God has recently really challenged me about my authenticity
with Him and I wanted to share with you in hopes that you also may take a look
at your own walk with Christ. I'm tired
of claiming one thing and then living out another. I'm tired of being "ok" with things that the
Bible clearly tells us we should not be "ok" with. I'm tired of taking the Gospel for granted
and not focusing on what happened on the Cross daily. I am tired of thinking I
deserve certain things when in actuality, I deserve Hell and I have already
been given more than I can wrap my mind around through my salvation.   I realize I have far to go but I am
encouraged at the same time because His Spirit lives in me and continually teaches
me more about the One who died for my sins. 

There has been much talk this semester about lukewarm
Christianity and what it means to be truly in love with Christ. Revelations 3:15-16 says, "I know your deeds
that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So,
because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of
my mouth." The actual meaning for the
word spit here was to vomit. Stop for a
minute and picture Christ wanting to vomit you out of His mouth. The thought just seems awful. Matthew 25: 31-33 tells us that the Son of
Man will come in all His glory and will separate the sheep from the goats and
will put the sheep on his right and the goats on His left (paraphrase). Also in Matthew 7:21-23 we hear, " Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord
did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me,
you evil doers!" These words are harsh and we need to take them seriously. When that day comes that we meet Him
face-to-face, how can we be sure that He will not turn us away but welcome us
in with open arms? How can we be sure we are not goats?

I read somewhere that 70% of people who claim to be
Christians are nominal, or Christians by name only. It makes me wonder that out
of 100 people in my church, will 70 people be turned away because they never
really got it? Being a follower of
Christ is not just about saying a quick prayer of salvation and then continuing
to live as we were before. When we truly
understand what we are saved from, when we see the magnitude of the grace that
was poured out on us, when we realize that it was our sin that hung Jesus to
that Cross, can we say a prayer and not be changed? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says
that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new
has come! Sure, we may have given up the
"obvious sins" that we had in our lives but have our hearts really changed? Are
we living a life that appears "good" because of those around us or are we
striving for righteousness because we are so in love with God and everything He
has done for us? Do we attend church and Bible studies and feed the homeless
because we feel that's what we should do or are we chasing after Christ with
such passion that those things become naturally who we are? Are we reaching out
to others because that's the right "Christian" thing to do or do we truly want
everyone else to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes in knowing
Christ intimately?

If you have not read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, I highly
recommend checking it out! Chan goes into detail about what a lukewarm
Christian is like and what a person who is truly in love with Jesus is
like. I'm going to mention a few of his
examples and hopefully you are challenged as much as I was by reading these. 

• Lukewarm
  People attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them,
  what they believe "good Christians" do, so they go. 

• People
  who are obsessed with Jesus have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God's Word
  throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not
  enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will
  encounter so many distraction and alternative messages. 

• Lukewarm
  People give money to charity and to the church ...as long as it doesn't
  impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they
  do so. 

• People
  who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly without censure. 

• Lukewarm
  People tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in
  conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they
  care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance
  and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. 

• Obsessed
  people love those who hate them and who can never love them back. They aren't consumed with their personal
  safety and comfort above all else. They care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their
  own lives being shielded from pain and distress. 

• Lukewarm
  People don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be
  saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it;
  they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. 

• Lukewarm
  People are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ,
  yet they do not act. Lukewarm
  people call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His Followers. 

• People
  who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God
  by loving His people. They are characterized
  by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every
  other thing and every other being. They are raw with God and do not attempt to mask the ugliness of
  their sins or failures.

There were many other examples but these really seemed to
hit home with me. Are we living lives
that reflect Christ or are we living lives that look no different from those
who are not believers? If you were to die today, would Christ say, "Well done
good and faithful servant. You have fought the fight and I delight in you my
Bride!" or would you hear, " You claim to know me but I do not know you. You are but a goat pretending to be one of my
sheep. Away from me!?"

The only way for us to "truly get it" is to come before the
Cross every single day. Elisabeth Elliot
said, "Shall we forget the price our sinless Savior paid for our redemption? He
was captured, blindfolded, slapped, punched, whipped, stripped, crowned with
thorns, and nailed to a wooden cross with real iron nails. Think about that."
When we begin to see just how much God loves us, how can we not be captivated
by Him? The greatest thing about it all is that his love did not end on the
Cross! What Christ did for us over 2000 years ago is enough for us to praise
Him for the rest of our lives and for eternity but He is so gracious that He
does not stop there. He loves bringing delight to his children. Think about
your salvation and how much that truly means to you. Then think about how
blessed you are in everything that you have; your health, your family, your
home, the written Word, the list goes on an on. Lets take some time and praise God for all that He is and that His grace
is sufficient for us!