I’m a Christian! But Are You a Christ Follower?

It blows me away to hear all the excuses Christians in this country use to justify why they’re not doing what God’s Word says they’re supposed to do. American Christianity is far to easy, especially compared to most places in the world where Christians put their lives on the line every day simply because they believe in Jesus. I’m not saying I wish we had to put our lives on the line every day, even though it would probably make us appreciate Jesus more, what I’m saying is, why in this country are so few Christians willing to do even the basics of what the Bible tells us to do? I’ve heard all the excuses, I don’t have time, family, kids sports, my job, my health, my business…blah blah blah. What if Jesus would have said to the world, “I would love to die on the cross for your sins, but between work and family, I really don’t have time.”

Here’s what I talking about?

1) The 80/20 rule is alive and well in churches all over this country ? If you don’t know what that is, it means that 20% of the people in churches do 80% of the work. Why are so many Christian’s unwilling to do the basic requirement to serve, something Jesus modeled for us? You don’t think this is a problem, call any church in America ask the pastor! Mark 10:45  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

2) In Malachi 3:8-12 God says we are to give the first 10% of what He has blessed us with back to His Church. Yet studies show that only 2-3% of those who claim to be believers, tithe the full 10% God commands us to give?  If you’re a believer, you might want to read this scripture because it’s clear it’s not meant as a suggestion. In fact Gods Words says you’re actually robbing God, or stealing from God,  if you don’t do it. These are Gods words not mine!

3) God tells us we are to love the widows and orphans, and take care of those less fortunate than us.  James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. If believers in this country would all obey what God tells us to do, world hunger would come to an end, because we have all the resources we need to wipe it out!

4) The Bible is crystal clear about how important the local church is, and yes scripture supports that we are to worship corporately, yet a large majority of those in the country that say they believe in God, don’t even bother to attend a church regularly, and a large majority of those don’t attend at all often stating, “I don’t like organized religion.” It’s not organized religion, it’s the house of God and He tells us to be there. And because they don’t worship in God’s house then none of the things I’m talking about here get done! If you don’t like the church that makes you feel that way, go find one you do like!  Acts 2:46: ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day,(The Local Church) and met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. The example is clear!

 
5) I can’t tell you how often someone criticizes me because I won’t forward some email that says, “if you truly love God you will forward this,” but the problem is, whether you forward an email or not says nothing about your faith. FAITH is a verb, it is not something you have, its something you live out, its something you do! It can’t be lived out behind a computer screen at work!

6) Do you hate anyone believers? Be honest about it, did you hate Osama Bin Laden, or were you glad we got him because it meant justice was served? Very different heart condition. Do you hate your ex wife or husband? Do you hate the girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse that cheated on you? Do you hate the person they cheated with? Do you hate a former business partner that stole from you? Do you hate the IRS, never mind on that one doesn’t count. LOL The Pharisees asked  Jesus what the most important of all the laws was, Jesus said this, Luke 10:27 “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’’ Loving your neighbor as yourself means loving others even if they don’t love you back or have hurt you, or another way, love the unlovable. One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard says this, “The person you love the least in how you love Jesus.” That one gives me chills every time I hear it!

These are just a few!

So whats the problem with believers in this country? It seems to me it can only be one of two things, they either have no clue what the inspired Word of God clearly says about this stuff, which means they don’t read the Bible, or they just don’t care, which pretty much speaks for itself. So how you will know if you fall into this category of believers, well if this post ticks you off, you’re probably in it, because the believers who are sacrificially giving their lives for the cause of Christ, already know these things and are doing them.

So why did I write this? To condemn, judge, or shame my fellow believers? If you know me, you know theres not one ounce of that in me, I wrote this because this scripture scared me almost to death at a time in my Christian walk when, I said I loved Jesus, but was living as if I didn’t.

Matthew 7:22-25:
²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

My take on a modern version of that scripture would be, But Lord I went to church, I prayed before I ate at restaurants, I wore a cross necklace, I used Christianeeze, I facebooked/twittered about Jesus, but God replied, I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws. Are any of these bad, of course not, but just because you do them doesn’t mean you have a relationship with Jesus.

This scripture was so personal for me because made it so unbelievably clear to me how far I was from being ready to go before my Savior, I’m so thankful that someone showed it to me before that happened!

John

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