The Image of God in mankind.

What is the image of God in mankind?

Genesis 1:26-27

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creping thing that creeps on the earth.  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”

    Man is the crowning point of creation, a living human, was made in God’s image to rule creation.  “Our Image”  This speaks of the creation of Adam in terms that are uniquely personal.  It establishes a personal relationship between God and man that does not exist with any other aspect of creation.  It is the very thing that makes humanity different from every other created animal.  It explains why the Bible places so much stress on God’s hands-on creation of Adam.  He fashioned this creature in a special way- to bear the stamp of His own likeness.  It suggests that God was, in essence, the pattern for the personhood of man.

     The image of God is personhood, and personhood can function only in the context of relationships.  Man’s capacity for intimate, personal relationships needed fulfillment.  Most important, man was designed to have a personal relationship with God.  It is impossible to divorce this truth from the fact that man is an ethical creature.  All true relationships have ethical ramifications.  It is at this point that Gods communicable attributes come into play.  Man is a living being capable of embodying God’s communicable attributes.  In his rational life, he was like God in that he could reason and had intellect, will and emotion.  In the moral sense, he was like God because he was good and sinless.  However, it did not bestow deity upon man.[1]

    After forming man’s body, God “breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life.”  Only after God breathed life into the lifeless body did it become a “living soul”.  This living soul is not uniquely human, however; what is uniquely human is the divine “image” and “likeness” in man (1:26,27).  “He bridged the gap by breathing into man the breath of life, thus making him in His own image”.

    God made man in His own image and likeness, and then immediately granted him dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, cattle, and other creeping things.  The dominion which man enjoyed in the Garden of Eden was a direct consequence of the image of God in him.[2]

     The image of God is also the image of the Trinity.  Spurgeon said in a sermon on the “Person of the Holy Sprit”  “When God first made man, He said, “Let US make man”; not let ME, but, “Let US make man in Our own image.” The covenant Elohim said to each other,  “Let us unitedly become the creator of man.”  So, when in ages far gone by, in eternity, they said, “Let us save man;” it was not the Father who said, “Let ME save man,” but the three persons conjointly said, with one consent, “Let US save man” It is to me a source of sweet comfort to think that it is not one person of the Trinity that is engaged for my salvation; it is not simply on person of the Godhead who vows that He will redeem me; but it is a glorious trio of Godlike ones, and the three declare, unitedly, “We will save men” [3]

    Sin is the thing that has poisoned us and tainted God’s image within us.  A.W Tozer writes “Man was made in the image of God, and while sin has ruined him and condemned him to death forever unless he be redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, mankind is a being only one degree removed from the angles.  But sin, God knows, is like a cancer in the very being of man.  Man, made in the image of God, is now a dying man.  He is sick unto death, because of the poison of sin.  But extract and take out that sin and you have the image of God again.  And Jesus Christ the image of God because He was a man without sin.”[4]

    We have the ability to regain God’s image once again and that is to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation.  In repentance and the blood of Christ we become white as snow and God’s image is once again restored.

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[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville, Tennesse: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2005.) 11.

[2] John J. Davis, Paradise to Prision (Salem, Wisconsin: Sheffield Publishing Company, 1975)76-77,81

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[3] Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons; Volumes 1 of 5 (Peabody, Massachuestts: 1883), 56.

[4] A.W. Tozer, Tozer Speaks, Volume One (Camp Hill, Pennsylvaina, Wing Spread Publishers: 1994), 15.

Happy Are The Sad: Matthew 5:4

Happy Are the Sad 

Matthew 5:4  Blessed are those who mourn, 
   for they will be comforted.

    The structure of life; the way we live is to avoid pain, to avoid sadness to deeply desire comfort, to flee from sorrow and to escape disappointment.  However; Jesus says, “Happy are the Sad” “Blessed are those who mourn” this is contrary to everything we know.

   Our country has gone absolutely crazy on what our priorities are when it comes to what we spend money on.  In a 2008 article in Forbes Magazine on what Americans spend money on was published, it breaks down, in a survey that was done in 2005 what Americans spend money on compared to what the rest of the world does. 

