This most certainly trickles into Christian families as well considering that all of these well-meaning things have a “Christian” feel to them; at least from the surface. However, we must make sure that well-meaning is actually well-doing. The Word of God is our absolute authority, and everything we want for our lives and those we love must come directly from the Word of God for any good to take place.

I bring this up generally to get us thinking about how we might confuse well-meaning efforts will well-doing actions. However, I want to specifically talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this regard. Every true believing parent wants their child to trust in Jesus Christ so as to avoid the wrath of God, as well as know the hope and peace that only Jesus Christ can offer. That is the epitome of well-meaning; there could be no greater desire for any parent to have for their child than for them to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and to be adopted into the family of God for all of eternity. However, in our well-meaning efforts, I wonder, in fact, I know from working with young adults for the past several years now, that the Gospel is being watered down at a frightening rate within Christian families and churches. But let’s keep this focused on parents for the sake of this discussion.

I am not going to discuss the fact that the great majority of professing Christians in America are Gospel ignorant, but two-thirds of Americans profess to be Christians, it shouldn’t surprise us that most of who think they are Christians are nothing more than religious; just consider for a moment the moral state of our nation. However, let’s assume for the sake of the argument that most evangelical Christian parents know and live out the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if that is true, and it’s highly unlikely, an enormous percentage of kids are coming to Christ at a very young age and then by the time they’re old enough to go to college, move out from their parents house and begin making their own decisions, most professing Christian young adults are pitching their faith along with many things their parents wanted for them. Hardly anyone wouldn’t admit that there’s a huge mess in this country in this demographic making college-age/young adult ministries absolutely vital. College ministry is the flavor of the week as many evangelical ministers and parents see this as a tremendous need.

Well, as I have seen this mess up close, I have noticed something alarming; those who profess to know and trust in Jesus Christ have little to no desire to follow Him with their lives. So what are we to assume? Well, our minds don’t want to let us go as far as to say that many of these young adults have a Gospel forgery, so we typically just say that they’re immature, just getting settled into life, or we’ll even go as far as to say that they’re “backslidden”. And our solution to such a problem is to get them hooked up to some sort of spiritual life support during this time in their life. If we can get them into a church, get them involved in a Bible study, or get them around “good, Christian” influences, then they’ll certainly either stay on track, or get back on track very quickly, and then we’ll see some sort of “Christian” activity that will calm our hearts and put our minds at ease. Of course these young adults are still saved; they just need extra spiritual support during this time; right? Wrong! Now a blanket statement here would be taking this too far, but from what I have seen and what many of my colleagues see is that many of these young adults may not have any spiritual life in them whatsoever. Yikes! How can this be?

Let’s take look at the typical Gospel presentation that parents are feeding their kids. “You’re a sinner, God will judge sinners in hell and the only way to avoid that and to go to Heaven is to accept Jesus Christ, ask Him into your heart and ask Him to save you from your sins.” The whole Gospel presentation takes no more than 5 minutes and the one prayer to accept Christ takes about 1-2 minutes at most. But is that the Gospel? The Word of God doesn’t back that up. In fact, there is no example in the Word of God where anyone, including Jesus Himself puts this forward as the Gospel; but sadly, this is the typical approach to getting our kids to accept Jesus Christ.

I guess we use that verse from Jesus in Matthew 18 which tells us that we must become like little children if we want to enter the Kingdom of God. So who better to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than those who are already little children? So yes, faith is simple; when we try to attach any sort of works to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we pervert the Gospel and proclaim a lie. However, just because faith is simple and easy enough for a child to have, it doesn’t mean that getting faith is simple, because it’s not; it requires the supernatural power of God. That’s why the majority will spend an eternity apart from the presence of God. If trusting in Jesus Christ was as simple as saying a little prayer, then of course we could get the majority to do this. The problem is, that’s not the Gospel that the Word of God depicts. And most children who accept the Gospel are accepting this version of the Gospel which has the power to save no one.

Well-meaning parents want their children safe, especially eternally from the wrath of God upon sinners, but when the Gospel becomes about man instead of about loving God, then we are perverting something that is so beautiful and powerful that the devil has been seeking to pervert it since the beginning of time.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ involves repentance of sin, true faith in Jesus Christ alone and a life-long devotion to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. This takes a simple faith that only God can give, but let us not assume that we can manipulate our kids into accepting this in 5 minutes and one prayer when God must send the power of His Holy Spirit upon a person and take their dead, dried bones and supernaturally breathe spiritual life into their soul. Many children have trusted in Jesus Christ and many more will, but even a greater number have said a prayer, gone to church with their parents and abided by family values until the time they’re able to rebel from all of that and live the way they want to.

We must seek God in constant prayer for the salvation of our kids and take the time necessary to proclaim the holiness of God, His hatred on sin, the repentance of that sin, and true faith in Jesus Christ – and do so as long as it takes until God, by His Spirit breathes the life into them that will supernaturally change the desires of their heart and make them desire Jesus Christ above all else. That is both well-meaning and well-doing. To God be the glory!

One piece of advice that I’m sure I’ll remember if I’m ever trapped in the wild is one that he mentions quite frequently – “never drink from stagnant water.” Bear often has to find his own water source in the wild as he doesn’t bring any water with him. So he’s always on the lookout for a good source of water. However, as thirsty as one may get in the most dire of situations in the wild, Bear advises us (like we’ll ever be in these situations), never to drink water that is not flowing, as it will most certainly hold dozens of parasites and bacteria that will only put the one seeking water in a much more harmful situation, especially without medical attention.

