What God has been showing me. . . .
I haven’t made the time in quite a while to write what’s been going on. But in this blog I want to share with you something God has been showing me and helping me get a better understanding. So many times as pastors we think we are doing the right thing by sharing the gospel and then leading someone through a prayer, but are we really doing anything? I guess the reason this has been working on my heart for so long now is because of watching new converts, they feel like all there is to “Christianity” is a prayer then they are free to do whatever they either were doing or whatever they decide they can do in the future. Well, as God has been working through scripture to help me come to this conviction and new thought he has also taken me to “the wood shed” on other issues as well.
We can go back and look throughout scripture and see that Christ never once told his disciples to pray a prayer. For instance, Matthew 4:18 – 22 Jesus is calling His first disciples to follow Him. Matthew says, “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who as called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” This is the case with all of His disciples, they dropped everything and followed Christ where ever He took the.
Now, before everyone starts to label me a heretic or something along those lines I do believe there is a time for a prayer because Paul said in Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Yes, we have to confess with our mouths at some point in time but, is that all there is to salvation? We see throughout Paul’s writing that there should be evidence’s of salvation in people’s lives. How will we know someone is genuinely saved? By the way they “walk.” Nothing better says who a person says they are by watching the way they walk their everyday life. What is in someones heart at some point in time will come out of their mouth, according to Matthew 15:18, ”But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.” Not to mention Jesus says in John 13:35, “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” And in Matthew 7:16 Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits. . .”
The more I study this and look at scripture the more I see that the prayer is only the start of the Christian walk. The walk down the isle is only the first step of letting people know what has happened in your life. The baptism is the first act of obedience to the Lord because He himself has set the standard for us to follow. Baptism is also picture to those in the church and the others around of what has happened on the inside, but after telling the church body about the decision you have made and then following the Lord in immersion baptism then the battle of showing and “working out your salvation” starts. Our walk with Christ is not about us it is about “And He was saying to them all, “if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23
A quote I have come up with that I use in the Student Ministry all the time and I believe it sums up salvation.
“ It’s not about me, it’s about the God who created me.” Can you say this on a daily basis about your salvation?
