What Is A True Christian?

Are you a true Christian?  Are you a "nominal" or "professed" Christian?  Is your relationship to Jesus Christ real or is it formal?  Do you know what it really means to be a true Christian?  The times in which we live demand attention to this spiritual subject.

Being a Christian is popular today (the "in" thing) and hundreds are "coming forward", "giving themselves to Christ," claiming they're "saved," but how many really know what this involves?  How many truly know what the Bible teaches about this matter of salvation?  Do these new converts really know what Biblical salvation is all about?

So many attend some Christian crusade, camp meeting, or even local church, and while there, the invitation goes out to "give yourself to Christ," and in the emotional atmosphere, they are moved to a decision.  After all, their parents or friends have become (or have been) Christians and others are already kneeling at the altar, why not come themselves?

Each year hundreds of thousands such as these are encouraged, pushed, and pressured to make a "commitment," to choose Eternal Life rather than hell (the destiny of the mass population).  And though many are sincere in their motives in acceptance of the Gospel, others never understand the responsibilities and obligations that are required of one who professes to be a follower of Christ.  They claim they are "born again," but there are no fruits to show this to be a fact.

They may attend church, even regularly, but their religion or relationship to Jesus Christ is shallow, it is not real; it is a pretense and skin-deep feelings.  It is not something inward, solid, substantial, living, and lasting.

Let us first of all turn to the Parables that the Lord Jesus gave.  Observe how many of Jesus' parables are intended to put in strong contrast the TRUE BELIEVER and the mere "nominal" disciple or "professed" believer:  the Parable of the Sower of the Wheat and Tares; of the Draw-net; of the Two Sons; of the Wedding Garment; of the Ten Virgins; of the Talents; of the Great Supper; of the Pounds; and of the Two Builders.  All of these parables have one great point in common--they bring out in striking colors the difference between reality and unreality in relationship to Christ.  They all show the uselessness and danger of any Christianity, which is not real, thorough, and true.

Let us look, for example, at the language of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning the Scribes and the Pharisees.  We find that in one chapter, Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus denounces them as "hypocrites" many times, and with ringing words of severity.  What may we learn from these tremendously strong expressions?  How is it that our gracious and merciful Savior used such cutting words about people who at any rate were moral and decent than the publicans and harlots?

It is meant to teach us the exceeding abominableness of FALSE profession and mere OUTWARD religion in God's sight.  Open and reckless living and willful obedience to fleshly lusts are no doubt ruinous sins, if they are not given up, and confessed.  But there seems nothing, which is so DISPLEASING to Christ as hypocrisy and unreality; playing at Christianity, professing, but not taking it seriously and living it!

We must guard against "Cheap Grace" and "Easy Believeism", which is so prevalent today.  It is easier to become a Christian today and join a church, than it is to join a Masonic Lodge, the Elks, American Legion, or the Boy Scouts.  These secular organizations at least require certain pledges and obedience to rules to become a member.  But to become a Christian one merely has to claim they accept Christ as Savior, and they are baptized into the Church as a member.  The person who is told to accept Jesus Christ and allow Him to come into their heart, needs also to be told that they must also be obedient, they must be willing to repent, confess and forsake all sin, and surrender their life fully to God.  It is not enough just to state, "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior" and go on living the same old way.  It requires a complete change of living, our will for His Will, being willing to learn God's Will and obey it. 

When we read Jesus' words in Matthew 7:20-27 for instance, we learn that obedience is necessary.  We must read and study these other passages also, to learn what God expects of us:  Hebrews 3:6,15; Romans 11:22; 1st John 2:3-6; Colossians 1:23; 1st Corinthians 15:2; John 6:66; John 8:30,31; Luke 8:13; John 14:23; 1st John 1:6; John 15:14; Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 7:19; John 9:31 and  John 12:26.  We are warned over and over again in these Scriptures that obedience and submission to God's whole Will are NECESSARY.

For a person to say he or she believes on Christ without producing any visible evidence of belief is to pour confusion on unbelievers all around us. The unsaved are already blinded by Satan; and when Christians live inconsistently, the situation becomes even worse.  In our present day, we still need constant reminding that we who are in Christ must "be careful to maintain good works".  It is easy to TALK Christ, but the Word of God commands us to LIVE Christ!  James 1:22-25.  Mere lip profession is of no avail if the heart and life are not subject to the Word of God, Matthew 7:21-23.