On the contrary, in most circumstances, water that is flowing is safe to drink as bacteria simply has no time or opportunity to grow and infect it. So it got me thinking – isn’t that a great parallel to the Christian life? When we, as Christians aren’t moving toward Jesus Christ and the holiness that He provides, we are like stagnant water – our hearts and lives begin to grow sin, probably at a rate we don’t even want to consider.

It makes perfect sense when you begin to think about it, because all of Satan’s attacks in our lives are to get us to stop moving forward. He uses fear of the unknown, distractions of the world, busyness of life, sinful desires that weigh us down, and guilt to get us to feel unworthy to be anywhere near the holiness of Jesus Christ. Satan himself knows that if he can halt our progress to the life and cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, then the victory will be his. Sin can’t help but grow in the life of a sinner when they’re not moving toward the refuge and righteousness of Jesus Christ.

On other hand, when a person recognizes their own filth and makes the decision (by the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit) to run after Jesus Christ, sin begins to leave their life, because, not only does sin not have the time and opportunity to grow and infect, but the very holiness of Jesus Christ wipes clean any stain that might linger.

Perhaps you’re thinking, well it sounds good, but where is there scriptural evidence for such a theory? Well, you might be surprised how much God’s Word uses a picture of a race when referring to the Christian life (Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27), or it tells us to STRIVE for life (Luke 13:24, Hebrews 4:11), or even cast off the weights in our life so we can move forward to Christ and holiness. Even Jesus Himself tells to come after Him and renounce anything that would hold us back from doing so (Luke 14:25-35).

Let us take Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and not just move our arms and legs about so as to create the illusion of movement, but to actually run after the One refuge, safety, and source of all eternal holiness and righteousness; Jesus Christ. HE is the only One who can save us, cleanse us and make us like God.

Oh, Christian, do not listen to the constant lies of the devil that tell you that you are already safe if you’ve been saved, you must keep moving! “STRIVE for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 The proof that we are saved is that we’re moving closer and closer to Christ and producing more and more of His holiness. Safety is purely in the arms of Jesus Christ, and a stagnant approach to going after Him will produce the most vile, filthiest things we could ever imagine.

RUN, STRIVE, SPRINT to Jesus Christ every morning, every afternoon and every evening, it is the only way we will not produce the works of darkness and the works of the flesh that God says He will condemn everyone who lives such a way.

This is not a game, it’s a matter of eternal life and death. May Jesus draw you near, may the Holy Spirit guide and direct you to Jesus, and may prayer and God’s Word be your sword and shield in the fight for holiness.

It’s a daily truth; Christians are under spiritual attack from Satan and his workers. Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we may stand against Satan’s deceits and schemes. Those of us who have been Christians for most of our lives are sometimes able to see some of these traps and snares that Satan sets for us. He likes using what is effective, even if it’s repetitive.

 Perhaps when we imagine some of these traps, we think of those times when we were especially weak or living by the flesh that Satan was able to entice us with sin; and, although he certainly does that as well, most often, that is not his game.  Satan is called “the deceiver” for a reason. He likes to take things that have the appearance of good and use them for evil. Why? Simple – they’re extremely effective and have long term results.

Two of his favorite fiery darts that he seems to use time and time again are not “traps” or “snares” at first glance. In fact, they both have a morsel of truth within them. Ah, but that’s where the deception lies.

 Let’s take a short look at them. The first dart is the trap of self-righteousness; or what we like to term “legalism”. Yes, it’s an ugly word. We immediately begin to think of stuffed-shirt prudes who take themselves way too seriously and command that others follow rules, regulations and conducts to remain spiritual. They get caught up in styles of music, dress codes, translations of the Bible, etc.

 Oh, but make no mistake, self-righteousness goes far beyond that. It can simply be our tendency to feel good about ourselves throughout a day because we spent time with God in His Word and prayer, or because we took that opportunity to share the Gospel instead of keeping it to ourselves. It could even be that sin that we said “no” to that we now find reason to boast about. Whatever it is, if it’s not done for our pure desire to love and serve Jesus Christ because of the love and full righteousness we’ve received, it’s filthy – and Satan knows it. However, when we are attacked by this fiery dart, it’s not packaged as “legalism”, but as “holiness”.

 Before we look at where this line is drawn, let us look at the 2^nd fiery dart – rebellion or worldliness. Well, of course we know that’s a trap, right? No true Christian can live a life of rebellion or worldliness; we’re clear on that. Certainly that can’t be a subtle trap of the devil. Oh, but it is, because it’s not packaged to us as “worldliness” or “rebellion”; it’s presented to us as “grace”. Grace? How can that be? That’s a can’t-miss concept.

 Well, when grace is defined correctly it is, but when grace simply becomes our “way out” of condemnation, and worldliness becomes the pattern for our life; then grace becomes distorted and perverted. And many times, the fuel for living a worldly lifestyle is the hatred for legalism; and so, in our efforts to flee legalism, we swing the pendulum all the way over to the world and to our own desires and comforts, instead of to the only Source of refuge and righteousness – Jesus Christ.

