Not so easy as you might think

I have the privilege of taking a class at Trinity this semester called "Christian Formation and Journey." I don't speak lightly when I call it a privilege, as I am studying under a man named Perry Downs who is an incredible man of God. The class has been challenging and awesome already, and I've only had it twice! The first week, Perry asked us to write down what it means to be a Christian. I thought I had a pretty good description pounded out, until I walked into class. I set my paper down on my desk, and he walked by and grabbed it. He was nodding his head as he read on, and I was thinking I did well. Then he made that sound that's hard to type, errr! The infamous buzzer. Crap! What did I get wrong? As we went on to discuss later, I had put one sentence that said that people must "put their faith in the redemptive work of Christ." This led to a discussion of what we actually put our faith in, the person of Christ or the benefits of Christianity? Check your Bibles, it only ever talks about believing in Christ as doing you any good for salvation. Then we entered into a discussion of what it means to put your faith in the person of Christ.

In order to do this, we have to look at who the Bible says Christ is. King of kings and Lord of Lords. Hmm, that's a tough one. That means that we must submit ourselves to Him in obedience. Now that's a little bit harder than believing that Jesus is going to get you into heaven , isn't it? However, we often tend to leave out this aspect of the Gospel. We, as the church, are always trying to convince people of how easy it is to be a Christian, but Jesus himself, a rather informed person on the subject, was always trying to explain how hard it was to be a follower of His (Read Mark 10:17-31, Matt. 10:37-39). Living a life that is submitted to God is no easy task, but the sacrifice is worth knowing God and following Him. If you find it easy to follow Christ, take a look at your life and make sure that you're examining every area of it and striving to align it with God's Word. Not very easy.

Now, I don't want anyone to think that I am supporting a works-based salvation or that we are saved by what we do. That would be an abuse of the grace of God. It is through our faith in God and His grace that we are saved. However, Scripture is clear that faith is proved true by actions, and that faith without works is dead (aka. useless, won't get you into heaven) (James 2). There is grace freely offered to us when we screw up and don't line up with God's plan for our lives, but if you are not striving to live the kind of life that God lays out in Scripture, you have not accepted Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who gave up His very life for you.

When is the last time you heard that in a church? Christians, don't try to make it sound really easy to follow Christ when that's not what the Bible says. Don't be a fire insurance salesperson, because due to this mindset, there are countless people under the impression that they're going to heaven and they're cool with God, and at the end of their life, they might very well hear those dreadful words from Jesus, "I never knew. Away from me you evildoers!"