The basic message #E213
11/10/03
About 10 years ago I became interested in competitive running. Over the subsequent years, I became pretty good at it, winning a few awards for my efforts. Most of us, when interested in any hobby, will read about it to some degree, and at one time I read "Runner's World". I remember one article in particular that discussed the difference in "jogging" versus "running". The author said that if a person covered a mile in less than 8 minutes, he was running. Conversely, anyone taking more than 8 minutes would be considered a jogger, or if considerably more than 8 minutes, might even be considered a fast walker. I never really considered that there was a "cut-off" point for the category of running. I find it refreshing that we can have some absolutes in this world, since most of the time we settle for the murkiness of accepting people's word for whatever they want to be or do.
Imagine for a moment the wonder of a person saying, "I'm a Christian!", and then offering proof to support the statement. Some of you might think I'm arrogant to suggest such a thing, but hear me out. Do you think that even one person inhabiting Hell once said with great conviction, "I'm a Christian!"? If you do, then it's not an arrogant proposition. As long as there is even a remote possibility of one "professing" Christian entering Hell, I will continue to beat this drum regularly. If anything in life really surprises me, it's the lack of pastors who apparently don't fathom the question to any degree. Over the past few years I've asked a number of pastors to consider their "flock" for a moment and tell me what percentage of their congregation will someday inhabit Heaven. Guess what the popular number is. Generally, I hear that about 20% will go to Heaven. Twenty percent! Even if the numbers were transposed, with 80% going to Heaven, I think I'd still have trouble sleeping when I'd consider the fate of the remaining 20%. Yes, I know that the pastor can only lead the horse to water, and that only God can make him drink the water of Salvation, but sometimes the horse needs to have a bit put in his mouth to make him do what his master wants.
The 8 minute mile cut-off for runners is a clean standard- you either make it or you don't. The standard for Christians is a bit more complex, but wait- the result is much like the runner- you either make it, or you don't. I envision a time coming in which lily-livered pastors will get some guts and step into the pulpit and make this announcement: "After much consideration, I tend to believe that only 20% of you will enter Heaven". Talk about getting our attention. Just why hasn't this already happened? I think it's pretty simple- the pastor's phone will ring off the hook for weeks with people wanting to know "am I in the 20% or the 80%?", and can you blame them for that terror attack? Many pastors will cop-out by saying, "well, only God knows what's in a person's heart". I agree 100%, but don't be misled by this detour. Plenty of pastors know what their congregation is up to, but just don't want to rock the boat. If the pastor beats up on Christian women having abortions, they'll need to prepare for a loss of congregants, since many Christian families have someone closely connected that has had an abortion. I taught a Sunday school class a few years ago in which a grandmother made this statement: "If I had a daughter in trouble, we'd just get her an abortion and ask God's forgiveness later". That statement still haunts me to this day. The woman making the statement is a friend of mine, and a well-respected member of our community. For an elderly person to make a statement like that tells me that she hasn't sat under any pastors that call a spade a spade, and guess what? She probably likes it that way. Sorry folks, but ignorance of God's laws doesn't excuse us at all. And by the way, if you think we're no longer under the law, I'll ask you a simple question: can I go out and murder someone for the heck of it and ask God to forgive me and receive forgiveness? Of course not, and the abortion example is no different.
And so, what will the equivalent of the 8 minute
mile be for the Christian? How about this for a start:
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
How many of these do you continue to practice and how do you plan to talk your way out of them on judgment day? Please- let me know. basicchristian@aol.com