An aquaintance of mine told me, "I used to be a committed Christian, but I don't believe in Jesus any longer."
NEWSFLASH!
That person was NEVER a committed Christian.
I used to have a set of posters in my office.
The first poster had two frames. In the first, a man was climbing the ladder of a diving board and saying, "I am going to dive into the water."
The second showed him having gone back down the ladder and walking away.
He was not committed to the dive.
The second poster had two frames. In the first, a man was standing at the end of the diving board and saying, "I am going to dive into the water."
The second showed him having gone back to the ladder, having climbed down the ladder and walking away.
He was not committed to the dive.
The third poster had two frames. In the first, a man was standing at the end of the diving board and saying, "I am going to dive into the water."
The second showed him having leaned forward past the center of gravity and falling through the air.
He was committed to the dive. There would be no turning back.
That is the picture of the committed Christian.
For the committed Christian, there is no possibility of turning back.
If there was held back the possibility of turning back, there was no commitment.
Now I believe anyone can be saved who turns to Christ in faith, believing, and trusting in and only His finished work at the cross of Calvary.
Whether the "whosoever will" only applies to those God has chosen from the beginning of time or not I have not the mind to opine.
But this I know: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:52
So, at some point there must be commitment to ploughing the row...keeping the faith...staying the course.
Don't tell me you USED to be committed. You cannot "used to be committed," you were either committed or you were not.
If you ever stopped being committed, you never were committed.
Your commitment to Him will never go unrewarded.
If you have never done so, receive Him today, trust Him today, serve Him today and commit to Him today.
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- Joe
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14 comments:
Agree. It drives me nuts how shallow much of our (my?) theology it regarding The Kingdom, what it measn to be a citizen... Thank God for grace!
But the REAL question is, does someone have to be committed to God in order for God to be committed to him?
I don't believe one can lose his salvation. But are you suggesting that he never WAS saved until the day he became "committed?"
I'm 100% committed today. I was saved when I was 10. Back then, I was probably only 15% committed. I've grown a lot. Does that mean my faith wasn't legitimate until sometime later down the road?
You know I'm just playing devil's advocate, Joe. Good post.
Parker: Nope. I'm saying that one cannot claim to have been committed and then come un-committed. Saved and committed are two different things.
This person told me he/she was committed. I say he/she never was.
Saved? I can't see a person's heart. But surely not committed.
I'm committed. Some days I've slowed down, other days I've run full force, but I've never turned back, and I never will.
Joe, this is an interesting post. What is your opinion of John Mark in the book of Acts? When the going got tough, he deserted Paul and Barnabas. Later he became profitable to the ministry.
This is an interesting post. I have struggled at various places in my walk with these very issues.
I am now convinced if you really KNOW Him, there is no way you could turn from Him.
ordon cloud: John Marc may or may not have been committed to Christ. He was not committed to Paul.
If he was NOT committed to Christ when he "deserted," he became committed later.
Commitment is commitment. Anything else is not.
That is why, for instance, marriages break up. One or the other is not committed to the spouse...maybe both are not.
Two people, committed to each other, never quit.
BTW: One can commit to a short-term project, such as a six weeks course on the Bible. If one does, one should complete the course, else he/she was not committed.
Jesus prayed for Peter before he denied Him that his faith would not fail-(Luke22:31-32). He also prayed for His disciples and all believers (including us) that God would keep us from the evil one-(John17:6-24). And Jesus said in His prayer to the Father:"...Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost..."-John17:12. There is indeed none that truly belongs to the Lord that will be lost to the devil.
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."
I am prone to wander. I sometimes doubt God. Does that mean I'm not committed? I have shaken my fist at him and spent long periods of time without communining with Him. Lack of commitment?
Married people wander by lusting after other people from time to time. Does that mean they're not committed to their mate?
You make a good point, Joe.
Some people teach that faith is like sitting in a chair. You may believe it can hold you up, but you do not have "faith" until you test it out and sit on it.
I reject this kind of illustration.
Someone definitley could believe and have faith that the chair could hold them up if they sat on it.
So if I saw a gondola high above me that I couldn't reach and sit on I couldn't believe it could hold me if i sat in it? I would reject such things.
Faith is certainty, and most often it is associated with things that can't be seen or empirally tested.
Joe, I like what you said about commitment being rewarded. I agree with you 110%!
Antonio
Very good post, Joe...but I can always count on you for thought provoking entries. I agree with your assessment 100%.
This also leads to an explanation of Matt. 21-23...they wanted the prestige of prophecying, casting out demons and doing wonders...but they weren't commited to a relationship with the Lord. Consequently the Lord said, "I never knew you."
Oh a side note on the "Whosoever" you mentioned in the post. In my biblical studies predestination includes each and every one of us. Eph. 1:5 says We were ALL predestined to be adopted as sons (and daughters) by Jesus Christ...'cause God wished for none to perish!
Sadly there are many who turn down that adoption!
Wonderfully stated, Joe!
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