    In impoverished areas of Egypt and Ethiopia it was  typically found that the general population was spending 43% -55% of income on food and non-alcoholic beverages. In America and Canada we spend only 4-6% on food; we spend 5-6% on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Narcotics.  The big and scary numbers come for the shoppers… Electronics we spend 15.5% of our discretionary spending, and apparel somewhere around 15%.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/30/china-india-brazil-ent-fin-cx_ml_0730worldspending.html

WoW…  55% on food for the starving nation;  ….   30% just on entertainment and clothes for Americans.  Have we gone Entertainment crazy?  Are we trying and trying almost always hopelessly through money and amusement to make ourselves happy and wondering where is the happiness?  

Jesus didn’t only say; Happy Are the Sad but He also said in Luke 6:25 “Woe unto you that laugh now for your laughter shall become weeping”.  That makes this much more serious.  He’s not just saying the one who morn’s is blessed but he put’s a curse on the world’s type of happiness. 

What kind of mourning is Jesus talking about and not talking about:

·        General Sorrow: weeping, general loneliness, sorrow, sadness, the kind of every day sorrow you have to let out, being able to let it out and release it is a gift from God

·        Mourning because a man can not satisfy his lust: an improper type of morning: 2^nd Samuel 13:2: Absalom was so infatuated with his sister Tamar that he fell sick  because he could not satisfy his lust.  In 1 Kings 21:4 Ahab wanted Naboths vineyard and he coveted so much that he laid on his bed and would not eat. 

·        Foolish Mourning; mourning that is over extended for someone who can’t let someone go.  Happens in the case of Christians who die in the Lord and a partner becomes a literal basket case. Not talking about the natural grieving process from experiencing loss but way over and above. When the mourning becomes selfish and life altering and the Christian wont accept or let the departed go and be with the Lord there is only sorrow and no rejoicing in the resurrection with Christ.

·        Being over sorrow from guilt of sin; some people just get so so  so sorry, so mournful as a way for atoning for their sins that its over done.  There’s an Arab saying that says “To much Sun shine; makes desert”

Jesus is not talking about the sorrow of this world.  That kind of sorrow doesn’t teach us much. 

2^nd Corinthians 7:10 “For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

You can be mournful or sorrowful about anything you want to be but if you cry your eyes out about the things of this world you will only find yourself more attached to the things of this world.  Godly sorrow is sorrow that leads to repentance; sorrow over sin.  Sorrow over this world is useless its being sorry because you’re a sinner that is the only issue.

What is it to mourn over human circumstances?

·        Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Remember what we talked about in our last message?  Blessed be the poor in Spirit? No one gets into God’s Kingdom without being Spiritually bankrupt remember the Greek word ptochos we looked at, “Shrinking, cringing, begging poor”; .  You have to have that overwhelmingly helpless feeling. Why am I brining this up because these go hand and hand.  Recognizing that you are ptochos in Sprit that you are spiritually bankrupt that there is no good thing in you, that you are in deed a sinner is the intellectual part, is the head knowledge, once you realize that it becomes emotional, now this part comes in and you naturally become sorrowful for that; mournful.   

The happiness doesn’t actually come in the mourning but it comes from what God does from it.  Try to live as a Christian and keep sin in your life bottled up; see what that does to your life?  However see what happens when you confess that sin and repent from it; the freedom and happiness that comes from it.

The Happiness comes from the comfort God gives us. Jesus is the first comforter for He says the Father will give “another” comforter” the Holy Spirit.

·       John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”

·                 John 14:26 “ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance , whatsoever I have said unto you.”

If you don’t have a sense of the sin in your life, a mournful sense of the sin, then you seriously need to question your salvation. God demands repentance not just empty belief with repentance comes a sorrowful sense for your responsibility of that sin. 

How do you know you’re a Christian?

Is it because you made a decision for Christ a bunch of years ago that you can hardly remember but you know you made?  If that’s the only thing your basing your salvation on you have a serious problem;

Hopefully you answer that question because there is present evidence of Jesus in your heart and in your life.

Remember I’m always available to answer any questions adammorsch@optonline.net

Happy Are The Humble: Matthew 5:3

Happy Are The Humble

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Welcome to week 2 of my 10 week series "Happiness According to Jesus" this week's focus will be on Humility; Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit".  The Beatitudes also known as; "The Sermon on the Mount" was Jesus' first and most important sermon.  Jesus began his sermon speaking about the poor in spirit  moreover, the humble fore a reason.

