, we will then be joined eternally with Him and only do God’s will, for our selfish will has been crucified with Christ on the cross and our will has been replaced with God’s will. God’s will is that we glorify Him by loving Him and others, even over ourselves.
John 8:42 - Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
1 John 4:20-21 - If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
If we sin, our father is not God, but the devil. A Christian cannot sin, because their Father is God, which is without sin, but a sinner’s father is the devil, for a sinner is a slave to his father’s work.
John 8:44 - You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.
If we are born of God, then we are considered to be God’s son (or daughter), just as Jesus is God’s son. We have become brothers with Christ and joint heirs with Him. When we have become worthy of Christ, then Christ sends the fullness of His Holy Spirit into our heart and makes us like Himself. Anyone that has been born of God’s Holy Spirit, has been renewed with a new unselfish Spirit that does not sin. There is no sin in a life that has been born of God, because they are not living by their old selfish spirit, but by God’s Spirit. There is no more sinful lifestyle in a person that has been born of God’s Spirit, because there is no sin in God and we have become one with God.
1 John 3:9 - Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
A true Christian has been born of God’s Spirit and no longer lives by his old selfish spirit. If anyone is still sinning, then this indicates to that sinful person and to everyone else that they have not yet been born of God, but that they are still living by their selfish spirit that they were born with. If anyone still has sin in their life, then they are not yet a child of God, but still a child of the devil.
1 John 3:10 - This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
John 8:34-35 - Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family (God’s family), but a son belongs to it forever.
The scriptures are clear, anyone that loves and does what is right (doesn’t sin) is a child of God, but anyone that does not love and does not do what is right (sins) is a child of the devil. We need to come to believe in the real truth, even if it doesn’t feel good, and stop letting the name of “Christian” be degraded by letting it be applied to people that are still sinning. Anyone that is still sinning is a child of the devil and it is an abomination to God to call them a Christian. Before we call anyone a Christian, we should take the time to see if they really are a Christian.
Now let us look at how this truth helps the person that is still sinning, but desires to become a Christian. We know that believing in God’s truth will always set a person free from their sin.
John 8:31-32 - If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The real truth will keep a person searching for the goodness, love, and righteousness of God until they are made whole by the filling of His Holy Spirit (the fullness of Christ’s Spirit). But the lie of the devil – “that a person is a Christian and eternally saved even though they are still sinning” will stifle a person’s spiritual growth and stop their searching for God, because the lie of the devil is telling them that they have already achieved the righteousness of God to enter heaven. There is hope in God for everyone that continues to search for Him. Let us get rid of the lies of the devil so that people will search out God again and fully submit to Christ as Lord and not just have Christ be their Savior.
With God’s truth and love,
Michael W Reid
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, April 10, 2008
What is a real Christian
I want to bring this topic to the forefront to hopefully enlighten all who read this message to what the Bible says a real Christian is or isn’t. For many years I had the understanding that I was a Christian, but my life’s priorities and struggles were telling my heart otherwise.
The Zondervan Bible Dictionary says the word Christian comes directly from the Greek word Χριστίανος (Christianos). The Latin suffix “ianos” on this word was widely used throughout the Roman Empire of that time to designate a slave to the person’s name it was compounded onto (to designate an owner’s slave). What this says to us is that during the time of the apostles, to be called a Christian was to be understood that you were a slave to Christ.
Romans 6:22 NIV says “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:16 NIV says “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”
Eph 6:5-8 NIV says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The apostles wrote of themselves as servants (slaves) of Christ. In their letters they indicated for us to follow their example. In doing so we would become faithful to Christ, totally submissive to His Lordship, and totally trusting in His Spirit for guidance and our every need.
Romans 1:1 NKJV says “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.”
James 1:1 NKJV says “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Peter 1:1 NKJV says “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”
There are many, many more scriptures throughout the Bible indicating God is calling us to be totally committed servants (slaves) of Christ. There are other words the Bible uses to describe a real Christian; one is to be called a disciple. There are requirements to being called a disciple also.
