Not Living For Jesus?

[Greg, TheNET Coordinator]

When new members join TheNET we ask them to describe their relationship with Jesus. It may surprise you that most respond "I know Jesus has rescued me but I don't think I'm living for Him."

Why are there so many "Christians" that are not living to please Jesus Christ or fulfill His agenda?

What do you think is lacking in their lives?

How can we help them?

[LT]

Greg,

My opinion is three fold.

1) It takes time to be educated in the ways of God. Discipleship is two fold. One must be taught and they must be willing to be taught. Growth is not by osmosis. There needs to be a whole lot more Paul and Timothy relationships in the body of Christ.

2) Rebellion, self-will, gets in the way. Often we want the good things, but are not willing to surrender our lives and sacrifice for Christ. This problem is perpetuated by many preachers, teachers and evangelist, in my opinion, who teach salvation without the idea that we are to take up our cross daily. Ephesians 2:8-9 are often taught separated from verse 10. A person needs to be informed of the commitment required to be a disciple, not just the free gift of salvation, and that it is not only God giving, but that we in return give to God out of love for Him.

3) Sanctification/Filled with the Holy Spirit: Many have differing views on this topic, but mine is that many fail because they are only prepared to fail. Life for Christ is a spiritual battle first and without spiritual power to overcome the war of the mind the flesh will win out more often than not. The teaching regarding sanctification needs to resurface, in a biblical manner, to lead a person to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Without His filling, life is a cycle of attempts and failures that leave people worn-out and frustrated, because their greatest effort has been man empowered instead of Spirit empowered and ends in defeat again and again.

Summary:
1) Be patient, teach and encourage them.
2) Teach them a life of commitment, surrender and sacrifice.
3) Direct them to sanctification where they receive spiritual power for the Christian life.

Lord Bless,
LT

[LT]

If I may add to what Watchman said, too often Christians try to live in the strength of the flesh instead of the power of the Spirit.

[inibehe]

The encounter Philip had with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26- 39 was a total work of the Holy Spirit to give understanding and salvation to a man who had desire to know more about Jesus. When we meet people who have the Acts 8 : 31 question " And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me?" It becomes our responsibility to guide. Many still see salvation as victory over difficulties or ability to attain some level of success. Some see healing from diseases while others see their ability to live above drugs and other vices as salvation.
One cant live for Christ without an assurance of being in a relationship with Him.Jesus in Jn 15 asked his disciples to abide in him. True disciples must abide in Christ to obtain spiritual nurishment for growth and fruit bearing.
Finally we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead and teach us in order to conform to the life of Christ.
Stay blessed,
inibehe.

[Greg, TheNET Coordinator]

Can you elaborate a bit more on this, Mark? Please develop that thought for us.

[Jonathan McLatchie]

Hi Greg,

Very good question, and one which I wish to have a brief stab at.

What complaint did Jesus make of the religious leaders of his day in Matthew 23:23-26? “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Here, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for having the outward appearance of righteousness but inwardly remaining full of corruption and greed. They were living for the approval of man, and not to please God. Paul warns in 2 Timothy 3:5 that “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

It feels that sometimes, as professing “Christians”, we are often guilty of seeking the praise and approval of men – not to honour and glorify our Lord. We can attend church, know the Christian doctrine, and use Christian clichés. In other words, while such practices can make a person appear to be living for Godly life, if the inner attributes of belief, love for God and one’s neighbor, and worshipping spirit is lacking, the outer appearance is worth nothing.

As sinners, we have a tendency to love pleasure rather than God, Why is this? Pleasure benefits us here and now, whereas the benefits of loving God are eternal in character, and as such, benefit us later. Pleasure has a narcotic effect – taking our minds off ourselves and our problems. Love for God reminds us of our problems and sin, and gives us a sense of dependency on God. Pleasure is easily obtainable, whereas a relationship with God requires effort and self-sacrifice.

Romans 8 explains that he who is truly in Christ does not continue to live according to the sinful nature. Granted we all stumble and fall from time to time – but this is not the same as living according to the sinful nature. What is the definition of repentance? My dictionary defines it as follows: “to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better.” So, in light of this definition, does it not logically follow that if one commits an act of sin, and subsequently “repents” to God, but returns to the very same act of sin and does it again, this person had not genuinely come to a state of repentance in the first place? Repentance by definition is to come to a state of such sorrow for one’s sin as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better.

Therefore , if one returns to the same sinful ways, we can only conclude they never truly repented of that particular sin. If this is true, then on what basis does one have for expecting Christ to have believed us when we said our initial prayer of repentance, which led to our salvation?

Let me remind you of the words of Jesus in Luke 16:10-13; “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” No servant can have two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Think about it. Heaven’s riches are infinitely more valuable than our earthly wealth here and now. But if we are not trustworthy with our money here (no matter how much or little we have), we will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God’s Kingdom.