We are NOT saved by our works, but good works are the test of reality.  He who is born of God will delight in obedience to the Father's Will, Ephesians 2:8-10.  There is only one way in which a man's sincerity can be proven, and that is by his practice!   Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds.  There is only one proof of love, and that proof is OBEDIENCE.  So often we confess God with our lips and deny Him with our lives!   It is not difficult to recite a creed, it is not hard to list the doctrines that we accept and claim to believe, but it is difficult to live the Christian life, without a full surrender and discipleship.  Faith without practice is a contradiction in terms, and love without obedience is an impossibility.

Some persons accept the Gospel quickly, and lay it aside just as quickly.  They live on their feelings rather than on their convictions.  How easy it is to be carried along on the wave of some other person's enthusiasm and to discover that ours has been a passion instead of a principle; ours has been an earthly love instead of a Heavenly devotion. 

Others have a love for God, but their love for the world is greater!  Another lack in this new manner of reaching converts is that FAITH is not properly explained.  In some cases people are taught that mere feeling is faith.  In others, they are taught that if they believe that Christ died for sinners they have faith.  At this rate, the very devils are believers, James 2:19.  The possession of inward joy and assurance is essential to believing, according to these teachers.  Yet assurance is certainly not of the essence of saving faith. 

There may be faith when there is not assurance.  To insist that all new believers must start rejoicing as soon as they believe is also unsafe.  Some, I am quite sure, will rejoice without believing, while others will believe while they cannot at once rejoice, Romans 9:16. 

To tell a new convert that he must have great and spectacular feelings of emotion, that he must speak in "tongues" or else he does not have the Spirit, is very wrong.  Such unhealthy excitement is above all things to be dreaded in Christianity, because it often ends in fatal, soul-ruining reaction and utter deadness.

There are two passages of Scripture that should be read and fully taught by all who preach the Gospel, especially by those who have anything to do with revivals, rallies and crusades: 

One passage is the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:1-23.  This particular parable is not recorded three different times without good reason--and deep meaning.  Jesus said that some of the seed would fall on thorny ground.  This refers to a person who is so busy with other things that he cannot be busy for Christ. 

Even good things can be dangerous as well as the bad, when these good things drain our energies and turn our hearts away from Christ, and full fellowship with Him.  A thorn is anything that "crowds" Jesus out of our lives.  Oh, many start on the journey, but they cannot make that complete break with the old life, and they fade away.

The other passage is that of our Lord's teaching about "Counting the Cost," Luke 14:25-33.  It is very noteworthy that Jesus did not, on this occasion, say anything to flatter these volunteers or encourage them to follow Him.  No, He saw what they needed.  He told them to stand still and "count the cost."

I believe that never since the Lord Jesus Christ left the earth has the need for such serious considerations in the minds of would-be Christians been as necessary as in this present day. 

Today, there is more light than there ever was, but less life.  There is more shadow, but less substance!  There is more profession today, but less sanctification!  When a man is a Christian in name only, and not in his inward feelings, and not in reality, in outward things only, in profession only, and not in practice, when it is without any influence on his heart or life--that man has what I call a "formal religion."

Becoming a Christian is much easier than it was in the past, for the standards have been lowered.  Instead of bringing the people up to the heights of the Scriptures, warning them to repent and give up their evil ways and habits; warning them to forsake and confess their sins and obey God's Will, the Gospel Message has been watered-down, brought down where it is acceptable to almost everyone. 

Too many religious teachers and groups, and even evangelists, give the impression that to be a Christian is after all not much different from being a non-Christian.  They do not want you to think that Christianity is a narrow life, but as something most attractive and wonderful and exciting and that you can come in, in crowds!

But this is NOT so, according to our Lord.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is too honest to invite anybody in that way.  It does not try to persuade us that it is something very easy, and that it is only later on that we shall begin to discover it is hard.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ openly and uncompromisingly announces itself as being something which starts with a narrow entrance, a strait gate, Luke 13:22-24; Matthew 7:13-14.

The first thing to leave behind is what is called "worldliness."  We leave behind the crowd, the way of the world.  You start making your way towards this strait and narrow gate, alone!  You cannot take the crowd with you into the Christian life: it inevitably involves a break.  You cannot live with one foot in the church and one foot in the world; it will never work!

The gate is wide that leads to the loss of the soul, and there is plenty of room on that road, and many go that way.  But the gate that leads to life is small and the road is narrow, and those who find it are few.  When you surrender your life to God completely, you become a Christian, something exceptional and unusual.  You are making a break with the world, and with the crowd, and with the vast majority of people.  It is inevitable!

The true Christian way of life is not popular; few desire to surrender their life fully to God, to give up all ways and plans of their own, their own will, for His Will! 