Luke 14:26-27 NLT says “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33 NIV says “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
Somehow in this age we live in, we have simplified and degraded what being a Christian is. The current understanding of a Christian has been simplified to a person who only needs to understand their salvation is based on believing that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and that Jesus was bodily resurrected. The devil understands and believes this also and he wants people to keep believing this. The devil doesn’t want people to look past this simplified deceptive concept. The devil knows total submission and obedience to our God is also required. The devil would rather keep people dependent on themselves or things. If anyone trusts their salvation only on this simplified concept, they might have a rude awakening at their judgment before Jesus Christ.
A real biblical based Christian is a person believing, trusting, and loving Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind. A true Christian will not allow themselves to be entangled with any of the worldly pleasures of this world. For they know to be a friend to the world is to be an enemy of God. Christians enjoy the blessing of their needs being met, but know that if they receive their enjoyment from worldly pleasures instead of God’s grace, they are in a sinful state. A true Christian will be living his life is such a way that every thought, decision, and action he does should be to the glory of God.
What determines whether a person is a true Christian is really a matter of the heart. To become a true Christian a person must accept wholeheartedly Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. If anyone accepts Jesus less than wholeheartedly, that person can still rejoice because Christ’s seed has been planted and is growing in them, but that seed has not matured and they are not yet a true biblical based Christian. To be a true Christian one must accept Jesus as his/her Lord. This means a person must make a decision to submit all of their self as a living sacrifice to God. This is a total submission to His authority and rule over you. This submission cannot be partial. A person cannot submit part of their life to Him and want to keep other parts under their control. He wants all of you. God is still a jealous God. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. Jesus demands us to give all of ourselves to Him with what Jesus calls the first and greatest commandment:
Matt 22:37-38 NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”
It is only after we do the first and greatest commandment that we can produce any good and Godly fruit by doing the second commandment Jesus gave:
Matt 22:39-40 NIV says “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
When we first truly accept Jesus as Lord and Savior with our whole heart, we will probably not be able to automatically do everything we have committed ourselves to do in Christ. This is where the Holy Spirit continues the sanctification process in us. The Spirit will continue to renew our minds to control our bodies to become more like Christ in increasing measure as time goes forward. We must look to the Spirit to finish the purification process and do all the Godly works through us. We have no power to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. If we are a true Christian, the process of learning to crawl, walk, and run in the Spirit can happen fairly fast since a true Christian’s heart is not restrictive to the work of the Spirit.
I would like to take this time to tell some of my personal story. What I mainly want to share with all of you is that over 25 years from the beginning of my walk with God, I was only giving parts of myself to God. I didn't have enough faith to give all of me. My faith had to be built up at each phase to allow myself to give more of myself to Jesus. To make a long story short, through those 25 years I sliced off more of my life and gave it to God, slice by slice as time went on. At the end of the 25 years, when I had sliced off the last of my heart and soul and gave it to God, He did a miracle in my life. I now understand that at that point He baptized me with the Holy Spirit to make me ready for service to His Kingdom. At that point, I was no longer looking out for my own selfish needs, but for the needs of others. God was able to flip my heart’s desires from selfishness to truly loving others with not my love, but with God's love flowing through me. Since then God has enlightened me with His truth through His word and Spirit. So much so that I cannot hold it in, but have to share it with anyone willing to listen.
May God bless you through the truth.
God’s servant - Michael Reid
The Zondervan Bible Dictionary says the word Christian comes directly from the Greek word Χριστίανος (Christianos). The Latin suffix “ianos” on this word was widely used throughout the Roman Empire of that time to designate a slave to the person’s name it was compounded onto (to designate an owner’s slave). What this says to us is that during the time of the apostles, to be called a Christian was to be understood that you were a slave to Christ.
Romans 6:22 NIV says “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:16 NIV says “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”
Eph 6:5-8 NIV says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The apostles wrote of themselves as servants (slaves) of Christ. In their letters they indicated for us to follow their example. In doing so we would become faithful to Christ, totally submissive to His Lordship, and totally trusting in His Spirit for guidance and our every need.
Romans 1:1 NKJV says “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.”
James 1:1 NKJV says “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Peter 1:1 NKJV says “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”
There are many, many more scriptures throughout the Bible indicating God is calling us to be totally committed servants (slaves) of Christ. There are other words the Bible uses to describe a real Christian; one is to be called a disciple. There are requirements to being called a disciple also.