 You see the danger in these weapons? They come to our door packaged as grace and holiness, but when we open them up and sink our teeth into them, we begin to realize that we just ate the apple of pride – the very same apple that Satan got Eve to eat. Then the real damage begins; Satan uses these darts over and over and over because, in our eyes, they’re not seen as a trap, but as a well-meaning lifestyle.

 Must we live by grace alone? Without question. Must we live holy, separate lives? No doubt whatsoever. But neither of them is done by looking unto us; they’re done only by looking unto Jesus alone. He is our holiness, He is our grace. The only way God withholds His judgment from us is because of the righteousness and refuge of Jesus Christ our Lord. So, when righteousness is dependent upon us – it makes a mockery of the cross of Christ, and when grace gives us fuel to live any way we desire and we stop fearing God, then we aren’t living by grace at all, but by our own flesh – whose very heart is so corrupt that we cannot begin to understand it.

 May we always watch out for these two fiery darts of the evil one and may we always be looking unto Jesus Christ for true grace and true holiness, so that God the Father may be glorified. 

SO, I want to take some time and define the Gospel  as best as I can from the Word of God, and see if it’s the Gospel we claim to know today, and I would like your help in doing this project, Christian. Please let me know if I have left something out, and then let’s take this message to the world! Let’s get started…

The Gospel of Jesus Christ:

- God is holy and righteous (okay, please don’t breeze past this – dwell upon it, search it out. We could spend forever on this topic and not even come near to covering it, but it is the very first step of the Gospel, so we must understand this)

- Man is utterly sinful (same as above) aka – “Dead in our sins” – Ephesians 2. They both inherited their sin from the first man who ever lived, Adam, they have broken all of God’s commands and live in complete contradiction to His will. 

- God detests sin and cannot look at it or have any relationship with it whatsoever. He MUST punish the lawbreaker – aka, we are “children awaiting wrath” – Ephesians 2

- God loves mankind (John 3:16)

- God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2)

- God loves His own glory (since there is nothing greater to glory in) and desires to exalt His magnificent grace to all creation (Ephesians 2) ***VITAL TO THIS WHOLE PLAN OF SALVATION, GOD DOES IT FOR HIMSELF***

- God sent His Son, Jesus Christ (Who is the EXACT representation of God’s being – Hebrews 6) to humble Himself, become flesh, live a perfect, holy and righteous life, do God’s will every moment of His life, love God with all His heart, soul and strength, fulfill God’s law, teach about God’s will and His plan for salvation, set the example for loving and serving others…

- And then give His life on a cross and take upon Himself all the sins of God’s elect, past, present and future, and be seen in God’s eyes as the lawbreaker and then because of that, be crushed and destroyed by God’s wrath until He died on the cross, as God turned His back on His Son and separated Jesus from the fellowship of His Heavenly Father. 

- Then 3 days after His death, Jesus arose from the grave and conquered death and sin all at once. 

- Man, therefore, cannot find or attain righteousness on his own by accomplishing God’s law. Because of sin, we are incapable of the perfect holiness that God demands for avoiding eternal condemnation, having a relationship with God, and being allowed entrance into Christ’s eternal Kingdom. 

- Man must recognize their own state of sinfulness, admit they’re the lawbreaker, understand and affirm that they cannot get to God by their own works, and repent of their sins and place faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation by crying out to God until He grants them mercy, forgiveness, repentance and faith through Jesus Christ, so they might attain Christ’s righteousness, be forgiven from their sins, avoid God’s wrath, be reconciled to God and be allowed entrance into Christ’s eternal Kingdom. 

- When a person trusts in Christ for salvation, God indwells them with His Holy Spirit who permanently seals them in God’s eternal family, guarantees to their own spirit their salvation, and guides and directs them all their lives to turn away from sin and strive for holiness. 

- Man must become a new creature as a result of this transformation; it’s called regeneration. They cannot stay the same sinful person they once were. If this transformation does not take place, and they do not become haters of sin and lovers of holiness, then salvation has not taken place. They must cry out to God for His mercy, forgiveness, repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and do so until He saves them.

- As a result of regeneration and salvation through Jesus Christ, man’s life now belongs to Jesus Christ. They must and will constantly deny themselves, die to themselves, and grasp the value of Jesus Christ and look to Him, crave to know Him and His love greater and greater, and be willing to do anything for His sake, even to the point of physical death – due to the fact that they are eternally safe in God’s arms through Christ. If this does not happen, then true regeneration and salvation has not taken place. They must cry out to God for His mercy, forgiveness, repentance of their sin and faith in Jesus Christ, and do so until He truly saves them. 

- Because of the fact that man will be washed clean by the blood of Christ, and be released from the bondage of sin at the moment of salvation, they will go on to produce the fruits of righteousness in their lives, which they were once unable to do. They will begin imitating Jesus Christ in their minds and actions and begin loving those around them and caring nothing for their own regard. If this doesn’t begin to take place, true salvation hasn’t taken place. 

- Man will always, always look to Jesus and care very much that His Name is being exalted among the nations, so that others might come to Him for salvation and righteousness. They will give their lives for it. Their life now belongs to Jesus Christ and God’s will for their lives. Whatever He desires for them, they will follow. If they don’t, true salvation has not taken place. 

