Life is full of choices. From the moment we wake up in the morning, until our last thought before passing into sleep, we are constantly making choices.
As I continue my reading of the fictional "Left Behind" series, I can't help but think about the Book of Revelation, and one choice in particular found within its pages. There are many views and interpretations of the book, and of end time prophesy in general. I adhere to one specifically. For the sake of this post; though, I mention this only to get to my primary point, and to have something from which to pull various examples.
There is one choice we can make in our lives that has the most significant of implications. We can dance around it all day, make excuses, or even outright ignore it, but at some point, we have to decide whether we are for Christ, or against Him.
Our world today likes to offer us a variety of choices in everything. And, in many cases, there is really no wrong choice. I could choose pizza one night, and have a hamburger the next night without the first night crying foul for choosing pizza over burgers. It works that way with entertainment too.
We deal with so many subjective truths on a daily basis in the small things, that it seems no great feat to apply it to our faith, or lack thereof, as well. But Christ makes it plain and simple that His choice is the right choice. The ample evidence presenting this case is laid out before mankind. We can try to explain it away, but in the 2000 years since Christ lived, died and lived again, man's pride still cannot seem to be rid of Him. There is a reason for that.
Pride
Perhaps no other state of mind is as dangerous as that of pride. Pride can justify us in everything we do, whether good, or bad. We can look to the person on our left or right, and pride allows us to believe we are somehow better than them. Or, that we couldn't possibly be as wicked as them. It is the great leveler of persons, but it is a false balance.
Pride is what causes some to choose life without God. Pride is what causes some of those who know God, to let themselves get in the way of God, effectively negating any actual belief in God. And, perhaps the irony of it is that we can choose pride. We may be prone to, or drawn to prideful thinking, but it is still a choice whether or not we act upon it.
Good Choice and Bad choice
Before I come around full circle here regarding the ultimate choice we all face, let's break it down once more. Pride can cause us to disregard our sinfulness. It was pride that resulted in Satan's fall from grace, and pride in which he captured mankind at the fall. Sin entered the world because we thought we could determine for ourselves what is right and wrong. And yet, the very concepts are so far above us, that no one could have really ever chosen correctly.
God's word brings about this point a number of times-in various contexts-emphasizing our folly in thinking we have it all figured out without God.
"For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks (non-Jews), are under sin, as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Romans 3:10-12
This verse alone could be used to make the case that given our own volition, we would choose sin over God 100% of the time. It is only by the movement of God's Holy Spirit in our lives to begin with, that any would make the choice to turn to God. To a degree, God does sovereignly know who ultimately belongs to Him, but because of sin's hold, and God's allowing of free will to man, we can still choose rejection of God, over faith in Christ.
Accountability
Something I have thought about often is the fact that those who have knowledge of God, will have less excuse, and more to answer for someday. Those who were within the church, or had faith, and fell away, are in worse shape, than those who have never heard God's truth. This could be especially true for someone who pretends to have faith for some reason, only to later deny or fall away from it.
Though all mankind is held accountable for sin, and all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, there are degrees of accountability. I think about this because many people I know have taken this path, and it makes it that much more crucial that they make the right choice in the end. A particularly humbling verse in Hebrews relates to this:
"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." Hebrews 6:4-6
"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But, they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." 1 John 2:3-6
This verse, in some ways, actually makes me hope that those I thought were among the faithful believers, had actually not yet made that choice, because at least then there is still hope of a future acceptance of Christ. It implies that the individual must not have ever had a true faith in Christ, and fell away due to a lack of actual conversion. This could have been for many reasons I'm sure. One particular reason that comes up quite often is a frustration with the state of the church, or "religion" as the scoffers like to refer to it. This is understandable to a degree because our churches are in such disarray these days, unable to agree on the Word, and blatantly proclaiming Gospels different than that of Christ's.
