Before I was a born-again Christian I was just a casual Christian. I was Christian because my family was Christian and Christianity was a part of my upbringing and culture. I grew up going to church, singing songs, and saying my prayers when I woke up in the morning and before I went to sleep. I was baptized in water as a teenager, had read some of the Bible, and thought I had a good understanding of what Christianity was all about. I was just like most Christians that I had met in my life, Sunday Christians, Christians by association, Christians because my ID Card says I’m Christian, Culturally Christian, never studied the whole Bible but only memorized my favorite Psalm Christian, etc. I thought I was a Christian but I didn’t know what it meant to be a Christian until later in my life.
When I became an adult and left home I stopped going to church, I prayed sometimes but not as frequently and I just started focusing on being a good person. I thought a good Christian was someone who was a “good person” However I didn’t learn until later that the Bible says
Romans 3:11-12
“There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
There are no “Good persons” by GOD’s standard. A good person is only a good person by his own standard, he has become his own judge, he has become his own GOD and he has decided that he has the authority to determine what is good and what is bad. The Man who thinks he’s a good person is usually the worst person out of all because he’s blinded to his own sin. The Person who knows they are not good is more likely to seek for help and in seeking help they might find GOD.
Here is one example: Let’s say there are two men who are alcoholics: One man says “I’m not an alcoholic, I just enjoy drinking. I can stop drinking anytime I want, I only drink because I choose to. And the other man says “I am an alcoholic and I have a problem. I need help.” Which one of the two men is more likely to live, and which of the two is more likely to die? The man that knows he has a problem will live of course, but the man blinded to his own addiction will die if he doesn’t become like the other man.
This is what people who think they are good people are like. This is the way that I was the majority of my life. I was kind to others, I supported my family, I was generous to those in need, I carried myself with respect, I prayed, and stayed away from trouble, and focused on my goals. People looked up to me and most people that knew me would also call me a good person. By the standards of the “world” I was a good person, but I cut deeply in my heart the day I discovered that the standard of GOD was not the same as the standard of this world.
The Bible says what is highly esteemed among mankind is an abomination to GOD(Luke 16:15). God does not love the things the world loves and does not approve of the things the world approves of. So although the world approved of me, in the eyes of GOD I was filthy and deserving of death. I learned that a Christian isn’t a person who goes to church on Sunday but still has their own goals, hopes, and ambitions. A Christian is someone who has surrendered everything in them to GOD and decided to deny themselves and follow Jesus.
When I was a false Christian I had a journal that I would travel with that contained all my goals and ambitions, and everything I wanted to accomplish in life. The journal was filled with my life plans and each month I was accomplishing more things that were written in the journal. However, the day I became a Christian was the day I took that journal and set it on fire and looked up to the sky, and said “GOD.. I don’t want this journal anymore, I don’t want my own goals and ambitions. I don’t want my own life plan. I want your plan for my life. Let your will be done in my life. I surrender my own will to do your will GOD” From that day on my entire life changed.
Luke 14:33
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
When Jesus called his disciples he told them “Follow me” and they left everything behind and followed Jesus. This standard has not changed. It doesn’t mean Jesus will physically require you to give away all you have, but it does mean that from your heart you must renounce all you have and put it in his hands. You must be willing to give it all up if he asks for it, from a heart that is completely surrendered to the will of GOD.
A Christian isn’t a person who has their own culture and traditions, and Christians have made all their cultures and traditions the traditions of Jesus only. A Christian has surrendered it all; their tribe, their culture, their possessions, their desires, their goals, their bodies, and everything else. They have renounced everything from their heart and chosen to follow Jesus. A Christian no longer identifies with titles and identities that come from this world, they only identify with the title and identity of Christ. We cannot mix the things of this world with Jesus. Jesus said we can only serve one master (Matthew 6:24).
A Christian is not someone who is defined by his own good deeds. The Bible says that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). A Christian is a person who knows that he is a sinner in need of a Savior. Christians understand that the wages of sin is death and that if they sin only once, they deserve to go to hellfire like the greatest sinner on earth. A Christian understands that Jesus died to pay the death price they deserved for sin, so that they could be saved. A Christian inherits the righteousness of Jesus because our own actions have fallen short of the glory of GOD. A Christian is now a righteous person because of faith in Jesus Christ and him alone.
Thank you all for reading. Share the post if you please.
God bless you all who are in Christ Jesus.
Eddie Fews