Enjoy the best church has to offer yet give nothing in return
So you think you are a saint…you said a prayer to “accept” Jesus. Or maybe your friend told you that in order to be saved you have to “receive” Jesus. Well if that describes you in any way then read on…you might just be a sinner.
Many in the American church today believe that since they prayed a prayer they are “saved.” Yet far too many live a life that is not a reflection of Christlikeness. If you refer to yourself as a Christian but your actions say otherwise then stop and think.
The Apostle Paul wrote a second letter to the believers in Corinth. He challenged them to “test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Cor 16). With that same challenge seasoned with conviction I want to exhort you.
If your invitation was to accept Christ or receive Christ as your Savior here is something you must know. That form of invitation is unbiblical and unacceptable. Your invitation should have been along the lines of acknowledgement and repentance. Let me explain.
On the day that you became a sinner in the eyes of God you exchanged your innocence for an indictment. That day may be one that you remember very well. Internally you were confronted with a choice and you made the wrong one. You see your moral reasoning (conscience) collided with your mental reasoning (mind) and at that moment you sinned. What age did this happen to me? The day you reached the age of accountability (Isa 7) is only known by God. What did I do to become a sinner? Only God can tell you for sure yet maybe you do remember the moment. Did you tell a lie (breaking the 9th commandment), steal something (breaking the 8th commandment) or maybe you screamed at your parents or called them a dirty name (breaking the 5th commandment). Does that jog your memory? Since that moment you have lived your life a sinner under the blue skies banking sins to your account. That account will come due the day you die because the wages of your sins is death (Rom 6).
Fast forward to the day of your invitation. If you were not confronted with the FACT that you were a sinner and if you did not acknowledge such and repent of your sins then maybe you should think again. An unrepentant person is destined to die in their sins eternally lost. If that is you then your destination at the second death would be the Lake of Fire (Rev 20) with the devil and his angels.
Being “saved” is not a one-time transactional process…it is a way of life. So let’s examine your life shall we. Since the day of invitation your life should have drastically changed. Your desire to run after wickedness should have been replaced with a desire to run after righteousness. Doing right is a byproduct of being right (right with God). Doing wrong is a byproduct of being wrong (right with Satan). It is recorded in John 3 Jesus said that unless you are BORN AGAIN you can not see nor enter into the Kingdom of God. Paul wrote to the church in Colossae that when you are born again you are delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. If you are not born again you are still under the domain of darkness operating in this physical world under the watchful eye of your god, Satan.
So there you have a screenshot of your life. After doing a self examination are you confident that you are born again? Or do you need to reevaluate who you are and what you are doing? If the only thing that changed in your life on your day of invitation was gaining a new group of friends then something is amiss. I would ask you to think about what I have shared because your eternal destiny is at stake. I would ask you to listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings in your heart at this very moment. Obey them or else…He leaves the choice up to you.