Proverbs 26:11 draws a vivid comparison: “A dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” 2 Peter 2:13-22 expands on this simile:

“They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, revelling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’”

A man is a slave to whatever one submits himself to. If we choose not to live a Godly life and instead follow our own evil desires we will become enslaved to what our body wants. Conversely, if we submit to Christ, he will free us from bondage/slavery to sin, and give us a freedom that results in our ultimate good. The worldly secularists define “freedom” as meaning “ability to do anything you want”. But this is not the Biblical definition – indeed one can never be “free” in this sense, because we will become slaves to the ways of the flesh, which is ultimately sin and rebellion against God.

Let’s dig deeper, and move on to what I consider to be the heart of the matter – faith. If someone professes to have been saved but is not living for Christ, this is a testimony to their lack of faith. Consider this for a moment: if someone is professing to have been born again, and is absolutely 100% intellectually convinced in regard to Biblical integrity (and their profession to love Christ is genuine), they WILL invariably apply the teaching consistently to their lives.

Let’s look at some of the primary classes of so-called professing Christians in our world today.

The person who is a “Christian” for the approval of men

How can we know if we fit into this category? Usually such people have a very superficial or even non-existent prayer life (for they do not truly accept Christ in their hearts but love for the praise and approval of man). They most likely attend church, and even read their Bibles in private – but not necessarily to enter into a genuine relationship with God, but rather to impress fellow believers with their “godly lives” and/or knowledge of the Scriptures.

For them, Christianity is simply a public thing – and bears no implications for their lives or heart outside this arena. For the most part, such people will not apply Christ’s teachings consistently to their lives, and will often sin when they are in private – off the public view, for (they think) if no-one is able to see them during those private hours, it will have no bearing on their reputation or public standing. They can be living a double life – when they are at church they stand up, sit down, sing the hymns, act “the godly Christian” (even around non-believing friends), but when they are in private it is a different story.

Usually such people will try to make themselves feel superior to other Christians by have a false humility – making sure that people are aware that they are taking no credit for their “godliness”, but that it is all to be attributed to God (see Colossians 2 verse 18 and 23)

The person who is a “Christian” as a hobby or pastime

How can I know if I fit into this category? This person also usually has a limited or non-existent prayer-life. To put it simply, they do what Christians generally do because they enjoy it, or perhaps for the social aspect. They will study their Bibles and other Christian-related resources in order to win - for the sake of winning - an argument (see Proverbs 26:4), as an attempt to boast their own so-called “intellect” or “wisdom.” They hang around in Christian circles because therein lies their friends, but they have made no real commitment to follow the teachings of Christ and/or apply it consistently to their lives.

The person who applies Christ’s teachings consistently to their lives

Let’s all pray that we move into this category. This person hears the Word of God and lives it out consistently. They do stumble and fall occasionally, but will repent. This person does not continue to live in sin, and their key mission in life is to glorify Jesus (not self), and to be a witness for Him. They have a real sense of their dependence on God, and their life as a Christian is driven by prayer and through the living Word of God. The person realizes that without God they can do nothing (John 15:5), and is fully reliant on Him in their daily lives.

I hope the above reflections make sense. Hopefully you can get my general direction anyway.

God bless,

Jonathan

[Jonathan McLatchie]

P.S. For those of you who are turned off by long "essays", and like to skim through and pick up the general summary of what I am saying... the above post can be summed up by the following trustworthy saying:

The true test of a Christian's character is revealed in what he does when he thinks nobody is watching...

Something to think about!

Jonathan

[Bob B]

1John 2:12-14
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.

13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

What is interesting about this section is that John says he is writing because of things that are already true about each of these groups.

He does not say here that he is writing in order to get them to do something new of change the direction of their lives.

I want to take a look at these three groups that John addresses in these verses.

Let's look first at his comments to children.
He says he is writing to the children because "your sins are forgiven for his sake" and "because you know the Father.
Children need to hear these truths in particular. Children struggle with being sure they are truly forgiven when they do something wrong.
Children can find it be difficult for themselves to move forward when they make mistakes. Notice John doesn't stop with their sins being forgiven. He says they are forgiven for His sake not their own. When children (and of course this applies to us as well!) are feeling trapped in the sin they committed and aware of their own inadequacies, John reminds them that the way out is not dependent on them.
Jesus has forgiven them for His own sake, because that is who He is. Jesus is Savior at the very core of His being and we can count on Him to forgive us, not because of who we are or what we have done.
As John does we need to remind new believers that their forgiveness lies not in their own worth or talents but in the very character of God.
Secondly, John says he writes to the children because they know the Father.
I would think they might be tempted to respond, "We do?" John says yes, you know Him.
I don't think he is saying that they already know everything there is to know about their heavenly Father. He is encouraging them to realize they have a knowing relationship with the Father that is established. Now they can grow in it--they do not have to start the relationship themselves.
John seems to be saying that they know Him and they are forgiven because of who God is and that is why they can count on Him.

