Hey y’all! Jennifer here with a post about something that has been weighing on my mind lately.
Why do we wait on something as important as our salvation? As someone who waited on theirs, I have a few ideas and I hoped that sharing what I have learned may help someone else stop waiting and do what needs to be done….there is nothing more important than your soul.
I was raised with a belief in God and never questioned that, nor did I question that Jesus is His son and Jesus came to earth and died for my sins so that I can go to heaven when I die.
I went too a Christian school through the end of the 6th grade and was taught bible matters there with a Baptist background. They taught the sinners prayer and wanting to be saved before Armageddon and the anti-Christ. I can remember many times as a child going forward during the preachers invitation and I remember saying the “sinners prayer” numerous times. I didn’t go to church services regularly growing up, I didn’t have any bible studies, I just always knew I was saved because I had said that prayer asking Jesus to come into my heart and save me……and because of that I was good. I was never baptized because I believed that meant I had to change the way I lived, I had to change things that I didn’t want to change, so I never took that step.
When I met my now husband I started going to services with him at the Collinsville Church of Christ, but I only went to be with him, I never really paid attention…..but I was confused by several things.
They had water in the baptistry all the time, there was no piano or organ, they didn’t talk about Armageddon or the coming anti christ, and they took communion every Sunday.
He explained to me that there was always water because if someone wanted to be baptized it needed to happen immediately so they would be saved. There was no piano or musical instrument because there was no mention of a musical instrument ever being used in worship in the new testament. Revalation was written to Christians living during Roman persecution and was written to inspire them and reassure them….and the word anti christ is nowhere in the book of revelation. They took communion every Sunday because Jesus said to do it often in remembrance of him, and when you read about the first Christians meeting for worship it says they took the bread. I was okay with all those answers, they made sense. (If you question any of those things I would encourage you to get out your bible and study)
So I continued to go with him to worship, but nothing really changed as far as my opinion of getting baptized or really changing my life.
I liked doing things that I knew God would frown upon, and isn’t that really what is at the heart of why we don’t make that commitment to God? It is always selfishness. We want to go to heaven…..I don’t know many who would say they would rather go to hell, but we don’t want to put in the work. We don’t want to make the sacrifices and give up the pleasures of sin. I think we know in our heart of hearts that we have to change and try to be a more godly person and we don’t want to, that’s why we come up with so many excuses for putting it off. I genuinely think that is why someone came up with the sinners prayer or the thought that if you simply believe in God or live good enough that you will get into heaven…..because trust me those things didn’t come from the Bible, but those teachings are wide spread and widely accepted and putting a lot of people’s souls in jeopardy.
I know about making excuses! Like I said my first excuse was that I didn’t want to change my life style, the second excuse is a popular one: why would I want to be a part of them? They are all hypocrites! I see them in the church building acting one way but when I see them in other settings they are judgemental, selfish, uncaring, blah blah blah. Now be honest, lots of people use that excuse, but that’s what it is an excuse! Don’t get mad hear me out!
About those hypocrites: not all of them really are hypocrites. Some of them are going to turn out to be wonderful God fearing people who love the Lord and strive do his will no matter what! They may mess up from time to time, but they will repent and try harder. Some of them are going to be hypocrites plain and simple. If it wasn’t going to be a problem in the church, then the Lord wouldn’t have addressed it as much as he did. But here is what I have learned about that. If you get to know someone and learn that they are living in that way, you can go to them in private as a caring spiritual family member and talk to them about it, you can pray for them, you can be an example for them, but ultimately they are responsible for their actions and they are going to have to answer for it on judgement day…..you don’t have to answer for them, but you will have to answer for yourself.
On judgement day do you think you can look at the Lord and say “well I knew what I was supposed to do, but I didn’t want to change my life or I didn’t want to be with that hypocrite.” And he will let you in? Sorry folks, it won’t work that way. If you haven’t done what you were supposed to do, your not going to heaven. So why keep making excuses? Stop risking your soul and the souls of those you have influence over.
Jesus came to earth and performed miracles to prove who he was. He taught many lessons to show us how to live. He taught his disciples what they needed to know to teach others. He was brutally beaten and crucified, his blood was shed to take away our sins. He rose from the dead three days later. His disciples wrote many letters to teach us what we needed to do to be promised a home in heaven, they give us examples of standing up for God, and they teach us how God expects us to live. It is all there in the Bible, we have the information we need to make the most important decision in our life…..it is up to us to do what we have to do.
Well my day came where I quit making excuses and took responsibility. I was baptized in January of 2009, and I have stumbled along the way, had to learn a lot, and try harder everyday to be the Christian I should be. I hope to share more about that another time.
Don’t put off your salvation like I did, tomorrow is not promised. We never know what moment will be our last.
The bible says it won’t be easy, but it promises that it will be worth it.
Until next time,
Jennifer
KnitTogether 