- Their faith MUST endure and persevere through trials, testings, suffering and persecution, which will all come against the believer at some point in their lives. If they abandon their faith and Jesus Christ, true salvation hasn’t taken place and they are awaiting the wrath of God. If their faith doesn’t endure until their very last breath, they should expect to face God’s wrath for their sins. They MUST abide in the protection of Jesus Christ, there is no other refuge! ***GOD WILL HOLD ALL TRUE BELIEVERS TO HIMSELF THROUGH JESUS CHRIST BY HIS OWN POWER, NOTHING CAN SEPARATE THEM FROM HIS LOVE*** Only the imposters will fall away.

- Not only will God grant eternal life to those who are righteous in Jesus Christ, He will also grant them peace, hope and joy that will surpass all understanding and will make the world awe at their confidence and boldness in their faith. God will also take care of EVERY ONE of their needs until their very last breath on earth, so that their one job is to do God’s will and love and serve Jesus Christ all the days of their lives. 

- When man boasts thereafter, they will only boast in Jesus Christ and God’s wonderful grace in their lives. 

1. Paul, before we begin, are there any initial words you would like to say to our audience?

Paul – Yes, rejoice in the Lord. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

2. That brings up my first question. Paul, you’ve done a lot in your lifetime. Are there things you could look to in your life for reasons to boast in the flesh?

Paul – Absolutely. In fact, if anyone else thinks he has reason to boast in the flesh, I have more.

3. Can you elaborate a little?

Paul – Well I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was of the people of Israel, I was of the tribe of Benjamin, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, I was a Pharisee; as to zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, I was blameless.

4. So, do you count all of that to be a gain in your life?

Paul – Not at all; I actually count it a loss. In fact, I consider it all a loss in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.

5. Have you lost much for the sake of Christ?

Paul – Yes, I have lost absolutely everything.

6. Is that something you regret?

Paul – Absolutely not! The things I have lost are a pile of manure. I lost all that garbage and replaced it with Christ! What a profitable transaction I was able to make. I am filthy rich in Christ because of that.

7. What is your goal in life?

Paul – To be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

8. Haven’t you already obtained that goal?

Paul – No; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.

9. You don’t consider to have already made Christ your own?

Paul – I do not. But one thing I do: I forget those things which lie behind and I strain forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

10. What advice would you give other Christians?

Paul – I would say, let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. I’d also say join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

11. Why is that so important for true Christians to do?

Paul – Because many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things.

11. What’s different with true Christians?

Paul – The difference is that our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

Thank you Paul for your time, your genuine care, and your life so we may follow your example.

With this post, I don’t seek to claim to have every answer or seek to come across as having my Christian walk figured out (because I certainly do not); I simply seek to pen the things that God, by His Holy Spirit has revealed to me over the course of several weeks and months.

I fear that many of us who call ourselves Christians are quite confused beings. Perhaps this is not the case in the majority of the world, or even in the majority of our country, although it seems to be at times; but in the circles I have been in, much confusion seems to have taken place. I guess I should explain myself before I go any further. 

Christians have not been left alone on this earth to figure out God’s plan for our lives. On the contrary, God has given us the most powerful tools He could have possibly bestowed upon us. I will list what I term “The 5 Super-powers”. No this is not a weak attempt at being cute; it’s just the best description I could give them. The first one is God’s Word; 66 books of the Bible revealing to us God’s character, God’s holiness, God’s hatred for sin, God’s plan for creation, God’s plan for salvation, and God’s love. To ever consider that somehow God has abandoned us is utterly ridiculous. Those 66 books of the Bible are so vast and deep and mysterious, that His creation could not possibly pretend to think we could turn over every stone and unlock every treasure in them.

The 2nd Super-power is prayer. Access to God’s throne 24/7. Every moment of the day, we have the ability and privilege to go to God the Father and lay our requests before Him, and He has promised to answer those who seek Him persistently and with faith, and He can and will answer them. Amazing!

The 3rd one is the Holy Spirit. God’s power in us! When Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, the disciples were crushed once again thinking that somehow their Lord and King would no longer be with them to guide and direct them in His teaching and God’s will. However, Jesus said that even though He was ascending to His well-deserved place of honor and glory, that He indeed was not leaving His followers on their own to please God. In fact, Jesus said that when His Holy Spirit came upon them and dwelt inside of them, they would be able to do mightier acts than they ever did when Jesus was on earth, because Jesus would indwell them by His Spirit and supernaturally create in them His holiness and love. 

The 4th one is the body of Christ. We have other followers of Jesus to look to, be encouraged by, be loved by, to fight with, to pray with, and to sharpen each other in our pursuits of following after Jesus. We may not see that as a super-power, but Jesus Himself said that when He built His church, that not even the gates of hell could not overcome it. 

And the 5th one, which is by far the mightiest is Jesus Christ Himself. Christians have a true, living and intimate relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords. We will most likely never have a chance to have a relationship with anyone of power here on earth; in fact they’ll probably never know we existed. But Jesus Christ, Ruler and Creator of all knows the very number of  hairs on our heads. He loves us with a love that is truly unknowable, and that’s only the beginning. When faith is placed in Jesus Christ and we repent from our sins and turn to Him, we are blanketed by His righteousness, holiness, and love. God Himself cannot touch us with His wrath because of the safety and refuge that is Jesus Christ. Oh what time we could spend pouring over His majesty and supremacy, but we’ll get to that I’m sure. 

