The Just as You Are Error

One of the most common errors that I hear being preached today is the “God will accept you just the way that you are” error.  Now there is nothing wrong in saying that you can initially come to God “just the way that you are,” but when we apply this to anything after our initial accepting of the grace of God, it becomes error.  Once you proclaim the good confession, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” it is an error to believe that you can remain “just the way you are.”  For the Scriptures teach us that the first thing we must do after confessing Christ is to repent.  As Peter said in the very first sermon ever preached, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 NIV

Jesus went so far as to say that salvation is impossible without repentance.  “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:5 NIV  So, Jesus would say, the very first thing we must do to be saved is to repent.  Repent means to change.  So the very first step into the kingdom of God is a step towards change.

Unfortunately many do not want to take that step.  They want the forgiveness without being delivered from sin.  They want to go to heaven, but they don’t want to live like citizens of the Kingdom today.  They want the inheritance without the adoption into the family of God.  They want the rights of a son or daughter of God without the commitment to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, but such a thing is impossible.  As Paul said: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 NIV

When we accept Christ as our Savior, we die to our old worldly life full of sin and shame, and are reborn to a new life to be lived in the glory of God.  This new life is called discipleship.  We are called to leave everything and follow Christ. (Matthew 10:37-39)  The idea of accepting eternal life without becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is completely foreign to the New Testament.  Yet this is exactly what many churches are teaching today.  The offer empty promises of a place in heaven through their “just as you are” fallacy.  Their promises are empty because they do not bid a person to leave the world for the kingdom.  You cannot have one foot in the world and keep a foothold in the kingdom.  Jesus bids you, “Leave the world behind and follow me.  Do not look back.  Keep your eyes on me and I will lead you to the kingdom.

Years ago I heard a story about a children’s ministry in Europe that believed that water baptism saved people regardless of what they believed.  And so they would go out into the streets and entice children to be baptized by offering them all sorts of toys and treats.  By doing this they said they were able to see 1,000′s of children baptized and saved.

We all know that this group was really accomplishing nothing more than dunking a few children under water.  We know that baptism means nothing if belief does not precede it. Yet many churches and Christian events do the same thing.  They entice people to say the sinners prayer by offering them all sorts of incentives.  They promise them that God will bless them.  He will bless their marriages.  He will bless them financially.  He will protect them from evil.  And, the greatest incentive, He will give them a free ticket to heaven.  But their promises are just as empty as the actions of these “children baptizers” if they do not bid those they invite into the kingdom to leave the world behind and follow Jesus Christ.  There is no reward for uttering empty words.  Only those who become disciples of Christ are saved.  So come to Christ just as you are, but be determined that once you come you will be begin the transformation process into a child of God.

Swallowing Gnats

This morning I noticed that one of the posts that I follow on Facebook, “The Bible,” had posted a picture of a new tattoo.  The one who had posted this picture had 700 people respond to his post most of which told him how wrong it was to have a tattoo.  This reminded me of a point that true disciples need to remember.  Jesus said:

 

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24 NIV

 

Jesus tells us here that there is a huge difference between the “religious” and the true disciple of Jesus Christ.  And that difference is the fact that disciples focus on what is truly important, while the religious, with their holier than thou attitude, focus on the gnats.

 

One good example the religious straining gnats while swallowing a camel was when a young woman came to talk to me about some help with her child some time back.  When I asked her if her own church could help her in any way she told me that she no longer goes to church because when she became pregnant as a single mom the church had renounced her as a harlot and kicked her out.  Now if this same person had ran off and gotten an abortion, I am sure that many in that church would have known about it and looked the other way because there would have been no visible sign of her sin and therefore it would have been easy to ignore.

 

We need to be careful that as disciples of Jesus Christ we never develop such an attitude.  Who cares if someone has a tattoo?  Who cares if someone has dozens of piercings?  Who cares what clothes they are wearing?  What is important is the salvation of their souls!