Luke 14:26-27 NLT says “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33 NIV says “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
Somehow in this age we live in, we have simplified and degraded what being a Christian is. The current understanding of a Christian has been simplified to a person who only needs to understand their salvation is based on believing that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and that Jesus was bodily resurrected. The devil understands and believes this also and he wants people to keep believing this. The devil doesn’t want people to look past this simplified deceptive concept. The devil knows total submission and obedience to our God is also required. The devil would rather keep people dependent on themselves or things. If anyone trusts their salvation only on this simplified concept, they might have a rude awakening at their judgment before Jesus Christ.
A real biblical based Christian is a person believing, trusting, and loving Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind. A true Christian will not allow themselves to be entangled with any of the worldly pleasures of this world. For they know to be a friend to the world is to be an enemy of God. Christians enjoy the blessing of their needs being met, but know that if they receive their enjoyment from worldly pleasures instead of God’s grace, they are in a sinful state. A true Christian will be living his life is such a way that every thought, decision, and action he does should be to the glory of God.
What determines whether a person is a true Christian is really a matter of the heart. To become a true Christian a person must accept wholeheartedly Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. If anyone accepts Jesus less than wholeheartedly, that person can still rejoice because Christ’s seed has been planted and is growing in them, but that seed has not matured and they are not yet a true biblical based Christian. To be a true Christian one must accept Jesus as his/her Lord. This means a person must make a decision to submit all of their self as a living sacrifice to God. This is a total submission to His authority and rule over you. This submission cannot be partial. A person cannot submit part of their life to Him and want to keep other parts under their control. He wants all of you. God is still a jealous God. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. Jesus demands us to give all of ourselves to Him with what Jesus calls the first and greatest commandment:
Matt 22:37-38 NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”
It is only after we do the first and greatest commandment that we can produce any good and Godly fruit by doing the second commandment Jesus gave:
Matt 22:39-40 NIV says “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
When we first truly accept Jesus as Lord and Savior with our whole heart, we will probably not be able to automatically do everything we have committed ourselves to do in Christ. This is where the Holy Spirit continues the sanctification process in us. The Spirit will continue to renew our minds to control our bodies to become more like Christ in increasing measure as time goes forward. We must look to the Spirit to finish the purification process and do all the Godly works through us. We have no power to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. If we are a true Christian, the process of learning to crawl, walk, and run in the Spirit can happen fairly fast since a true Christian’s heart is not restrictive to the work of the Spirit.
I would like to take this time to tell some of my personal story. What I mainly want to share with all of you is that over 25 years from the beginning of my walk with God, I was only giving parts of myself to God. I didn't have enough faith to give all of me. My faith had to be built up at each phase to allow myself to give more of myself to Jesus. To make a long story short, through those 25 years I sliced off more of my life and gave it to God, slice by slice as time went on. At the end of the 25 years, when I had sliced off the last of my heart and soul and gave it to God, He did a miracle in my life. I now understand that at that point He baptized me with the Holy Spirit to make me ready for service to His Kingdom. At that point, I was no longer looking out for my own selfish needs, but for the needs of others. God was able to flip my heart’s desires from selfishness to truly loving others with not my love, but with God's love flowing through me. Since then God has enlightened me with His truth through His word and Spirit. So much so that I cannot hold it in, but have to share it with anyone willing to listen.
May God bless you through the truth.
God’s servant - Michael Reid
Becoming a Christian is a process
As I write these messages, I am very concerned that these Biblical truths are not being accepted as God’s truth like they were in the days of Christ’s apostles. The Gospel of Christ has been so watered down that most people can no longer accept the true Biblical truth because they have been taught and believe another truth (really deception) and believing it for many years, in most cases for generations. Back in the day of the apostles, people believed in part because of the miracles they saw the apostles and other Spirit filled believers do. So I’m praying for a miracle from God that would open up the eyes and ears of our current day church leaders and all the Christians around the world. A real revival back to God’s truth is needed.
