the basic message #E210
11/1/03
Sometimes I wish I could go out on the street and do surveys to find out what people believe about their Christianity. I'd like to ask about their beliefs- particularly regarding Heaven. Most folks, I would surmise, believe that Heaven is a fantastic place in which the inhabitants have been rewarded with the highest happiness level that can be attained. I would also tend to believe that nearly every Christian wants very badly to someday be a resident of Heaven. These things, I suppose, are "no-brainers" in terms of assumptions. Beyond this, however, things begin to unravel rapidly.
I blame the "just gotta believe" movement so prevalent in our modern society for the skewed understanding of Heavenly things. This group, growing rapidly with each passing year, has oversimplified Christianity to mean that the person must acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God in flesh and that he is capable of canceling the debt of our personal sins. In one way, I agree, Jesus indeed can and will remove our personal sins, but not so fast- we have a role as well. The modern church has all but forgotten the concept of repentance, and that omission will likely send millions of people to a Hell that the pastor hasn't talked much about. Men like Charles Stanley will focus on the love of God and downplay the repentance factor. Every great once-in-a-while Stanley will get serious about repentance, but almost invariably, he will pull back before actually stating that an unrepentant lifestyle will ultimately send a person to Hell.
Since most Americans are very retirement focused, I can build a comparison of Heaven and retirement. Retirement is the ultimate goal for many Americans, and Heaven should be the goal of every Christian. To achieve a comfortable retirement, one must sacrifice some things in order to make that happen. To achieve life in Heaven, one must also sacrifice some things on earth. Now right about now, some folks will start to chant, "You can't work your way to Heaven, you can't work your way to Heaven". I agree 100%, but what you can do is work your way out of Heaven. How? It's really very simple, but most pastors wouldn't recognize it if it bit them on the butt.
Here's the rundown: 1. We're all sinners that must be saved by grace. 2. Once we acknowledge that we need Jesus Christ to be our "credit card" for the sin debt that we can't pay, we're on the road to recovery. Here's where most Christians make a fundamental, and ultimately costly mistake. Let's focus on the word "debt" for a moment. How do we get in financial debt? We buy something that we don't have the cash to pay for now. Very few of us can buy a house or car and pay cash, but what about people who pay for their groceries on a credit card because they're broke? Generally speaking, people that run up large credit card bills are often poor money managers. They buy things they don't need, pay too much, and frequently live lifestyles that are beyond their means. Can we agree on the definition of debt? Sin debt is very similar. There will be sins that we incur that we have little or no control over, but let's be honest- the majority of sins we commit are done with our full knowledge and understanding. You don't buy into that? Tell me, then, if a Christian woman has an abortion, is that a sin that she has no control over? If a Christian cheats on his income tax, has he no control over that? If a Christian has an affair, has he no control over that? Make no mistake, when we incur sin debt that is unnecessary, Jesus is taking a dim view of that action. Can you find anything in the Bible that suggests otherwise? If so, send it to me and I'll post it on the opening page of this website.
Think of Jesus as an authentic family debt counseling service. You go in, explain how you got so deeply into debt, and then commit yourself to living a life of discipline in order to change for the better. If a person goes into a debt counseling service and gets plenty of help getting out of debt and then simply goes back to that old lifestyle and gets back into the same rut, can they continue to be helped? Technically, yes, they can, but the real question is, who would want to help someone that refuses to impose some self-discipline? We, the modern Christian church, have basically "voted" to change the rules of Salvation to our liking. We've kept all of the things we like and tossed out nearly everything that puts a kink in our style. Make no mistake, the rules haven't changed for 2000 years in Heaven, and from what I read in the Bible, they never will.
You'll notice that I haven't provided any scriptural references in this basic message. I can provide dozens of passages, but will that change the mind of a person bent on having their way? Do you think you have the bullet-proof scriptural support to prove me wrong? I'll challenge anyone and everyone to an "online debate" to see who has the most likely foundation for their beliefs. How might the debate work? Sort of like a chess match- one person takes a turn, writing their scriptural references and that gets posted on this website. I, then, will counter with my own. You, then, will counter with more support of your views. I've been doing this for 5 years and I've only had a few takers, and those fell along the wayside very quickly. I welcome the opportunity to hear your views. Write to basicchristian@aol.com
Thanks!