 

A disciples #1 concern is producing a crop for the Lord.  As Jesus said: A farmer went out to sow his seed…Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. Luke 8:5,8 NIV

 

If the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has take root in our lives, we, like Christ, will be able to look beyond appearances to the heart.  And we will have a overwhelming desire to reach out to the lost and dying world around us to give the gift of life.

 

Jesus reached out to the woman who had been married and divorced multiple times and was currently living with a man and offered her living water.  What would your church say to such a woman?  Jesus reached out to the woman caught in the very act of adultery and said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?…Then neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.”  John 8:10-11 NIV  What would your church say to such a woman?  Jesus reached out to the thief and said, “Today salvation has come to your house.”  What would your church say to such a person?  Jesus said to the convicted criminal hanging on the cross next to Him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  Would our churches even welcome such a man to sit in a pew?

 

Let us be sure to focus on what is truly important.  We can always find a reason to attack others, just as others can always find a reason to attack us.  What is truly important is the salvation of their souls.  So let’s overlook a few gnats for the cause of Christ.

 

 

The Balance Between Grace & Truth

Most of us know Jesus’ famous promise “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 NKJV Yet many of us are left wondering, “Where is this abundant life that we have been promised?”  Is that a question that you have been asking?  If so, then I invite you to follow along on this Blog over the next few weeks and invite others who are searching for the abundant life to join with us in this study.

Sunday mornings we have been studying what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  This is the most important study that any of us who are seeking the abundant life of Christ can undergo, because it is only when we become a disciple of Jesus Christ that we can experience the abundant life.  This Blog is meant to be a supplement to our study on discipleship.  In it we will examine in closer detail our search for the abundant life of Christ.

The first step in this search is to clear away obstacle to the abundant life.  The obstacle we need to clear away is the imbalance between grace and truth.  Those who search for true life in Christ make two very common mistakes.  They either focus on grace to the detriment of truth; or focus on truth to the detriment of grace.  But going to either extreme (grace or truth) makes the abundant life impossible.  There must be a balance between the two.

The Gospel of John says of Jesus: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NIV If we are in Christ, then we too must be full of grace and truth.  This is a constant challenge.  For we tend towards either legalism or a license to sin.  To those who see grace as a license to sin, truth seems like legalism.  And to those who abuse truth grace seems like an excuse to sin.  But neither is true.

There must be a more balanced approach if we are to truly be disciples of Jesus Christ.  We must see the need to follow Christ in obedience to His teaching (John 8:31-32). The grace is that Jesus provides the power we need to live in obedience to His Word (1 John 5:3) and the forgiveness of sins when we do not (1 John 1:9).  We are made citizens of God’s kingdom through grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), but as citizens we are called to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2).

One of my favorite authors is Bonhoeffer who wrote the classic book “The Cost of Discipleship.”  Bonhoeffer called grace without truth “cheap grace” because it is grace without any commitment.  He says that grace is not cheap because it cost Christ everything.  Our response to such a gift is to give Christ everything in return.  That is what sets us apart as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Salvation is not an event it is a lifestyle.  We are to live in the truth of Christ through the power of His grace.

What does it mean to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

If there is one thing that we must be it is Biblical.  And according to Scripture we must be a disciple of Jesus Christ in order to be saved.  Salvation does not come through saying a prayer.  Salvation does not come through baptism.  Salvation only come to those who are totally committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

The question is: What is necessary to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Several times in the Gospel of John Jesus says, “You are my disciple, if…” This would suggest that certain things are necessary for us to be considered disciples of Jesus Christ, such as, bearing fruit, loving one another, and following Jesus’ teachings.  This would seem to fly in the face of those that teach that nothing is necessary for salvation.

The question I would pose to you is: What is necessary for salvation according to Scripture? Not according to what you may have been taught.  There is a lot of false teaching that has been passed down from generation to generation.  Each consecutive generation accepts these teaching without checking their truth Biblically. Let us break this cycle of degeneration and return to God’s pure and holy Word for it is only in God’s Word that we find life.