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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

True Christianity

What if I told you that all Christians are going to heaven?  What if I told you when someone becomes a Christian, their whole life changes? Not for a week or a year, but for a life-time. What If I told you that Christianity isn't just a belief, but a transformation done in man by God? What would you say? Would you deny it? Would you claim I'm lying? Check out these verses:

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." -- Romans 10:9

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." -- 2 Corinthians 3:18

There you have it. It is the truth. Every christian who has believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead, that person shall be saved. In being saved, God will transform them from who they are to who he wants them to be. It really is quite simple, but there is a problem.

Why is it sometime hard for me to tell who is a Christian and who isn't? In many situations, I don't notice a difference between the way of life of a believer and the way of life of a unbeliever. The Bible clearly says throughout that believers will bear fruit of their salvation. That means that believers will show evidence of their salvation in how they live, so what if there is no evidence? Don't just think about me though, can you tell who is and isn't a Christian if you had never talked to them before in your life? Even more importantly, can people who don't know you tell that you are a Christian? Do even your closest friends know your a Christian? Does anyone? Or are you the only one?

So where does the problem lie? The Bible is true, and that must be accepted by anyone who is a Christian anyways, so it can't be that. What about me, maybe I'm interpreting it poorly. In that case, have a look for yourself and feel free to form your own opinion. But if we assume that the Bible is correct and that I am not trying to lead astray but am speaking the truth, we have to conclude that many people who think they are Christian's really aren't. If you truly called upon God, if you seriously wanted to be changed, if you said "I'm all in", God will transform your life. If you didn't, he won't. It's that straight-forward. If you are saying to yourself "I did give my life to God! I said the prayer and I have given to charity but I haven't been changed. That must mean it's God's fault!" Jesus says "Ask and you shall receive". Therefore, if you didn't receive transformation from God, you didn't really ask with all of yourself. God is faithful to transform you if you truly call upon him. If your the only one who knows your a Christian, your not.

Fortunately, there is some good news for you who have been self-decieved about Christianity. That is, if your reading this, your not dead yet. If your not dead yet, you still have a chance to start over with Christ. Don't just sit there and continue to deceive yourself, you will regret it for eternity. First, pray passionately and humbly to our Father in heaven who will forgive you your sins and deception, and will transform you if your heart is in the right place. Then stand up, pick up your Bible and head out into the world with a Holy world-view, a salvation that no one can shake, and a love that no one can remove. It will not be a sudden transformation, but a life-long fight of getting closer and closer to God until finally you take your last breathe on this earth and experience paradise and perfection with your next breathe. It will be hard, but don't worry, we get to celebrate for the rest of eternity.


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