Last week in Mexico, missionary Mike Goldfuss and I were sharing that it seems like we are telling people the same things all the time. I feel like I am constantly repeating myself, like a broken record. (I know, some of you are probably thinking, "Wait until you have kids!!) I started to list the couple of "strings" on my banjo that I am constantly plucking. I thought I would list them here for you in no particular order.
- Church is essential to the Christian life. Too many people think that going to church is like washing their car: it's great if it happens, but if not, it will probably rain tomorrow anyway. I see no way that a Christian can obey the New Testament without being an active member of a Bible-based local assembly.
- Just make the next right choice. It seems like everybody is worried about way down the line. I say, the next time you have the opportunity, make the decision that pleases God.
- The Christian life is simple; not easy, but simple. So many times people want to make it so confusing, but it's as simple as obeying God. Now that is often quite difficult to do, but at least it is simple.
- Doing things your own way only makes the problem worse. We are always rebelling against God and doing things our way instead of his. Then, when it goes bad, we try to fix things our way, and it gets worse yet. Trying to fix the mess you've made with sin is a long, slow, uphill process. Unfortunately, most people have layers of "stratified sin" that must be cut through and battled. It is rarely (if ever!) as easy as one quick fix.
- Wrong thinking is just as sinful as wrong actions. People seem to think that unbiblical thinking is somehow not as bad as unbiblical actions. To this I say, "Gird up the loins of your minds!" (1 Pet 1:13).
- You can't be a friend of the world and a friend of God. If you love the world, God's love is not in you (1 John 2:15-17;). If you are a friend of God, you are the enemy of the world (Jas 4:4).
- God is not just like us but a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little smarter. He is holy. He is completely other. He is in a class all by himself.
- Everything that God allows in your life is to make you like Jesus Christ. The "good" that "all things work together for" is explained in the following verse: that we would be like Jesus Christ (Rom 8:28-29).
- Evidence of eternal life always includes both belief and behavior. Many try to make the change simply behavior: turn over a new leaf, and that's salvation. In our circles, many take the opposite (and equally invalid) extreme: if you' can talk the lingo, then you must be saved. The book of 1 John is very clear on this. If you are a child of God, then he will be at work in you producing the desire and ability to do what pleases him (Phil 2:12-13).
- The Bible in the language of the common people has always been a catalyst for revival. Just as the spark for the reformation was the translation of the Bible into the "vulgar tongues," so as we are able to read and understand God's Word will we see revival in our day. The Word of God is still sufficient for salvation and sanctification (2 Tim 3:14-17).
Well, I sorta got preaching a bit there, didn't I? But that's basically it in a nutshell, some of the things I am always saying. I suppose if we all did as well as we knew, we would be a lot better off. May God help us to know and do his will (Col 1:9-10).
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