Someone said “you cannot be a Christian if you…”.
Like some of you, I have thought a lot about what is happening in this world. I just posted a blog to that subject, and it is on my website at ElbertNasworthy.com/blog. It is the one entitled “Closer Than Ever Before”. If you have not seen it on Facebook, you certainly can go to my website. As a note, all my blogs are available for you on my website anytime.
Now those thoughts have not gone away but are expanding as to what is happening. Let me be clear because as you have seen in my posting this is all a part of what will ultimately lead to the world as we know it-changed forever.
The challenge that all of us have is that we think and feel in the moment. We might think about the future, but we live in the right now. It is right now that our feelings take on great importance. Should they, well no but they do. Regardless of who you are, it can happen to you that your feelings take on more of an importance than you would want.
Let me help you out here so you can understand how important what I am saying today will be for you. I saw a post today from someone who wrote that “you cannot be a Christian if you…”. Now I know you are expecting me to finish what they wrote. I am not because I need to speak to the bigger point, which is this, what is it to be a Christian?
Here are some examples that might cause you or someone else to think they are a Christian.
-I go to church when I can. That probably means maybe Easter, Christmas, weddings and funerals. That does not make you a Christian. It does make you an occasional attender but not a Christian.
-I believe in the Bible as the word of God. That means you know the Bible is important, but you haven’t read or understand the Bible. For all that the Bible teaches us historically and right from wrong, you don’t know the most important part. That Jesus is the Son of God, and He came to die for our sins and rose again on the third day. Let me make this Biblically clear to you. Jesus said as found in John 3:16 that-
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
So, you believe in the Bible and even read some of it on occasion but that does not make you a Christian.
Let’s go a step further and you say-
-I pray a lot because I have heard prayer helps. First, let me acknowledge that prayer does help. God does answer prayers. He answers the prayers of Christians all the time and sometimes it is as we want it to be, and other times it isn’t. Does God hear your prayers, well He does. He is God and He knows everything, so hearing people He created would be natural. However, praying does not make you a Christian. There is a prayer from you He wants to hear and it is that prayer when you accept His Son as your Savior and Lord.
So, you might ask, Pastor how do a pray a prayer like that to accept Jesus as my Savior? Glad you asked for the Apostle Paul wrote this in Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So, if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are not a Christian. A nice person who probably does nice things, but you are not a Christian.
You see there are things as I mentioned today that might cause you to think you are a Christian. You might add to the list the reasons why you think you are a Christian. Mom and Dad took us to church. I went to VBS and Bible camp. We said a prayer at dinner. I believe that this or that is wrong (and you’re right, it is). All of that and more does not make you a Christian.
ONLY ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR AND DOING IT GOD’S WAY WILL MAKE YOU A CHRISTIAN.
Romans 10:13 declares-
For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
If you haven’t done so yet, then let me implore you to do it, right now. That is what makes you a Christian.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
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