Can I really write that?

Some people will disagree with the first article because they feel that Christians should not do the things listed and, if they do, these people were never Christians in the first place. Such circular thinking is absurd. Read the verses and notice how they were all addressed to Jesus’ followers (during His time on the earth) or Christians (after His death). However, let’s pursue this line a thought some more.

Christians are constantly being warned in the word of God to take heed lest they fall (I Cor. 10:12; Heb. 3:12). Why warn God’s people of something that cannot happen? If Christians are being warned of things, then they are obviously susceptible. We also have passages that tell us that Christian can and have fallen away (I Tim. 4:1; II Pet. 2:20-22). Even Jesus spoke of such with the parable of the sower in Matthew 13.

So what should Christian do to make sure they do not fall away? The apostle Paul told the saints at Corinth to examine themselves regularly to confirm that they are in the faith (II Cor. 13:5). We do that by looking into the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25). The word of the Lord is designed to instruct, correct and chastise (II Tim. 3:16-17).

Then what should a Christian do when he/she sees another Christian fall away? First, remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-5. If you want to help a brother, make sure you do not have sin in your own life. Next, help them come back (James 5:19-20). This is the wrong time to say “it is not our business”. We are all obligated to look out for the spiritual wellbeing of our brothers and sisters.

The hardest thing about all of this is seeing someone who needs help but thinks they are fine. The first article points out many of those possible scenarios. People can think they are alive spiritually when they are actually dead (I Tim. 5:6).

Each of us should go back over the first article and make sure we have not fallen victim to self-deception. As we stated already – “Take heed lest you fall.”  If we think it cannot happen, it will!

        Chuck

Do not kid yourself

We all like the ending to a good story. This is no more true than the story of the prodigal son, spoken by our Lord (Luke. 15:11-32). Jesus tells a parable about a son who went off and wasted his life with prodigal living, only to eventually home and tell his father he was sorry. A celebration was then held to rejoice over the return of the lost son.

It is dangerous to expect the same happy ending even if we change some of the facts around.  When you start modifying the story, you begin to miss the many lessons our Lord was trying to teach. For example, the story would be very different if Jesus did not describe how the son hit rock bottom. In Jesus’ parable, the son becomes so poor he hopes was willing to eat the pods fed to swine. How would the story change if the son’s father offered aid as soon as the son began to struggle? Would the father still have run to him, fallen on his neck, kissed him, put a robe on him and prepared the fatted calf? Do not kid yourself…

Like we pointed out in the first article,  you cannot do something different and expect the same result. Christ was clearly teaching that people need to repent and should not expect special favors (verses 18-19). What if his father did treat his returned son like one of his hired servants? The son said he wanted this. If he was treated this way and got angry, he would be guilty of lying. Would he apologize only for selfish reasons?  Without genuine remorse and change, the son would not want to be treated any differently than before he left. In short, the son’s remorse demonstrated that he had learned.

The party that the father threw was conditional on the repentance of his returned son. Having a feast without repentance would just reinforce the younger son’s behavior and encourage a repeat episode. Just as these lessons are true in our earthly lives, so they are also true in our spiritual ones. Let us remember the words of Paul: “God is not mocked,” (Gal. 6:7).  This is true because “What a man sows, that he will also reap.”   If you expect forgiveness without a change of heart, it is foolish to expect to be welcomed with open arms.

                                                                                                                                                                                                             Chuck