So to recap, we have the Bible, we have prayer, we have the Holy Spirit, we have the body of Christ, and we have Jesus Christ Himself. If we truly ever try to claim that God has left us alone to fend for ourselves, we are truly blind and I fear more blind than we can even imagine. 

However, for the sake of this post, let’s assume that, not only do we all agree with that, but we understand that in our minds and hearts. And let’s move on to the reason that I felt compelled to write on this very topic. The topic is confusion and our moral dilemma,  but it extends much beyond that. It’s very possible that this topic is too great to be written about in several paragraphs, but I will at least try to open up the door. You see the confusion I was speaking of before is very deep in many of us. It certainly was for me for the bulk of my life, and even is to many degrees still, although God’s super-powers are working on me. However, not only was I the poster boy for a confused Christian, I was also blind to the truth. 

I will no longer beat around the bush, the confusion is this, as a question – how can we please a holy and righteous God?

Now, we could pause here and break out our theology notes from Bible college and really attack this question with sound doctrine; (and although I truly prize sound doctrine, and if you know me, I hope that is an accurate statement about myself); but I don’t want to be academic about this topic any longer. It needs to go much deeper than just academia and stored up head knowledge. We need our hearts to be enlightened, and unless we’re prepared to use all 5 super-powers to a high degree, we should assume that it will never happen. 

So let’s peal back another layer of this discussion. Why do I ask this question? Well, because for the majority of my life, I have not pleased God with my life. I have been a professing Christian for 26 years now, and if a person is to undertake any task for 26 years, you would think that a certain level of expertise would be gained. Well, that may work for worldly endeavors, but it doesn’t work with Christianity.  

Yes, I heard the Gospel when I was a 5 year old, and I’m sure it even entered into my ears well before that. And at age 5, I concluded in my very immature mind, that I was a sinner and that God had a problem with sin, and therefore I needed to be saved from that very sin. And so I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me from my sin. And this is where my journey began. My Christian sojourn that has taken me 26 years and I am humbled to admit that although I have an adult body, in many respects, I have an infant mind and an infant heart.  

Why am I so harsh on myself? Because it’s the truth. However, instead of giving you my testimony, I am going to take a gamble once again and assume that many other professing Christians are in the same boat as I am; mightily confused. You see, I mentioned the 5 super-powers that we have at our disposal to use for maturing and growing in our obedience and service of God, but we must also talk about the mighty army that fights against us. And please don’t think for one moment that I am hinting that the super-powers we have from God are weakened at any time or unable to carry out their purposes, because that would be horrible blasphemy and I want to make sure that I am careful in how I say this. But, the army that fights against you and I is a mighty one as well. It’s led by the true Anti-Christ himself; Satan. But along with him are many demons and workers that are all fighting together to take down those who profess to follow Christ with their lives. Satan is the epitome of wickedness, and he’s very good and very passionate about his job. 

Along with Satan and all his workers is the world’s system. The world walks in contradiction to God’s law and God’s will and Satan uses this system many times to make us blind and make us think that the world somehow is in a pretty good shape; but make no mistake, it’s not! The world is at enmity with God and most of those who live in this world will be judged when the world is judged on the Last Day. It’s termed in America as “The American Dream”, and it’s horribly anti-Biblical.

To go along with the world is simply sin itself and the curse that it brings. It kills everything it touches, and the world is drenched in sin. And as we must understand, God detests sin and those who take part in it. And if that weren’t enough, we have our flesh. Our flesh, because of sin desires everything that is contrary to God. So, Satan, his demons, the world, sin and our flesh are all fighting in perfect unison to destroy the work of Christ in the lives of human beings. It’s an army that makes the U.S. army look like a bunch of toddlers with nerf guns. But please understand me, as powerful as that army is, it’s completely overwhelmed by the power of God and all the tools we mentioned before. The only reason Satan has any success is because God allows him too. Yes, Satan hasn’t had one victory that God hasn’t allowed – and Satan will not snatch away one child from God’s true family, because we are kept by God’s power and Satan is rendered powerless before the mighty hand of our great God. 

Okay, so the foundation is set for this warfare that is happening in us even as we speak. Now let’s talk about the confusion, because it comes purely from Satan and his army.

The confusion is this, once again, as a question – can Christians please God? 

Take a moment and consider how you might answer someone if they asked this question. Could you? I’m sure you think you could, like I was sure I knew the answer to this. But think again, can Christians truly please God? Well, my short answer is yes and no. And that answer has changed over the course of several years. Before I would have confidently said, “Yes, without question.” And if you would have pried as to how, I would have said, “Well, by simply obeying His Word.” It would be a good answer actually, a correct one if I actually knew what I was saying. And maybe you do, but I can confidently say that I did not. 

You see the 5th super-power I mentioned is where I want to make camp; it’s the person and Lord Jesus Christ. As most of us know, Jesus Christ came to the earth for sinners. As most of us would affirm, He came to die in the place of sinners, so that in Him, we might avoid the condemnation of sin and will also receive eternal life. However, I think that while that truth is heavily discussed and preached on here in America, there is a heavy dose of truth that is being left out of most pulpits, and it’s the foundation for much confusion in the Christian life. 