As I was recently giving a message at a church service, I said “In the Old Testament, God worked most of His miracles in plain view of His people so they would believe, but in the New Testament, God works most of His miracles on the inside of man so each one of us will believe by feeling Him and His power on the inside of us”. This made me realize that there is a miracle I can talk about to help you realize what I am saying is the truth. It is the miracle that has happened in my life. How God has completely regenerated the sinful man in me into being Christ like. Everything I have written in my previous writings has happened to me and is so alive in me that I cannot hold it in; I have to proclaim this to anyone that will listen. I know this sounds prideful to some people, but this was not of my doing, it was only of God’s power. He has done it all. I want to tell you that I am a nobody, again I say I am a nobody that God has raised up to do His will through His Spirit. So if he was willing to use me, a nobody, He can do this for anybody willing to submit to His Lordship. This is what God has called all Christian to become and do.
In getting back to the process of becoming a Christian, we must know what the final result is, and that is becoming a real or true Christian. As stated in my previous writings a true Biblical Christian is totally devoted and sold out to God. He/she has committed everything that they hold valuable and has sacrificed it to God’s glory and work. A true Christian is a willing slave to God’s will. He/she is no longer having any selfish desires, but only loving desires toward God first and then to all people. A true Christian is always working at bringing others to a true relationship with God (making disciples). He/she loves God with all their heart, soul, and mind. True Christians know the only way to God’s eternal kingdom is through Christ, so they are fervently proclaiming the Gospel with the gifts they have been given. They know that people that are receiving a deception instead of the true Gospel is devastating to those people God loves. It is a spiritual life and death situation with eternal consequences. True Christians are not friends with the world, lovers of money, lovers of things, or lovers of themselves. True Christians always think of others needs above themselves. They are praising God the Father and Jesus continuously through out their day.
So, now knowing what a Christian is, we must admit that most of us aren’t at this holy or sanctified point at the time of our first acceptance of Christ. We must be made holy and perfected to being Christ like through a process call “sanctification”. Our society has been called the microwave society; we want everything to happen right now, no waiting, instant gratification. This is not how God usually works or what we can usually be able to do. When we first accept Christ as our savior, we usually can’t accept Him as total Lord of our life. The Bible says we must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The savior part is easy to accept because we are looking forward to receiving eternal life, but God’s Lordship of our life is required to be a true Christian and to really have eternal salvation. Lordship of our life is what most of us will not relinquish to anyone, even God. Some churches only preach and teach of Jesus being our Savior and not having to have total Lordship over our lives. This is a big and devastating deception. If Jesus is not allowed to have total control or Lordship over every part of a person’s life, there is no salvation for that person until he/she does. This is the reason God always puts the word Lord before Savior in the Bible.
This sanctification process to become a true Christian (born again) can take many years, sometime most of our life. Some people only come to this right before they die. Some people, even though they are in this process, never come to the point of becoming a true Christian and are lost to the devil because of their unwillingness to submit to Jesus’ total Lordship over their lives.
How long it takes to become a true Christian (born again) is totally dependent on our amount of faith in God and how much baggage we’ve have picked up in our life that we have to get rid of or let go of. When we are a child, especially in a Christian home, we have no baggage or only a little baggage to get rid of and when our parents tell us about Jesus through gospel messages and stories, we can easily have the faith to come to Jesus as Lord and Savior, because we believe what ever our parents tell us because we totally trust them. This is why Jesus says we must come to Him as a child.
If we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior as a child, we still have to persevere at keeping Him as our Lord and Savior. If we don’t, we must then get back to that point of submission or we still might be lost.
When we come to Christ as an adult, we already have a lot of sinful baggage. By this time we have already learned we cannot trust anyone, including God. We have learned to be very selfish through our sinful nature controlling us. The older we are when we come to Christ, the more excess sinful baggage we have to get rid of. All this selfish baggage that has been wound up into our life has to be unwound and this takes time and the power of God Holy Spirit to do it. This baggage must be gotten rid of by the process of sanctification and repenting. The flight to God’s eternal heaven does not carry any sinful baggage. We must let go of all this baggage before we board the flight. If we stay bound to our sinful baggage, we will not be allowed on the flight to heaven, but we will be picked up with the multitudes and thrown into the fiery bottomless pit, baggage and all.
