What are you committed to?

What is a commitment? Some of the definitions of "commitment" are "the promise to do something in the future; the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose; the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action." What are you committed to? Is it an addiction, the world, your job, a hobby or maybe the pursuit of money? The reason that I ask is because I have seen and heard many people claim to be "committed" followers of Jesus Christ and yet their actions and words tell a different story.

Let me explain; when I find out that someone is a Christian, I really start to listen to what these people say and how they act. I'm not the only one who does this, so don't think that being a Christian is a free ride without scrutiny. The reason that most people, including myself, pay particular attention to self-proclaimed Christians is because people want to see something in Christians that they lack themselves. It's true that some people only want to see the Christian stumble and fall, but I am not one of them. What I want to see, in myself as well as other Christians, is commitment to Jesus Christ. When I say this, I not only mean in a proclamation of faith, but also in a lifestyle of holiness so that those that are lost can see Christ living in you (Hebrews 12:14).

As Christians, we have to be very careful what we say and how we act. People are watching and listening and trying to see if there is any difference between you and them. If there is not a difference, why then would they ever believe that Christ can make a difference in their lives? We are supposed to constantly examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) to make sure that we are living the way that Jesus told us to live. We are supposed to be the salt of the world (Matthew 5:13). Some food is not as good if it is not salted. In fact, some people will not eat it without a lot of salt. Have you ever tried to eat french fries that were unsalted? If so, how did they taste? If you're like me, you won't eat them. The salt is what makes them taste good. In the same way, Christians are the salt of the earth. If they have acted or spoken badly, how can they be made salty again? They cannot. Jesus tells us that they are no longer good for anything and will be thrown out and trampled. This is because no one will give their "Christian" profession of faith any more thought because it has already lost it's "saltiness."

Now let's examine who we are committed to. Who or what do we talk about and praise? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we ever share our testimony with others? Do we tell others about Jesus? Why not? I have observed that most people don't know enough about Jesus to talk to anyone about Him. What I normally see are "Christians" who know nothing about Christ. Instead, they talk about their "mighty" pastor or their "wonderful" church. When they talk to someone in a witnessing encounter, all they do is invite that person to come to their church to listen to their pastor. If one reads between the lines, here's how it sounds; "Hey, I am a Christian and I love the Lord Jesus Christ, but I don't know how to tell you about Him, so why don't you come to my church so that my pastor and tell you about Him." How often do you think that you're going to get people to visit your church that are not Christians already? If you don't know how to tell people about Jesus Christ, who He is, what He's done for you, what He's already done for them, why would they care to go to your church?

In further investigation concerning "the church" and "the pastor," I have been disturbed to see that a lot of people tend to go to church to socialize and to hear the pastor preach instead of to worship the Living God of the universe. Again I will ask, who or what are you committed to? How do you know if you are committed to Jesus? Those that are committed to Jesus are known as His disciples. Are you a disciple of Jesus? What is a "disciple"? A short definition of a disciple is "someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another." So then, if you are a disciple of Jesus, you should be a believer in His deity and His teachings and you should also be teaching others about Him by spreading His gospel message or doctrine. Jesus told us the way to know who His disciples are in John 8:31-32 NASB ( ³¹So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."). So, are you a disciple of Jesus or are you a follower of your pastor or your church? Which one is more important to you? Does it make you feel better to be known as a member of your church or that your pastor is really good at preaching or would you simply rather be known as a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ?

Where does your commitment reside? I ask you to examine yourselves so that you will know the truth. If you find that you are not really following Jesus Christ as you should, I implore you to repent, turn from your idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14) and follow Jesus Christ, read His Word and worship Him only. Do not put your faith into any man because they will fail you. Put all of your faith and devotion in Jesus Christ. He will never fail you and He is the only way! (John 14:6 NASB : ⁶Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.)

What is wrong with Christians today?

I ask this question because of what I have observed in the behaviour of so-called "Christians" today. It seems that many who claim to be Christians certainly don't act the way that one would expect.

What I have observed is that many "Christians" act one of two ways; (1) they act no different than non-Christians or (2) they act like they are superior to everyone who doesn't attend their church (whether Christian or non-Christian).

Let us first talk about those that claim to be Christians acting no different than those who are not Christians. What does this say about them? In 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, Paul tells the Corinthian believers: 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." 17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (NIV) So, we are told to "come out" and to "be separate." I don't see many Christians doing this today. It seems that Christians are in love with the world and are fascinated by the things of and in the world. In 1 John 2:15-16, John tells us: "15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world." (NIV) So, according to scripture, if we love the world, we do not possess the love of the Father. In other words, if we love the world, we are not true Christians (i.e., false converts).

Now let's address the issue of Christians with a superiority complex. I have personally witnessed these people and it seems that they actively try to recruit Christians that attend other churches more than they share their faith (if they do this at all). When they talk to people who are not saved, they seem to always ask these people to "come to my church" instead of sharing the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. These people seem to think that their pastor and church are the way to salvation instead of believing upon Jesus Christ. What is wrong with this picture? Are we so in love with our pastor and our church that we forget who we should be following? Do we tend to put our pastor on a pedestal and believe every word that comes out of their mouth as if it were the voice of God? It seems to me that many people are content with living in ignorance and spiritual infancy by blindly following the teachings of a preacher instead of reading their Bible and spending time with God in prayer every day. They may know their pastor and the members of their church, but they certainly do not know the Living God.

In 2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter gives this warning concerning false teachers: "1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." (NIV) You may think that there are no "destructive heresies" being introduced in your church, but how would you know? Does your pastor "bring the way of truth into disrepute"? If you never read your Bible or spend time with the Lord in prayer, how do you know what the Truth really is? Would you recognize false teaching if you heard it?

The bottom line is this: If we have never read our Bible (and don't read it every day) and never spend time with God in prayer, how can we claim to know Him? How can we claim that we have a relationship with One in whom we never communicate with or never read His Words? If the Bible is God's love letter to us and we never read it, doesn't that say that we really don't love Him? If we live a life of prayerlessness and never pray for anything unless it's something that we want, doesn't that say that we really don't know how to pray and that we don't have communion with Him and that we don't abide in Him?

If you have read this and feel conviction, I plead with you to repent and start following Christ. You would do well to remember that Christ is the head of the church, not your pastor. Read your Bible every day and do what it says to do. You need to know for yourself what God requires of you and you can only do that if you know God's Holy Word. Here are some verses to remember:

1 John 2:3-6 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (NIV)

James 1:22-25 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (NIV)

Do these verses describe you? If so, please repent and change your lifestyle and follow Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY way to God:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. (NIV)