the basic message # E174
What do you dislike most in life? Besides people that run red lights, I really dislike it when I’m misunderstood. That happens quite a bit in my life, and I must assume I’m to blame for a good portion of it. In the theological realm, I’m often misunderstood in my beliefs on salvation. Some folks tend to get the impression that I think we must add something to our salvation. Clearly that’s not true- our salvation was finished by Jesus on a cross 2000 years ago.
Where I go astray is when I come across like I’m suggesting we can somehow live a good life and “finish” our salvation. We can’t live a life good enough, that’s why we needed Jesus. But listen closely- once we really believe we are saved, our lives should absolutely, positively show a change. If there’s no change, there’s no evidence of true salvation. I know I’m not supposed to say that, but it’s high time that someone did. So what should the changes be? They aren’t cookie-cutter changes that are the same for everyone, but rather they are custom-tailored for the individual. Like what?
I’ll use myself as an example. Not too many years ago I cursed like a sailor. With God’s help I finally cleaned-up my act and for the most part am profanity-free. For the other part, here’s what happens: When I’m talking and I’m about to use a curse word, time slows down as the words come out. I can very clearly see what I’m about to say, and I have a choice to either launch or abort the profanity. Very, very seldom does a profanity leave my mouth that just “slips out”, rather it takes real effort to curse. This is what I call the “twinge”. God gives true believers an onboard warning system to keep us out of trouble. If you don’t have the system, you might need to return to the foot of the cross and have yours installed. By the way, I thought I was “truly saved” 20 years ago, but I didn’t have the warning system. I’m a little wiser today.
What are some other twinges God provides to his children? How about this one: You don’t drink, but you’re at some sort of party or meeting in which the host insists on having a toast (don’t you just hate that?). Rather than being the only one lifting up a can of A&W root beer, you knuckle under and they pour a glass of wine for you. Do you feel the twinge? Keep one thought in mind at this point- we, as Christians slip and fall on a regular basis, but if you have no feeling of remorse when you fail, you’ve got a big problem. I think some people feel the twinge on a regular basis, but are too weak to stand up for their Christianity. “Oh, but John, the boss insisted we all drink a toast to the new account we just landed.” We seem to think that if we simply stand up for decent living we’ll be branded as some sort of freak. So what? How many people can simply toast with an alcoholic beverage and then go back to Coke? Believe me, I’ve seen some careers wrecked at company Christmas parties when an employee had too much to drink and then promptly made an ass out of himself (or herself).
Here’s the real question: Is your life dominated by living like a follower of Jesus Christ, or is dominated by worldly standards? You do have a choice.