May God’s grace be with you – Michael Reid
As I was recently giving a message at a church service, I said “In the Old Testament, God worked most of His miracles in plain view of His people so they would believe, but in the New Testament, God works most of His miracles on the inside of man so each one of us will believe by feeling Him and His power on the inside of us”. This made me realize that there is a miracle I can talk about to help you realize what I am saying is the truth. It is the miracle that has happened in my life. How God has completely regenerated the sinful man in me into being Christ like. Everything I have written in my previous writings has happened to me and is so alive in me that I cannot hold it in; I have to proclaim this to anyone that will listen. I know this sounds prideful to some people, but this was not of my doing, it was only of God’s power. He has done it all. I want to tell you that I am a nobody, again I say I am a nobody that God has raised up to do His will through His Spirit. So if he was willing to use me, a nobody, He can do this for anybody willing to submit to His Lordship. This is what God has called all Christian to become and do.
In getting back to the process of becoming a Christian, we must know what the final result is, and that is becoming a real or true Christian. As stated in my previous writings a true Biblical Christian is totally devoted and sold out to God. He/she has committed everything that they hold valuable and has sacrificed it to God’s glory and work. A true Christian is a willing slave to God’s will. He/she is no longer having any selfish desires, but only loving desires toward God first and then to all people. A true Christian is always working at bringing others to a true relationship with God (making disciples). He/she loves God with all their heart, soul, and mind. True Christians know the only way to God’s eternal kingdom is through Christ, so they are fervently proclaiming the Gospel with the gifts they have been given. They know that people that are receiving a deception instead of the true Gospel is devastating to those people God loves. It is a spiritual life and death situation with eternal consequences. True Christians are not friends with the world, lovers of money, lovers of things, or lovers of themselves. True Christians always think of others needs above themselves. They are praising God the Father and Jesus continuously through out their day.
So, now knowing what a Christian is, we must admit that most of us aren’t at this holy or sanctified point at the time of our first acceptance of Christ. We must be made holy and perfected to being Christ like through a process call “sanctification”. Our society has been called the microwave society; we want everything to happen right now, no waiting, instant gratification. This is not how God usually works or what we can usually be able to do. When we first accept Christ as our savior, we usually can’t accept Him as total Lord of our life. The Bible says we must accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The savior part is easy to accept because we are looking forward to receiving eternal life, but God’s Lordship of our life is required to be a true Christian and to really have eternal salvation. Lordship of our life is what most of us will not relinquish to anyone, even God. Some churches only preach and teach of Jesus being our Savior and not having to have total Lordship over our lives. This is a big and devastating deception. If Jesus is not allowed to have total control or Lordship over every part of a person’s life, there is no salvation for that person until he/she does. This is the reason God always puts the word Lord before Savior in the Bible.
This sanctification process to become a true Christian (born again) can take many years, sometime most of our life. Some people only come to this right before they die. Some people, even though they are in this process, never come to the point of becoming a true Christian and are lost to the devil because of their unwillingness to submit to Jesus’ total Lordship over their lives.
How long it takes to become a true Christian (born again) is totally dependent on our amount of faith in God and how much baggage we’ve have picked up in our life that we have to get rid of or let go of. When we are a child, especially in a Christian home, we have no baggage or only a little baggage to get rid of and when our parents tell us about Jesus through gospel messages and stories, we can easily have the faith to come to Jesus as Lord and Savior, because we believe what ever our parents tell us because we totally trust them. This is why Jesus says we must come to Him as a child.
If we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior as a child, we still have to persevere at keeping Him as our Lord and Savior. If we don’t, we must then get back to that point of submission or we still might be lost.
When we come to Christ as an adult, we already have a lot of sinful baggage. By this time we have already learned we cannot trust anyone, including God. We have learned to be very selfish through our sinful nature controlling us. The older we are when we come to Christ, the more excess sinful baggage we have to get rid of. All this selfish baggage that has been wound up into our life has to be unwound and this takes time and the power of God Holy Spirit to do it. This baggage must be gotten rid of by the process of sanctification and repenting. The flight to God’s eternal heaven does not carry any sinful baggage. We must let go of all this baggage before we board the flight. If we stay bound to our sinful baggage, we will not be allowed on the flight to heaven, but we will be picked up with the multitudes and thrown into the fiery bottomless pit, baggage and all.
May God’s grace be with you – Michael Reid
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