    Jesus is introducing a new way of living a new way of happiness a new type of blessedness a “makarios” (the Greek word we looked at last week that meant blessing) different to everything in the world, different to everything people were used to and had been exposed to at this point. This is a happiness that is not produced by the world therefore it is not subject to change by the world or the circumstances of the world. 

Jesus was introducing a new standard of living a selfless standard, with a focus that was not external it was internal.

    When Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the mount He was preaching to the multitude but the message was really only to His disciples and when I use the word disciples I mean his closest followers not the many who followed Him but were not committed to His teaching.  The reason that the message was tailored to those who were committed to His teachings were because only those with faith in Jesus Christ can know this kind of blessedness.  The only people that can know this kind of blessedness is the people that know that they can’t live this way on their own. No one that doesn’t have the power of God operating in their lives can experience this kind of blessedness. No one who had not come to this point of humility could experience these great blessings.

    When looking at the Beatitudes they seem like a complete paradox or in complete contrast to everything that the world knows.  Chapter 5:3  Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven… Why does Jesus begin with the poor in spirit. 

It is a fundamental characteristic of a Christian!  It is a necessity to anyone who wants to enter the kingdom of God! You can not enter the kingdom of God with the Spirit of Pride.  Without being poor in spirit, you can not receive grace!  Without understanding how poor we are we can never understand how glorious He is! Proverbs 16:5 says, "Cursed are the proud. God gives grace to the humble." This has to be at the very beginning. That's why it's first. Listen, the only way to come to God's kingdom is to confess your own unrighteousness, confess your inability to meet God's standards, confess that you can't do it. You can not come to God unless you know your Spiritually bankrupt and that’s the way you have to live your Christian life.

    What does it mean to be poor in Spirit?  What kind of poverty is it? Lets look at the term poor.  Poor in Greek is the word “ptochos” it literally means a shrinking from something or someone, to cower and cringe like a beggar. Its not just poor its begging poor.  Ptochos poor, beggar poor in many cases a man is crippled, blind, deaf, dumb in total dependence of someone else.  This to Jesus is happiness?  How can that possibly be?  Well He's not talking about physical begging, physical poverty, but He's talking about poverty of spirit.  A man can not work to own His own salvation. He is totally in dependence of Jesus Christ. He is absolutely incapable of anything and totally dependent on grace. So Jesus says happy are the destitute cowering cringing beggars (ptochos).  The world tells us happy is the rich; happy is the famous, happy are the self-sufficient and the proud. God identifies with people who beg on the inside, not people who are self-sufficient, not people who can work out their own salvation, not people who believe in their own resources, but those who are destitute beggarly. It doesn't mean poor spirited in the sense of lacking enthusiasm. It doesn't mean lazy or quiet or indifferent or passive. It doesn't mean that at all. A poor in spirit individual is one with no sense of self-sufficiency. Listen, when you admit your weakness, when you admit your nothingness, that's not the end, that's the beginning, but that, is the hardest thing you will ever do. Jesus is saying the first thing you've got to say is, "I can't. I can't do it. I can't." That's poverty of spirit.

    Let me talk for just a moment why it is important to look at some words in the “original” Greek.  When we read our Bibles weather we are reading the “King James Version (KJV)”; the “New King James Version (NKJV)” the “New International Version (NIV)” the “New American Standard Version (NASV)” the “English Standard Version (ESV)” or one of the many other versions out there what we are reading is a translation from a Greek Manuscript.  There are approximately 5700 Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament available today.  These were written from Arabic and Hebrew languages between the first and fourth centuries.  When examining the Greek words we can often get closer to the original text, the original meaning that the authors were hoping to get across.  That is why I’ll sometimes take a word and look at the Greek just like many Pastors and biblical scholars will do to try to get closer to what the Bible was actually trying to say.     

Happiness According to Jesus

    This week I want to look at Happiness and Joy.  Moreover TRUE happiness and Joy.  The kind of happiness and joy that Jesus talked about and promoted.  Jesus was all about people being happy, people being filled with Joy. As John MacArthur put it “Jesus was in the happiness business”.  However! Jesus’ idea of happiness was not what the world (when I use the word world I mean the secular, non-Christian, people who put the things of this world before the things of the Kingdom of God) would consider happiness.  True Happiness is backwards… Now off the cuff that might not make sense and may not sound like something that you want to obtain, but were going to examine that statement. 