The other negative church trend is simply a lack of growth, probably causing those who fall away to have done so simply because Christ was not in that church, and it became more of a Sunday habit, than a belief in God. Without calling them out negatively, I do think that the group I have heard of this from the most in my daily life is former Catholics. Something about the hierarchal structure, and formality of it all, has caused many to fall away. I have also known some Christ-following, Bible believing Catholics, so I do not want to loop them all under one roof. But, denominations in particular lately have seen a lack of growth. Perhaps, it is due to a focus less on Christ, and more on tradition in some cases. It becomes about the religion instead of the relationship. Christianity is relationship-based, not a religion in the sense of other world faiths. This was my experience with the Methodist church. The statement of faith on the United Methodist website is Biblical and accurate, but I don't recall hearing many sermons on real conversion and salvation in Christ during my time there. If it was mentioned, it was buried under a number of easier ways to say it so they wouldn't sound like those "crazier" denominations. It wasn't until my first visit to a non-denominational church in college that I really heard a sermon on salvation, and the implications of the choice to truly accept or reject Christ.
Though the verse in Hebrews has many controversial implications, I see it to mean that if one somehow was able to fake conversion, then a falling away would make it impossible to return. But, if one actually had Christ, then a falling away would not be possible, as Christ says:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." John 10:27-29
Manifestation of Real Conversion
So, how do we actually know then that we have chosen Christ? How do we know we are heading in the right direction? There seem to be a number of verses that speak to this, but one in particular seems pertinent based on our previous discussion of letting our pride deceive us into thinking we are somehow "good" of our own accord.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He (Christ) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us." 1 John 1:8-10
"We know that we have come to know him if we keep His commands. Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." 1 John 2:3-6
Here are two clear examples of what it means to live in Christ. We must still obey God and His commands. Our Christian culture these days is divided. On one end, we have Christians willing to set aside God's commands for the sake of pleasing the world, and not seeming "intolerant" or "exclusivist." On the other end, we have Christians willing to take a stand for God's word, knowing that it is only when we lay aside our Pride in thinking we are "good" apart from Christ, that we can truly live as Christ calls us to live.
We are not to be overly dogmatic of course, and our love should still how for those outside of Christ, but we cannot continue to compromise on God's clear commands for us, for that would make us liars. In the midst of the two ends of the spectrum, we have those torn between wanting to please God, and wanting to please man. If I'm honest, there is probably at least one area in every Christian's life which still falls within the middle of the spectrum. There is that one thing we can't seem to will ourselves to sway over to God's side. That transition from middle ground to God's ground, does take movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and this means we must be actively seeking to do as God would command. We must be Christians of true conversion, not simply those of the casual, lukewarm nature.
"I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." Revelation 3:15-17.
It is hard to miss Christ's words here, writing to the church in Laodicea. And it is easy to see how many of our churches today have become exactly like this church. There is no room for riding the fence, Christ calls us to make our choice.
The Call to a Choice
And so, we come full circle to what I realized on my reading of "Left Behind" and the Book of Revelation recently.
In Revelation, there is talk of a mark, given by the beast, which represents a final choice of rejection of God. Depending on one's interpretation of Revelation, this could take many forms, but for the sake of this, I want to simply look at the concept here.
I mentioned in my previous blog, "The Mark of the Believer," that the idea of a physical mark, signifying our final choice for God or against God, would be a helpful thing in this world of compromise and mixed belief. This post is somewhat of a continuation of that, in that I want us to be very clear about which two options we have.
Whatever the mark of the beast may take the form of at some future date, the concept of it is simply that, there will be a time, in every person's life, in which they will have to decide to accept, or reject Christ. Those who still ride the fence should not take this choice lightly. I don't really care how "preachy," or "intolerant" this next part may get labeled, because there is enough evidence to back up my thinking out there.
You are either a believer in Christ, or you are lost. And whether you believe in a real life after death, or real consequences for actions, you will come face-to-face with this choice at some juncture in life.
For the fictional characters in the Left Behind books, the time of history in which they found themselves lent itself much more to realizing the severity of this choice, whether for or against. The mark of the beast guaranteed ability to buy, sell and trade, but required worship of the god of this world, Satan. Accepting Christ and his mark meant almost certain martyrdom, and lack of resources for those who did survive.
