Scriptures (Hover over each
for a popup)
1 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
2 Ephesians 2:8-9
3 Acts 2:38
4 Jude 1:12
5 Matthew 7:14
6
Isaiah 45:23
7 Philippians 2:10-11
(Paul quoting Isaiah45:23)
8 Revelation 20:11-15 |
I fear for many people I
know who call themselves Christians. The title of
today's message says part of it, but I also want to
think about how doctrines, whether right and
misinterpreted, or wrong, can
also be a detriment to your Salvation, and how those
closely held doctrines can affect your commitment.
Two of the things that concern me the most are the
doctrines of the Rapture1 and the "Sinner's Prayer"a style
of salvation, and I will explain why.
First let me say that if the doctrine of the Rapture is
correct this would be a wonderful thing; but, if not,
then those looking for it have been beguiled in the most
horrible way. My concern, and I will go into this
more below, is that too many professing Christians are
not prepared for trials and tribulations due to thinking
they will be gone before any bad things can happen,
which completely ignores what is happening in the rest
of the world, and is starting to happen here.
From the research that I have been able to do, I find
that the Rapture was not a part of any doctrine of any
denomination before 1830, when John Nelson Darby began
preaching it. Prior to that Morgan Edwards, at Bristol
Baptist College in England wrote a paper which seemed to
mix the First Resurrection and the Second Resurrection;
this was in 1744, or thereabout. I find it hard to
believe that for 1,830 years after the resurrection of
Christ, no church, even those possessing the oldest
writings and manuscripts, ever realized this event that
will be one of the largest in the Church. No event
could be more important to Christians, other than
Christ's Death and Resurrection, than the Rapture of the
Church, and yet they only preached the Lord coming the
First time as recorded in the Gospels, and the Second
Time as prophesied in the Revelation.
Before I get into the meat of this sermon, let
me explain my issue with Billy Sunday's "Sinner's
Prayer" and how it has been used. It may well be that
some need to know how to pray for Salvation, but I have
seen some people come to know the Lord, and I have seen
some backsliders, myself included, come back to the
Lord. In every case that I am sure of, myself included,
a major part of our experience was that we were
overwhelmed by guilt, horrified by what we had done,
understanding that a Just and Holy God would not ever
take us, and that it was only by the Mercy extended by
Christ Jesus that we could even ask for Salvation!
I did not need someone to tell me how to pray and come
back to God when I did. The Holy Spirit smote my
conscience as never before, and I was on the floor, on
my face, crying and begging God at the top of my voice
to spare me and take me back. My sobs were choking
me as I realized not only how worthless I was, but how
offensive I was to God, how much Jesus had to love me to
do what He did, and amazed that I would be one that the
Holy Spirit would call. The Sinner's Prayer is a
starting point for meeting Christ, but only that;
Salvation requires Commitment.
I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that I AM NOT
WORTH THE COST of my Salvation! It is a gift; not
only did not I not earn it, there is no way I could ever
earn it!2 If I spent every moment of the rest of my
life living perfectly in God's Will, it would not be
enough to repay Him for His Perfect Son dying for me!
At that moment I knew exactly what I was, what I was
worth, and what I had to do.
I knew that I had to spend the rest of my life working
for Him, living for Him, and dying for Him. I am
His slave, bound to Him through His purchase of my life
from out of sure death. I may not do this well, I
may be the most bumbling, stuttering, caricature of
Christian humanity that ever existed, but I must give it
all I have, even my very life.
People today seem to think that they deserve salvation
if they say a little prayer. You don't deserve it; you
deserve an eternity in Hell, just like I do, and it is
only by His Grace and Gift that we don't end up there,
and then only if we fully accept the offer to buy out
our contract with the Devil, and become Jesus' Servant.
Commitment
I asked a lady that is a friend of mine last week about
this. She wants physical and mental healing.
My question: what are you going to give up for
Him? How much are you willing to suffer for Him?
Are you willing to commit all your life, so that God
fills it and leaves no room for other things?
When Jesus spoke to people and healed them, these people
knew what the Messiah was and were expecting Him at some
point. They were waiting for the Messiah and they
had been taught all their lives that when He came, and
they recognized Him, they were to commit to Him as He is
a part of God Almighty.
Their level of commitment, before He even came to earth,
was greater than that of most people in this day and
age!
Last week I spoke of keeping His Commandments.
That requires commitment. But I have concerns...
You got scared of Hell or were convicted in a Revival
service and you walked that aisle and prayed that
sinner's prayer. And now they tell you that you're
in! No more worries, you are going to Heaven and
nothing can change that, because you believe Jesus
is the Son of God and that He died for your sins.
Because you confessed your sins and got Baptized.
But the Scriptures don't speak of confessing like
talking to a cop when you did something wrong. The
Scriptures speak of confessing sins with REPENTANCE, and
repentance is turning completely away from that old life
and those sins. Not turning away because the
preacher told you to; not turning away because you are
scared of Hell; turning away because you see the Love of
Christ for you, and you are a broken person that can
never be the same again. Even backslidden you will
feel the guilt and you will worry. Because you are
called by the Holy Spirit. "Repent and be Saved"3
We today speak much to blithely of Salvation. It
is the gift that anyone can get by saying the sinner's
prayer!