Yes, Jesus’ primary reason for coming to earth was to give His life and take the punishment for sin that you and I deserve. But, what many of us fail to forget or possibly even comprehend is that Jesus Christ also came to fulfill and abolish God’s law. You see, ever since Adam and Eve sinned and fell short of God’s standard of perfection, mankind has been following suit. We are sinners by birth because we inherited it from Adam, but we also make the conscious decision to sin and break God’s law each and every day. So we’re drenched in sin and because of that, we’re in very hot water with God. 

God is holy and He cannot and will not ever accept anything that is less that perfect. And although mankind definitely has some issues, I think Satan has convinced many of us that we’re only somewhat sinful. I mean there are many sins that I haven’t committed, at least on the outward, and therefore I must be better than many wicked people purely because of that. Right? But if we ever read the book of Romans, Paul points out the fact that we are walking contradictions to God and His law. We cannot and will not ever choose to obey Him. And it also points out that God is holy and detests sin and sinners. So although we may think that we’re just saved from the condemnation of sin, we cannot be saved from hell if we’re not saved from sin itself. Hell is a place for sinners, and Heaven is a place for holy creatures; which human beings are not. 

Then how do we get into Heaven? Well that brings up the doctrine of imputation. On the cross, God legally transfered our sin to Christ and God transfered Christ’s righteousness to us. Therefore, God had no problem in crushing His one and only Son on the cross (Isaiah 53 says, “for it pleased the LORD to crush Him”), because God looked at Christ as if He had committed all the sins that you and I have. And God detests sin, and because He does, He unleashed every ounce of His wrath upon the head of Jesus Christ. Again, that might be common knowledge, although that knowledge should drive us to our knees in thanksgiving. 

What’s not common knowledge, or at least not something we’ve truly grasped, is that Jesus Christ didn’t just come down to earth for one 24 hour day and die on the cross. Before He was crucified, He was born of a virgin and lived for 33 years upon this earth – and He never once sinned. Never! If God was going to accept His sacrifice on the cross, He had to be perfect. Why? Because again, God only accepts perfection. And as we know, God indeed did accept His sacrifice for our sins by the very fact that 3 days after Jesus died, God raised Him from the dead. And 40 days later, Jesus ascended back to Heaven to take His rightful place on His throne as King of kings and Lord of lords. 

But we must focus on the fact that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, because it’s the key to unlocking our confusion to this moral dilemma. If Jesus fulfilled and abolished the law, and then sinners come to Jesus for salvation and righteousness, then the law has no say over us anymore. It cannot; otherwise Christ didn’t fulfill it and we’re still responsible for doing it ourselves. And then we’re back to being condemned; because even on our best day, we cannot live the perfect life that God demands that we must for entrance into His eternal Kingdom. So the law is removed. 

Yes, I know, that doesn’t sit well with us. But it has to if we’re ever going to truly make sense of living this Christian life. Say goodbye to the law; God’s law, and give yourself fully to Christ. The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 7:4, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.” You see, the law was our old master, but that master no longer remains. It’s been replaced by a much easier and much kinder and much gentler Master; Jesus Christ Himself. He said it about Himself, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The law could never say that. Now, make no mistake, God’s law is still holy, righteous and good. In fact without the law, you and I would never have been aware of our own sinfulness, and would never have come to Christ for cleansing.  So we mustn’t consider that somehow the law is tainted – it’s we who are tainted and are unable to live by God’s law. God the Father knows this, hence the reason John 3:16 exists. He loved the world so much that it was crucially important to Him that He grant us a new Master, and One that would do everything for us. 

Can we confidently say that it’s all been done by Christ? We sure talk about it like we understand it. But, the confusion is when we buy into the lie that there is still something for us to do to please God. Yes, we are to bring Him glory; without question. Yes we are to walk by faith, because it’s impossible to please Him without it. But can we? Are you and I capable of bringing God glory on our own? Are you and I capable of living by faith on our own? We know the verses that command us to do so. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31. And based on that passage, many of us have heard from speakers all our lives, “You can bring God glory in anything you do. You can bring Him glory when you hang out with your friends, you can bring Him glory when you go bowling, you can bring Him glory when you watch a movie, etc, etc, etc. So, that’s our job right? Find a way to bring God glory in everything you do – it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it for God? WHAT!? So, have you? Have you brought God glory in everything you’ve done? Do you think it’s okay that we’ve sinned exponentially more than we’ve brought God glory? Will He accept our worthy efforts? No, God only accepts perfection. So we’re back to square one – falling short of God’s standard and in serious trouble. 

So let’s think for a moment. We can’t be perfect, we needed Jesus to be saved from our sin, but God still expects and demands perfection from us all our lives or He’ll treat us like the wretched sinners we are, because a perfect God cannot accept the filth or blemishes of His creation. See the confusion?

What about sin? Is it okay if we sin after we’re saved, as long as that one time in our life we said a prayer for Jesus to save us?

Well, I think we can confidently say that Jesus Christ’s blood is sufficient to save us from sins past, present and future. But when we get messed up is when we somehow think that after salvation, God just expects us to be moral and ethical and good Christian folk. If our best acts of righteousness to God are like a pile of filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), then did Jesus sacrifice allow God to lower His standard to accept our filth? Absolutely not! God is holy and will only accept holiness. If we’re not perfect today, God doesn’t love us; and if we don’t stand before Him perfect on the Last Day, God will not hesitate to cast us into hell for all of eternity. Perfection or eternal wrath – that’s our options.