To the young people;
They are very similar with each other, but the second one expands Johns point. The first time John says he is writing to the young people because "you have overcome the evil one" and the second time because "you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
These are great words that John addresses to the youth. There is so much going on in those years, so many pressures. It can be very hard to stay anchored. There are plenty of times when one feels anything but strong.
The pull to "fit in" and all the things that threaten to pull them off center. What great words John says here and how freeing and reassuring they are to those in the midst of youth. John says they have already overcome the evil one. But again, this isn't dependent on them, their own strength. John reminds them that "the word of God abides in you." God has already done a work in you, John is saying, and the battle against the evil one is won.
Don't think when you face these daily pressures that assault you that you are defenseless or that the outcome is still to be determined and dependent on you.
You can resist evil because God is truly in you and He has overcome.
If you look at John's word to both children and youth, He is reminding them of the truth of who they are in Christ. So that they can hold onto that in the midst of a world that sends other messages.

Now let's look at John's words to fathers.
He says the same thing both times to them!
I guess he felt it bears repeating and that the most important thing to remind them of is that they know God and that He is from the beginning.
Why does he emphasize for the adults that the God they know is the One from the beginning?
Well, I think because it is so tempting for those who are more mature to believe that it is all up to us.
But John wants to remind us to keep our perspective in line with the truth.
God is the One from the beginning.
So I see that in dealing with each other we need to remember that we are all at different stages of maturity, and need as John was doing in the above passage address the issues that are facing each group.
We tend to think that new believers should be able to figure it all out on their own. This is where we find them beginning to fake it until you make it, becoming mimics, or as my teen son use to say become posers. We need to be careful that we don't give the impression to new believers that by doing a list of 25 things will make you a Christian. It all comes back to demonstrating to them a vital relationship with the Lord, then encouraging one another to build up that relationship by prayer, fellowship, worship, and the Word of God.

[ActualMaureen]

I don't remember how I responded when I joined this group, but I could have been one of those who said, "I don't think I'm living for Him." Please let me explain why I might have answered that way. I'm not a new believer, I don't consider myself to be immature in the faith. But I've been through a real dry spell, where I felt almost like a robot going through the motions. Although I never let go of my faith, my heart was rather cold, and I put God and the things of faith on the back burner. I didn't expect that to change when I joined this site, but God had other plans. A couple of new friends I met here have come along side me and challenged me to go deeper, and by His grace, I have found a renewed passion.

Having said that, I think we need to challenge each other in love. Maybe when someone says they are not "living for Him" we need to ask the hard question: "Why not?"

I'd also like to suggest that some may answer that they are not "living for Him", not because they aren't, but because they see this as a standard that always needs improving. There is always a challenge before us to do more, to be more like Christ, to live a better life. I haven't met a single person yet who has "arrived" this side of heaven. In light of that I think there may be many sincere believers who would answer this way because to answer any other way could be deemed prideful or less than sincere.

[Jonathan McLatchie]

Dear all,

Sorry to chime in again – I don’t mean to start spamming...but I feel that this is an important message.

Last night by the grace of God I was led to the video below. It is a one hour sermon, which radically changed my entire mind set.

Let me get this into a little perspective.... I was born and raised in a Christian family, and have been attending sermons for my entire life (I am now 19). In all those 19 years, I have NEVER been impacted so much by a sermon as I was by this one right here.

Please do not watch this and think “This would be appropriate for Joe Bloggs” or “My friend Billy needs to see this.” This message is for YOU.

Watch it and then examine your heart before God.


Jonathan

[mctechnon]

The beginning of all is the identity of who you are. if christianity is still a religion to you not a life. they should be more meditation of the word. for all to know - joshua 1v8 is the key to a victorious relationship that bears fruit.

[Rodney]

This may have all ready been covered, but I'll mention it any way. I think that the reason that people struggle is simply this. Not enough support. I am a "Preachers Kid" so I have been in the church most of my life. So I have seen this happen to others, and even myself. In my opinion churches fail terribly when it comes to the support of their fellow christians. I know that I have experienced times that I have needed help and recieved a token amount of support. Kind of like going through the fast food lane. You get something to fill the void, but not very satisfying. I recently called my pastor and needed to set up a time to talk with him. Instead I got a prayer over the phone. The struggling Christian is left to wade through their troubles alone.
To me, the church is supposed to a place where you feel more like a family than any where else. Sadly, this is not the case a lot of the times. I have had more knocks on my door from Jehovah witness than I have from a true CHristain.
So it is natural that someone is struggling, and the one place that should reach out to them doesn't. Having experienced this, I can tell you that it makes you feel like giving up.
Now I will say this. I have found none of that to be the case here. Everyone that I have talked to has been truley loving and caring. So happy to be here.