In the Christian church today, with its many denominations and variants, one can be quite confused what “born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ” actually means or that it is even necessary.
What has been happening is, as far as I can tell, institutions en masse have been drifting from the very clear Gospel message as explained by the eye-witnesses of Christ and preserved in the Bible. The reasons, stem from the desire for man to rely on contemporary wisdom, thinking that his knowledge of today’s society requires modifying the message given by God Himself.
This is no surprise if you have studied the Bible and its history of the Israelites in the Old Testament and the religious jews of Jesus’s day. While today’s world may look a lot different from the1st Century Roman Empire or ancient Israel, human nature, really has not changed. This is why the many lessons from ancient history remain so remarkably relevant.
If you look earlier to the Book of Isaiah, which was written about 700 years before Christ, you can see the clear patterns and symptoms of the corruption of society (i.e. Isaiah 3) and if you fast forward to Paul letter to the Romans 1, written in the 1st Century after Jesus’ death and resurrection, you can see how society has a way of dissolving into depravity and corruption without obedience to the law and the repentance from sin.
Man’s propensity of sin, self-righteousness, and depravity has never been more on parade through the mass media. It is only exacerbated by the world’s influence of being at the finger tips of anyone with a smart phone.
There is this ongoing pressure, a relentless multi-prong attack on the mind of the average person, including many of those who are presumably part of the Christ believing church.
Dusting off the Scripture
For decades, there has been a desire draw away from the authority of the Bible in order to change God’s description (i.e. God of only unconditional love), to alter the gospel message to attract more people to the church, to make God more palatable to depraved, sinful, unrepentant, and even disinterested persons. How far will church leaders go ecumenicalize their congregations to make them at one with the world?
After having spent and intense couple of years studying the Bible, reading it multiple times per day, and having read it straight through, I do not believe that censoring what is in effect, God’s revelation through the writings collected in the Bible, is God’s will for a born-again believer in Christ.
What happens to all people, whether they come to faith or not, falls within the realm of God’s sovereign plan, however, it is a critical component that the sanctification process of a true Christian, is highlighted by a disciplined regimen of studying God’s word through the Bible. which has stood the test of time for thousands of years and scrutiny detractors and tire kickers the entire way.
There is nothing wishy washy or confusing or any thing that promotes a wide path of entry about these famous statements (only a small sampling) made by the Lord Jesus Christ who claimed He was God in conjunction with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, a triune God and who was resurrected bodily from the dead:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” – Matthew 7:13
On a variation of the famous line from “A Few Good Men”, the question is, “Can you handle the truth?”
Jesus being Lord demands that the source documents be studied as inerrant and authoritative (respecting the various writing styles found therein, they have been found to be non-conflicting). As a good servant of the Lord, it’s a necessary process to study the instructions left by the Master to His disciples. The life of a Christian, despite the wide spread popular belief, is not intended to be one of self-improvement, personal development, or to make you wealthy in a worldly fashion, rather, the life of a believer is significantly hinged to love for God and for others, deepening sense of humility, an ever greater willingness for self-sacrifice, and yearning and for obedience to God’s instructions and a passion for His desires to be fulfilled. Obedience is one of God’s key love languages and yardsticks for being saved.
God ordained changing
As a born-again believer in Christ, we are expected to be on a path of sanctification. We are not expected to remain dwelling in our earthly lusts of the flesh, whether if they be sexual in nature or not, as those worldly things that were beholden to us before, particularly if they are in direct opposition to God’s moral laws. The power of the transformation of a born-again believer provides the desire to put away fallen behaviors and attitudes in exchange for the glory of God. A true believer is always changing to become more life Christ; conversely, if there is no difference in behavior between you and your secular friends, you should question whether you have received saving the faith that comes from God.
Leaders in the church who begin using society as the measuring stick for moral standard is a slippery slope. The hypocrisy and failure, in marriage for example, that permeates society also permeates the church does not mean that the standards set forth by God’s wisdom should be altered or that covenants have no principle or meaning, or lack imperative. That’s the equivalent of moving goal posts which will only result in more unrepentant behavior, a lessening recognition of God’s commandments and holiness and a loss of a true appreciation for Jesus sacrifice on the cross for every individual’s acts of sin.
While there is great joy in the life of a believer, it is by no means easy. Old habits can be hard to break and can remain stumbling blocks for a more vibrant life lead by the Holy Spirit. As servants of Christ, we are called to give up our old blueprint for our lives and to adopt the new one that comes with obedience to God’s will. This is not a popular message in the average “church” but it is one that is readily apparent to those who study and believe the authority contained in Scripture.
The message of a life that leads to sanctification is received and understood by those who attend church services to worship the living God and not those looking for a mere notch in your “I go to church” pistol grip.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Much of the mojo in the Christian life is found in the motivation that leads to Sanctification stems from gratitude for being saved by God’s grace. Being saved leads to a joyous, constant, and disciplined feeding from the unadulterated source (the Bible) to begin pushing the lifetime of densely packed bricks of idolatry and self-righteousness from the grips of what keeps us from obedience to God’s will.
For a detailed explanation of who Jesus Christ is from the Bible’s perspective go to the video in this website , “Who is Jesus Christ?”
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
CKY
P.S. Another tough subject, posting a few hours later than usual, typos and all, I do not use AI. I can only write so much every week and I have to limit myself.
Sunset photo in Hawaii (Maui) is from my personal stock.
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