So here’s what I see. I do not need morality. I do not need the law. I do not need family values. I do not need church rules and regulations. They all set up a standard I cannot meet and if I mess up once, I have broken the entire thing. What I need every moment of my life is Jesus Christ alone! Is has to be to Jesus! Jesus is perfect, righteous and holy at every moment of His existence. Even when God judged Him for our sin, and even though God legally treated Jesus as if He was sinful, Jesus Christ remained perfectly holy. So, what every Christian needs is Jesus Christ every moment of the day. If we move outside of Jesus Christ, we’re on our own to be perfect before God. John 15:1-8 is the perfect Scripture to use for this to be able to sink into our brains. 

“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”

Jesus says it Himself – abide in Me! He doesn’t say, “come to Me at some time in your life and be cleansed.” No, abide in Me! “For apart from Me, you can no NOTHING” Well, you can do some things, but they’re all wicked. You and I cannot, on our best attempts, bring glory to God, walk by faith, or produce the fruit that is necessary for proof of salvation. We must abide in Jesus! Why? He is the only source of holiness and perfection that we have, and like we stated before – we must be holy! The only time we’re safe, is when we’re in the arms of Jesus Christ. Then, and only then will His holiness and righteousness be imparted to us. Just like the analogy of a branch. A branch that is on its own cannot bear any fruit. It would be ridiculous if we saw a dead branch producing all kinds of wonderful fruit. The branch must be in the tree! Even if it’s one inch away from the tree, but not in it, it will bear absolutely no fruit! That is how the Christian is apart from Christ, absolutely fruitless – and dead.

Try to be moral, try to obey God’s commands, try to be loving, try to be nice, try to witness, try to hold your tongue – apart from Christ it will always be stained in our sin. In Christ, even our sin is cleaned and appears whiter than snow. Please, do not fall into the confusion that Satan wants us to fall into. His whole army has one goal only – move us away from Jesus! He doesn’t care if we’re moral and we’re all a bunch of Mother Theresa’s; that doesn’t harm Satan’s plan at all; because he knows Scripture and he knows that if we’re away from Christ, we are the epitome of wickedness, just like he is. The only time Satan’s plans fail is when you and I recognize our own incapabilities and we run to, sprint to and remain in Jesus Christ. Satan can beat us without much effort on our own, but when we’re with Jesus, Satan cowers in utter fear.

So Satan’s one plan is to simply drive a wedge between us and Jesus. He doesn’t care if it’s sin that does it, he doesn’t care if it’s busyness that does it, he doesn’t care if it’s laziness that does it, he doesn’t care if it’s comfort on earth that does it, he doesn’t care if it’s morality, religion or “good Christian living” that does it – he just wants us away from Jesus! He wants us apart from the Vine. Because even though we appear to ourselves to be good Christian people, Satan knows that apart from Christ, we’re covered in our own filth and away from God’s kindness and love. Jesus said Himself, “I am the Way, the Triuth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father expect through Me.” He didn’t mean at one time in our lives, He meant ever! You cannot pray to God apart from Jesus, you cannot love others apart from Jesus, you cannot bring God glory apart from Jesus, you cannot walk by faith apart from Jesus. It’s all in Jesus Christ!

Use God’s Word to drive you to Jesus. Listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” – Jesus in John 5:39-40. Use the Bible to encourage you to run to Jesus. Use prayer for more faith in Jesus Christ, not as a grocery list for God to take care of all your wants.

The Apostle Paul did in Philippians 3, “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more…But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul was a man who knew that he was only capable of wickedness apart from Christ, and so he RAN to Jesus all the days of his life. No, don’t believe that Jesus was running away from him. He’ll never run away from us, but open His arms to us and beckon us to come. But every power of darkness is doing whatever it can to keep us from Jesus. We must strive to get to Jesus in humble prayer and study of God’s Word. We must talk about our pursuits with the body of Christ and pray for one another and encourage each other and fight together. We must go to Jesus. He is as necessary to us today as He ever was. Do not be confused, Jesus Himself is our peace, our joy, our hope, our life and eternal stability. If we drift away from Him, all of that is lost. 

Do not be a Christian doing Christian things, be a violent and radical follower of Jesus, because then and only then will the fruit of righteousness begin to take form in your life. We will witness, we will love others, we will abstain from sin, we will crave holiness, but it’ll be the supernatural power of Jesus Christ that hangs that fruit upon us – not our own efforts. Jesus is the bread of life! Eat of that bread as often as you can. Pray for more focus. Pray for more faith in Christ. Pray for more repentance of EVERYTHING else and fly to Jesus all the days of your life. Then, one day, we’ll stand before God and we’ll be blanketed in Jesus Christ’s righteousness, and God the Father will say to us, “Thank you for living a perfect life, welcome to My Kingdom – it’s yours forever.”

May we strive for Jesus Christ as long as we live and encourage others to do the same.

You may be thinking, “That’s a new one, I’ve never heard of that version before.” Well, me either; to my knowledge it doesn’t actually exist. And yet many today live their Christian lives as if it does. Let’s see some contrasts between the LCV and the actual Word of God.

