On Sunday my pastor preached a very challenging message on being Courageous Christians. We were reminded of the sacrifices people have made through the ages in the name of Christ. We were challenged that too many of us are too afraid to share about Jesus being the answer to sin and Hell because we don’t want to be called judgmental.
Our pastor hit the nail on the head. We are still trying to bring people to Jesus by being “nice” to them, rather than telling them that Hell is real and that without Jesus you will be going there for eternity. I need to grow in my courage in that area!
However, a little over a year ago, God laid a Scripture on my heart and called me to share a hard message to those within the church. The message I heard on Monday challenged me to be more courageous in sharing the message God has called me to share.
“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!' (Mt 7:21-23)
This is the passage God put on my heart. Many will get toJudgment thinking they are saved, only to find out that Jesus claims never to even have known them! That word “many” leaps out at me. The people in this passage were obviously religious. They prophesied (shared their faith?) and performed miracles in the name of Jesus, yet Jesus tells them, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!”
The message of commitment that is central to this blog comes from the commission God gave me last summer. Right now, God is calling me to be more courageous in sharing the full message that He has called me to give. To be perfectly honest, I am writing this post with fear and trembling, because I know it will be very offensive to some.
My last post looked finished off with the following Scripture.
“Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me … If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.(Lk 9:23,26)
If you are not willing to give up everything you have, you will not be following Jesus. He won’t know you at the Day of Judgment. If you are ashamed of the name of Jesus (won’t tell people you are a Christian, let alone call people to become Christians) Jesus will be ashamed of you on the Day of Judgment. Those situations sound a lot like that described in Matthew 7 above, where Jesus responded, "I never knew you."
I don’t understand where the teaching came from that says: if a person simply confesses that they are a sinner, says a prayer asking for forgiveness, and asks for God’s help to live for Him (with NO IDEA what that means) that that person has obeyed Jesus?
Jesus said in many ways and many places what it takes to follow Him, to be His disciple, to go to heaven. What is known today as the “Sinner’s Prayer” was never part of what Jesus taught. In fact, as we looked at in the last post, Jesus calls people to count the cost of following Him. Here are a few verses that share what Jesus Himself taught.
(Mt 18:3-4) He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
(Mt 18:8-9) If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.
(Jn 8:31-36) To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham's descendents and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 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, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
(Mt 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 up 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.
Jesus taught commitment – radical commitment.
Jesus demanded self-denial and sacrifice.
Jesus demanded change.
Jesus demanded that He be first –even above your closest family
The Sinner’s Prayer doesn’t include any of those elements. Many who pray the sinner’s prayer receive follow-up and discipling and may eventually learn what Jesus really taught. Those who say the prayer and don’t get any discipling, never learn the truth. Both groups are led to believe that after they say the Sinner’s Prayer that they are going to heaven. The first group may eventually learn enough truth to obey what Jesus taught. The second most likely will never learn the truth.
Jesus said that only those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven will go to heaven. Please check your Bible and see if the prayer you said, or the prayer you lead people to say, is really something that matches what the Scriptures really teach.
(Mt15:3,6-9) Jesus replied, “and why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?.... thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.
According to God’s Word,
following traditions of men that go against the Word of God
is worthless worship.
Following the tradition of accepting Jesus as your Savior, without any commitment
on your part, is false teaching and does not provide entrance into Heaven!
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