    First I want to start by looking at the Greek word MAKARIOS.  Makarios means a kind of happiness, a kind of blissfulness, a kind of contentedness, a kind of peacefulness  and a kind of blessedness that is unaffected by circumstance nor subject to the change of circumstance. This is the basic New Testament concept of Blessedness.  It is the state that God wants His people to live in.  It is a word that talks about character.  This word is used to describe God:

·       Psalm 68:35  “Blessed Be God”

·       Psalm 72:18  “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel”

·       Psalm 119:12    "Blessed art Thou 0 Lord"

·       1^st Timothy 1:11 “The Blessed God”

 What ever it is to be blessed it is true of God and of Jesus Christ.  The only people who will experience it are the people who partake of God and partake of Christ.  There is no blessedness apart from Christ.  Here’s the good news!  2^nd Peter 1:4 tells us “We who believe in Jesus Christ are partakers in His divine nature”… Watch this… Now Peter says we partake in His divine nature. What’s that mean.  We can know the same bliss, the same inner state of contentment, the same happiness deep down within us that is known by God and the Lord Jesus Christ themselves.  Am I saying that we can have the same peace as God? Yes!  Am I saying we can have the same happiness, and inner contentment as the God that created the entire universe? Yes I am!  How can that be? Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we are no longer under the curse of sin and we are free from being a slave to sin and we can have perfect fellowship with Christ which is the ONLY thing that can make that peace, that happiness available.

    In Matthew’s Gospel chapters 5-7, known most popularly as the “sermon on the mount” or The Beatitudes, Jesus lay’s out what it is that makes a man blessed, here blessed is synonymous with happy.  Matthew presents in the word’s of Jesus an outline of happiness that is opposite of the way most of the world would see it.

    Right now, I want you to take a test.  Pass or Fail. First thing that pops in to your head…. Ready….  Picture happy people……………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Did you picture the go-getter? The guy who always seems to get what he wants, where he wants, when he wants, did you picture the rich, the noble, the one who has lots of the world’s things???  In the words of Jesus happy people are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the hungry and the thirsty, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, and the reviled.

    Maybe that sounds like the opposite of happiness to you?  If you are really hungry, you missed breakfast, too busy for lunch, get home its late your ready for dinner now your hungry your maybe a little bit irritable all you want is dinner anything will do at that point because your real hungry.  Put your self there for a minute in your mind’s eye, everyone’s been there, stomach’s turning, maybe its even tight and hurting a little your so hungry, you don’t even want anyone to talk to you or deal with anything you just want to eat.  There is this movie you REALLY want to see you been waiting for this movie to come out for weeks you get home and as soon as you get home you get a phone call and someone asks you if you want to go see that movie, but the catch is got to go right away. This means you don’t have time to eat.  How much is this movie going to mean to you, how much are you going to enjoy this movie if you do go and see it, how much happiness is this movie going to bring you.  The point is when your body needs food you cant replace food for anything else.  This is the same with spiritual things.  When your body needs Spiritual food, no, money, toy , relationship, thing, nothing but Jesus Christ, obeying him as Lord in your life, spending time in His word, and personal time with Him in prayer will bring happiness to your life!

  For the next weeks to come I’ll continue with this theme of finding true happiness in life as I walk through the Beatitudes and hope to uncover some life changing truths in the process. 

A Perfect Love

A Perfect Love

    Man was created in God’s image.  This means that man was created for relationships. We know that man shares certain biological features with animals, plants and even atomic particles.  Man is not like them nor decent from them.  No other life in the universe was created for relationships the way man was.  Man has the capacity for “Self-Consciousness” which only man possesses.  Man has the ability to appreciate beauty, to feel emotion, to be morally conscious, to reason, to acquire wisdom, to relate to other people, and maybe most importantly to love each other and to love God.  With that comes the abilities to: fellowship and share: thoughts, attitudes and experiences.

    Humans cry out for love more than anything else. Love is the theme of more: songs, books, plays, movies, poems then any other topic.

    What is John talking about when he uses the word “Perfect”?

Perfect is from the Greek verb “Teleioo” which simply means complete, whole.  It basically means to carry out something to the max.  A form of this word was used by Jesus when he said on the cross “It is finished!” “Te Telosti” (same verb).  It has been carried out to the max, it can go no further, it can not be added to.  It is finished.