“Eternal life can be found on many paths. Jesus Christ is one of those paths.” (LCV)

“Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

“Christianity isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. If you do your best, you can successfully juggle both Christianity and your worldly ventures. Most people will find eternal life anyways.” (LCV)

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

“Sin is something you should try to avoid. It’s not a good idea to keep on sinning, so look to abstain from it as much as possible. But if you cannot, God forgives you.” (LCV)

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” – Romans 6:1

“Sin is usually avoidable, but sometimes it just gets the best of you. Seek to stay away from it, and it will be easier to avoid.” (LCV)

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” Romans 13:14

“Serve God while you’re on earth, and if you can, be successful in the world at the same time. The talented and focused can do both.” (LCV)

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:24

“Don’t let worldly possessions rule your life, because you’re looking forward to eternal life, but obviously it’s no harm to attain as much from this earth as you can; just as long as it doesn’t take over your heart.” (LCV)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

“Christians with money and the security that it provides have the best of both worlds.” (LCV)

“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” – 1 Timothy 6:9-10

“Follow Jesus when you can, but don’t take it too far. He doesn’t expect you to actually give up any desires, possessions, time or comforts to be able to follow Him.” (LCV)

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” – Luke 9:23-24

“Sin isn’t something you should pursue, but even if you continue to sin, it doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian.” (LCV)

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9

“You have the option to not sin anymore, so because of that, try not to sin and to use your lives in service to God.” (LCV)

“But now that you have been set free from sin, you have become slaves to God.” – Romans 6:22

“Your life is your own, but as a Christian, try to use some of it for pleasing Christ.” (LCV)

“And Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15

“Faith is nothing more than the recognition of God and truth. Accept it, and you have faith.” (LCV)

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:17, 19

“Christianity needs attention, but only within the parameters of living your life on earth. As long as you love Christ, it’s not wrong to desire the comforts and desires of this world.” (LCV)

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” – 1 John 2:15

“As much as you can, try to love those around you. Obviously, if someone just rubs you the wrong way, there’s nothing you can do except treat them harshly. Not every Christian will have an opportunity to love, but if you can, love is a good idea.” (LCV)

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in Him.” – 1 John 3:14-15

“Should an opportunity ever present itself, try your best to walk by faith.” – (LCV)

“Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” – Hebrews 11:6

Concerning this great truth, I have one or two remarks to offer to you very briefly. First, I want to ask you a question. Do you know who the people were who lived outside the gate? If you could have gone to ‘the great camp of Israel, you would have seen the tents all placed in order, the standard of Dan there, of Judah there, of Ephraim there,—surrounding the ark of the covenant; but you would have seen a few wretched huts far away in the rear, outside the camp; and if you had asked, “Who lives, there? Who are the poor people that are put away from kith and kin, and who cannot go up to the sanctuary of the Lord, to present their offerings unto him, or to join in the songs of praise unto his holy name?”—the answer to your enquiry would have been, “The people out there are lepers and others “who are unclean.” And if, in later days, you had walked through some of the shady glens around the city of Jerusalem, you might, have heard in the distance, the cry, “Unclean! unclean! unclean!”—a bitter wail that sounded like the sighing of despair, as if it came from some poor ghost that had been commanded to walk this earth with restless step for ever. Had you come nearer to the unhappy being, who had uttered so mournful a sound, you would have seen him cover his upper lip, and again, cry, “Unclean! unclean! unclean!—to warn you

not to come too near him, lest even the wind should blow infection towards you from his leprous skin. If, for a minute, he had moved his hand from his mouth, you would have seen, instead of those scarlet, ruddy lips of health, which God had originally put there, a terrible, white mark not to be distinguished from his teeth. His lips were unclean, for there the leprosy had discovered itself; and, in a minute, he would have again covered up that lip that had the white mark of disease upon it, and again he would have cried. “Unclean! unclean! Unclean!” Of whom was that leper a type? He was a picture of you and me, my brethren, in our natural state; and if the Holy Spirit hath quickened us, and made us to know our ruined condition, we shall feel that the leper’s cry doth well become our unholy lips.

Leper, leper! be of good cheer; Christ died without, the camp, that thou mightest be sanctified through his blood. I see the leper now stealing through the desert places, not daring to sip of the clear stream that lies in his track, lest he should communicate contagion to the next person who drinks from it; but seeking out some filthy puddle, that there he may satisfy his thirst, where no others are likely to drink. I see him covering up his lip. If his father met him, he must run away from him; if the wife of his bosom saw him, she must shun his presence, for a loathsome disease is in his skin, and in his gay merits; and in the very breath that comes from his lips there is death. Well, suddenly, as he steals along, he sees a cross, and on it lifted up One who is dying. He standeth there astonished; he thinketh that surely he may come near to a dying man, leper though he be; to the living, he must not approach, but to the dying he cannot bring a new death. So he draweth nigh to the cross, and the lips of the dying man are opened, and he says, “Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Oh; what joy and rapture, rush through his poor leprous spirit! How his heart, that had long been heavy, and baked like a black coal within him, begins again to burn with lambent light! He smiles, for he feels that that, marvellous Man upon the cross has forgiven him all his sins; and ere he has begun to feel it, his leprosy is cleansed, and soon, he goes his way, for his flesh has come unto him like unto the flesh of a little child, and he is clean. O leprous sinner hear this, and believe it for thyself! To-night look unto him who died without the camp, that poor unclean sinners might find a Savior there.” – Charles Spurgeon