NO; IT IS NOT.
Salvation is a commitment to Christ, an understanding
through the whole of our being, of what we are, who He
is, and what He did for us. It is repentance not
just for a few bad acts, but for all we are. The
Christians of the first century church did not walk down
an aisle, say the sinner's prayer, and walk out the door
to live as they always had. They didn't feel like
they had just joined a club and their business would
flourish, or that they had joined a new social clique. When they walked out that door, they were
COMMITED, knowing that every day could bring their death
at the hands of the Jews who hated Jesus, by the Romans,
or by other Pagans who hated this new religion.
In that moment of the Holy Spirit bringing me
back to God: I saw myself, as best my understanding
would allow, as God saw my sinful self. I was a putrid
smell of death and decay rising up before Him, full of
the sin that He hates, sickening Him, and the ONLY THING BETWEEN ME
AND HIS WRATH was Jesus Christ, His Holy Son, who died
to Atone for my worthless self. I HATED what I
was. I wanted change; I begged to be made whole,
to live for Him, to know Him!
And this brings me to the crux of the issue...we have
become much too soft with these teachings. What if
there is not a Rapture before the Tribulation? How
many of you will stand up for to that level of
persecution? Little water that is pure and that
must be bought. No way to earn money. No
home, for you have no money or property without the mark
of the Beast. Your children are starving.
The police are hunting you. An internment camp is
the best they will give you. Torture and death are
more likely.
Today you are willing to give up Christ's Commandments
"for the children" so they can have a "good life"; when
you see them starving under the Antichrist's government,
will you give up Christ completely and take that mark?
What about before then? If they begin to persecute
you today, pass a law that witnessing is "hate speech"
as other countries have, will you witness and go to
jail, or will you stop witnessing for Christ to get food
"for the children"? Will you give in and condemn
your children to Hell so you can feed them for a day?
Just because Jesus stated His love for Children doesn't
mean you can use them as an excuse to toss out His
commandments and live a life seeking worldly things.
You may sneer at that Preacher or Christian School
Teacher whose kids live in poverty, while you buy the
finest things for your family, but I ask you: who
does God love the most? You, or the guy keeping
Jesus Commandments, commited to the Faith regardless of
the hardship? And WHY are you not helping that
poor Preacher or Teacher? You know why:
because the things of the world mean more to you than
Jesus' Commandments.
Oh, how soft we have become!
Sermons on the Rapture have made many a preacher rich.
But they have made you soft; you think all the bad stuff
will happen to those horrible, Satan worshipping, mark
bearing, idiots that weren't as smart as you were to get
a ticket out!
GOD HELP YOU
It's not about a ticket out; it's about a commitment to
Him, regardless of when He comes back, regardless of
what they do to you. Read Foxe's Book of Martyrsb
and imagine being burnt at the stake, being put on a
rack, or being beheaded. It is about being His
Bond Servant; you go and do what He says go and do, with
no thought for what it might cost you. You carry
out the Master's every bidding, and give your life to do
it if necessary. You are not a free person; you
are bought with a great price, and you need to remember
that...
If you really are a Christian.
Examine yourself; what is your level of commitment to
Christ? Do you fail to say anything for Him for
fear of ridicule? All it takes is someone making
fun of you, and you just stop following His Commandments?
I say it again:
GOD HELP YOU...you really do need His help.
Because you will be gone with the first little bit of
persecution. Clouds without water, carried by
every little wind; no substance.4
There is a straight and hard way to go, to get to that
narrow gate that not many will pass through...5
I know...I've hurt your feelings; stomped all over your
favorite doctrines. You are upset that I may make
some new Christian doubt their salvation. You hate
that I am telling you to not get the best things in life
for your kids. You despise me for telling you that
you will have to buy less of the world's goods for
yourself. You wanted that new car, house,
boat...for your kids, your wife, your friends...shucks,
you'll even let your preacher use the boat just to justify
spending the money! But don't you dare roll your
window down and help that beggar; might get his body
odor in your Mercedes.
God has called me to preach, and by the mouth of nine
witnesses, and their signatures, I was ordained and sent. It is not my
job to make you feel good; somebody else can do that...
I am here by God's Will to help that
wonderful "HOPE OF SALVATION"
BECOME REALITY, BY THE WORD AND GRACE OF GOD, THROUGH
PRAYER, REPENTANCE, COMMITMENT AND OBEDIANCE TO JESUS
CHRIST, OUR LORD. Christian, you are asleep at the
wheel; I have to wake you up, get moving in the right
direction. You have to commit to do His Will before you
get the joy of the Lord...
Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess6 7 that
Jesus Christ is Lord; better to start it now, than on
your way from the Great White Throne to the gates of Hell...8
|
Bibliography Page
a
Sinner's Prayer
b
Foxe's Book of Martyrs |