We may not have reached this point yet in our world, but the stakes are still as high in the long run. We do not know when God may call for our lives, and it is truly too late after death. It doesn't matter that we see ourself as better than the criminal on the news, or even our annoying coworkers. How we see ourselves is only important, if we see ourselves as God sees us: separated.
Christ made it abundantly clear that He is, "the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by him." That verse speaks it clearest to me, but there are hundreds of other examples suggesting the same thing. There is no mountaintop of God in which all paths eventually get to Him. Would we really want that anyway? If all roads led to God, and all were automatically saved, it would be just as bad as if God had created us all with no free will--robots for his pleasure.
Without choice, there can be no love or lack of love for God. God loves us, even in our sin, but calls us out of that sin, and into life more abundant in Him. The terms and conditions are laid out, and if we can lay our pride aside long enough to think it through, the fact that God has conditions at all is very fair and just. Often we cry "unfair," "not inclusive enough!" at God's terms for salvation, all the while forgetting that the mere fact there is an option at all is because of God's grace and love for us.
We screwed up. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But, because God so loved us, he came down from Heaven's throne, humbled Himself as a sinless and perfect man, lived a perfect life, and died the only death that could ever fully bridge the gap back between God and man after the fall. His resurrection and ascension confirm His divine nature, and relational status with God the Father. We do not enter into this lightly. Make no mistake, Christianity is not the easy path.
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14
Many people forget that in the famous (even in secular culture) "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus utters some things which leave no room to guess as to where He expects us to take our stand. Most people get hung up on the "judge not" part of this chapter, and fail to see not only the context of that command, but also the entire rest of the chapter. It should be clear that belief in Christ is the only true option, and that it is not "judgmental" to say so.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (see also 1 John 2:3-6 above- emphasis mine). On that day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you works of lawlessness.'" Matthew 7:21-23
"Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist-denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:22-23
We may not currently have a choice in front of us that offers a literal mark to identify our stance, but the choice for or against Christ is still being made daily. While my focus here has been simply laying out the two truthful possibilities for us all, I should not forget to mention that the whole point of calling us to accept Christ is a desire for fellowship with us. God offered Christ to become propitiation for our sins, so that we might regain eternal fellowship. It's hard to grasp in a world so steeped in individualism and survival of the fittest, but we were created by God for good works and for fellowship with Him. God meets us where we are. From the darkest alley, to the front church pews, God can find us in our unbelief and transform us. Are we willing to allow this? That's the choice.
God may be working on your heart today. If you feel conviction, or even anger at some of the things mentioned here, it is the work of God's spirit, trying to show the truth. In many ways, the truth hurts. It goes against the grain of society, and makes us spiritual outcasts. There is no possibility of one-world-faith in God's playbook. It is abundantly clear.
I am able to vouch for the fact that we are constantly growing in our faith. Paul tells us that he would like to feed us meat, but for some must still resort to milk. The maturing in our faith is all part of the growth process, but we cannot begin to grow in Christ, until He begins His work in us.
The Bible is clear that there will be a time, perhaps long in the future, perhaps sooner, that God's long-suffering will eventually reach a climax, and the option of faith in Christ will become impossible for those who rejected too long. Just like pharaoh hardened his own heart multiple times, God will eventually give us what we want if our rebellion is that important to us. Pride makes it hard to lay aside self, and so we must come to God in humility. We must confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and accept His sacrifice- the only thing- that can cover our sin. We can do good works until the cows come home, and be no closer to God than the criminal on television with whom we so like to compare ourselves.
Christ died with two men on either side of Him, both criminals and sinners. One realized his need for salvation from his life of sin, and Christ credited his faith as righteousness telling him that on that very day he would meet him in Paradise. The other died in rebellion, mocking and rejecting God until his final breath. Which criminal next to Jesus do we want to be? We are all criminals, but God so loved us, that he sent His son, that whoever would believe in Him could have eternal life.
The choice (to a certain degree) is ours. I pray the Holy spirit would convict and lead all my brothers and sisters, friends and relatives, strangers and people across the world to an understanding of our need for a savior, and to the truth that our Savior has come. Do we accept Him, or reject Him? There are no other choices.
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