Perfect love is the legacy that God has left to His children. 

• Romans 5:5 “…and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”

When you were saved the flood gates were opened and the love of God was poured out in to your heart through the power of the Holy Spirit. The fullest expression of the love given to us is when we keep the commandment of God.

• John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him
• 1 John 2:5 …but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him

We’re not speaking about a love that is connected to emotional sentimentality.  Love that achieves perfection can only be found in sanctification, salvation and obedience to the Word of God.  You may ask how this love is achieved how can this create a love relationship in your life?  Very easy because by, living in obedience to the Word of God by constantly, with out ceasing praying for sanctification, allows God through the power of the Holy Spirit to open flowing rivers of His perfect love into your life.  His blessing of Joy, Peace, Wisdom, Compassion, and all the joys and fruits of the holy Spirit which are actual previews of heaven.  The Bible tells us we live in the Heavenlies; once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive the Holy Spirit which is the power of God, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven inside of us hear on Earth!  (How many times did Jesus say “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”)

Love is a proof of being in the fellowship. He who does not love abides in death.

• 1^st John 2:9-11  “If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark, But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don’t cause problems for them.  If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark.  We don’t know where we are going because we can’t see in the dark.”
•  1^st John 3:10-14 “You can tell god’s children from the evil’s children because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other.  From the beginning you were told that we must love each other.  Don ‘t be like Cain who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother.  Why did he murder him?  He did it because his brother was Good and he was evil.  My friends don’t be surprised if the people of this world hate you our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life.  But if you don’t love each other you are still under the power of death.”
• 1^st John 4:7-12 “My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life.  We are now God’s children and we know Him.  God is love and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known Him.  God showed His love for us when he sent His only Son in to the world to give us life.  Real love isn’t our love for God but His love for us.  God sent His Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.  Dear friends, since God loved us so much, we must love each other.  No one has ever seen God but if we love each other God lives in us and His love is truly in our hearts.

In Chapter 4 John has the bases loaded and he brings with 1 swing of the bat everyone one home.  He is addressing Christians for he says “we are now God’s children and we know Him.” He says all love comes from God, anyone who doesn’t love others NEVER knew God… Remember John is addressing believers, people of faith, “professing” Christians… Churches today are filled to the brink with them. Show up every Sunday, maybe even tithe… maybe even daily read their Bible… Spiritually they are DEAD because they have no love for the Brethren.  John makes this clear this is not an option, this is not a Sunday just in church thing, this is a full time, Salvation Requirement, Sanctification process, Jesus Commandment.. LOVE THY NEIGHBOR!. 

“Dear friends since God Loved us this much we must love each other!” 

John doesn’t say should, John doesn’t say try, John doesn’t say do our best John says MUST.

Romans 13:8 “Let love be your only debt! If you love each other, you have done all that the Law demands.”  The Greek word for demand is απαίτηση it means “The absolute requirement, under the law.  This is not a strong suggestion or, a instruction to be taken lightly.  It is a make it or break it term!  No love no salvation!!! If you do not love each other your commitment to Christ is not for real.  When you pray Jesus I make you Lord of my life, I commitment my life to following you, the understanding that you will love the brethren that you will love the Church of Christ that you will love each other as Christ has loved you is a prerequisite it is understood from the beginning.

Six reasons why we should love:

1. Love is the essence of God: {God by nature is love, God defines what love is}  He loves us so much that he is patience and gives many warnings of coming judgment, this is a sign of His compassion. He loves us so much that He has set up a Heaven for His believers.  He has loved us so much that he created a beautiful Earth, with variety (colors, food, senses etc.)  . 
2. This love was manifest by Christ: (The gift of the Son of God) so that we might have eternal life… not that we might love God, but that while we were sinners God loved us.  God gave His son for our sins.  He is the mercy seat, He is the atonement of our sins. . 2nd Corinthians 5:21, "He who knew no sin became sin for us." Galatians 3:13, "He was made a curse for us." 1st Peter, "The just for the unjust." And so, God makes the extreme sacrifice, sending His Son in our place. 1^st John 3:16 "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
3. Love is our testimony: If we love one another God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. No one can see God, God abides in us, so God is in display in us. We live in a watching unbelieving world, as Christians we must be showing love. John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
4. Love is the assurance of our salvation: 1 John 4:13-16 “¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.”
1. He has given us the Holy Spirit
2. You know you have the Spirit because you believe in the gospel
3. You come to believe in that love that God has for us
5. Love is our confidence in judgment: 1st John 4:17-18 “This is how love is made perfect among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  Its not just your theology that is the issue at the time of judgment but your heart.  If you love with this whole mature love you can live your life with confidence with out fear, you can stand before God one day with confidence.  The Greek calls that kind of confidence “empistosyni” am confidence with boldness.  Perfect love dismisses fear you can live without fear.
6. Love is reasonable:  1^st John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. Its only reasonable to say that true believers are characterized by the way they love. A unconditional love, sacrificial love, self-less love, unrequited love, a humble love a love that tolerates no sin a love that bears the pain of others,  a love that accepts a love that forgives, a love that is the assurance of our salvation, a perfect love.
   
   

Christ's Lordship

I’ve been listening this week to a series by John MacArthur on the Lordship of Christ. This series has inspired me to write this week’s posting and ask some pretty hard questions.

Is Christ Lord of your life?

Have you or do you know someone that has “Made Christ Savior” and nothing has changed in their life?

Has someone made a decision for Christ but nothing has changed? Do you know someone or have heard that you can make Christ savior but making Christ Lord can be a secondary thing that can come later in life. Someone is told that they are a Christian because they made a decision and they have Jesus as savior but they never acknowledged Jesus as Lord. This idea is behind much of today’s evangelism. Get people to make a decision, in a moment of emotional time, to make an eternal decision, tell them that they are saved and hope that later in life they will make a change in their life and make Christ Lord.

Speak of the Gospel, use a lot of emotion, use subtle pressure, manipulation, use a lot of music and even in some meetings and churches, there are people selected to “prime the pump” to start the flow going down the aisle to get people to answer an alter call or accept an invitation to the Gospel.

There are parents and loved ones that cling to the fact that their loved ones made a momentary decision years ago because today they are living in gross sin.

How often in contemporary evangelism do you hear: Are you willing to commit your life to following Jesus, Are you willing to bow your knee to Him, and repent and turn from all your sins, Are you willing to turn from all Earthly things and die to your self and make Him Lord of everything over your life? This is a major issue because it creates a mass of people that think they are saved but they are not. No where in Scripture does it say that a Christian “makes” Christ Lord, it goes hand and hand you can’t be a Christian unless Christ is Lord. The Bible does say that unless Christ is Lord you can never be saved in the first place. With holding the Lordship of Christ from someone is to damn someone to the delusion of salvation.

Jesus says in Mathew 10 “If you deny me before men, I’ll deny you before my father” He didn’t say if you said a prayer one day 10 years ago you can deny me before men, he was talking about EVERYBODY.

Salvation is forever and you can’t loose your salvation but only if its real. How do you know if it’s real, it will persevere.

According to John MacArthur “today more people reject the doctrine of hell to get the one’s they love out of hell then any theological constraint”. The people that deny hell are the people that don’t want to admit their loved one’s and relatives died without the Lord.

A typical call to salvation: “Accept Jesus into your heart; Ask Him into your life; Believe in Him, Ask for His forgiveness.” And it stop’s there. Its not that, this is not Biblical it’s that it is incomplete. You hear that you can pray to Receive Christ, what happed to the part about “Laying down your life”, “Turning from your sin”, “Repent”, “Follow Me”, “Forsake All”?


Underlying all the calls to salvation in scripture is the Sovereign Lordship of Christ. In the book of Acts the term Lord for Christ is used 92 times the term Savior is used 2 times. Dominantly through the scriptures Jesus is known as Lord and the New Testament is always affirming His Lordship.

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life but he who does not obey the son shall not see life”--- believing is tied to obedience.

Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you shall be saved”

Never mistake God’s grace, love and mercy for complacency and weakness. When Jesus comes again it will not be as a servant, a carpenter wearing sandals and washing our feet. Revelation 1 He will be coming from the Clouds with hair like white wool, as white as snow and eyes like blazing fire, feet bronze like a glowing furnace and a voice like the sound of rushing waters with a face shining like the sun in all its brilliance.