A non-Christian possesses indeed the form, or the husk, or sign of religion, but he does not possess its substance or its power.  Look for example at those thousands of people whose whole religion seems to consist in keeping religious ceremonies and ordinances.  They attend regularly on public worship.  They may go regularly to the Lord's Table.  But they never get any further!

They are not familiar with the Scriptures, and they take no delight in reading their Bible thoroughly and regularly.  Too many professed Christians are trying to live with one foot in the church and one foot in the world.  They do not separate themselves from the ways of the world.  They draw no distinction between Godliness and ungodliness in their friendships, or matrimonial alliances.  You can be around these professed Christians and be in close contact with them as neighbors, in the church or at work or business, and unless you were told differently, you would suppose they were still of the world.

They are "formal" Christians.  Their religion is a FORM.  One which consists in talk and high profession.   They know the theory of the Gospel with their heads, and they profess to delight in all the evangelical doctrines.  They can tell you how sound their views are, and how dark are the views of all who disagree with them.  But they never get any further.  When you examine their inner lives you find that they know nothing of practical Godliness.  They are neither truthful, nor charitable, nor humble, nor honest, nor kind-tempered, nor gentle, nor unselfish, nor honorable.  What shall we say about these people?  They are "professing" Christians with neither substance nor fruit in their life, and in God's sight they are not Christians at all!  Isaiah 1:10-15.

Christian "duties" are declared to be useless, even though they were ordered by God Himself, for God pronounces His own institutions to be useless WHEN they are used formally and without heart in the worshiper.  In fact they are worse than useless.  They are even offensive and hurtful.  It is not worth calling religion at all, Matthew 15:8.

For sinners of the worst description Jesus always had a word of kindness, and held out to them an open door.  But formalism?  Well, Jesus wanted us to know that it was a desperate disease, and it must be exposed in the severest language.

It is a clear warning to all who profess and call themselves Christians.  The Bible teaches us plainly that as we dread sin and avoid sin, so we ought to dread formality and avoid it.  If we love life, let us beware of formality in Christianity.  Nothing is so common.  It is one of the great family diseases of the whole race of mankind.  It is born with us, grows with us, and is never completely cast out of us until we die, Matthew 22:11-13.  Our Lord will not be deceived by a little cloak of outward Christianity.

The heart is the seat of true Christianity, and the true Christian is the Christian in heart! The heart is the real test of a man's character, Proverbs 23:7.  It is not what a man SAYS or what a man DOES which reveals himself to us.  He may say and do things that are right, but because of false and unworthy motives, his heart is altogether wrong.

No one ever lays hold on Christ and receives pardon and peace, UNTIL he believes with the heart.  It is heart-faith that justifies.  True Christians are holy because their hearts are interested.  They obey from the heart.  They do the Will of God from the heart.  Our Lord regards QUALITY far more than QUANTITY, Luke 8:15. 

Outward correctness without a right heart is neither more nor less than "Phariseeism."  The outward things of Christianity, baptism, the Lord's Supper, Church membership, almsgiving, and the like, will NEVER take any man's soul to Heaven, UNLESS his heart is right.  There must be inward things as well as outward, 1st Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6; and 6:15.

Too many today, who claim to love Christ, repeat the words, "I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" and they believe they are saved!  They never understand the obligations and responsibilities, 1st Corinthians 6:19,20.  Christ did not die on the Cross that you and I should take all the mercies of God and ignore the obligations. 

The Holy Bible is a book filled with truths concerning God's mercy and blessing, but it is also filled with obligations for the believer.   Whenever we ignore the Christian responsibilities, we deny the fact that we belong to God!  The purchase price Christ paid to buy us out of the slave market of sin has never been, nor will it ever be, duplicated, for this was the Blood of God offered for your sin and mine.

Such a price demands complete and wholehearted surrender to the ministry of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, Ephesians 5:18.  The word "filled" means to be "controlled."  We are to be controlled by the Spirit.  We must pray to the Lord, "Take what is Thine Own.  I ask this, that whenever a thing may be wrong, may it have no power or temptation over me.  Whenever a thing may be right, may it take no courage to do it."

We need to ask ourselves, and those who claim they are saved, should ask themselves, "Do I delight in the Will of God; do I love His Commandments?"  If I do not, there is no use professing to be a Christian.  There is no use in claiming you are saved, for in doing so you are only uttering a falsehood!

It is hypocrisy to take the ground of being a believer while at the same time by your works you deny your profession, 1st John 2:3-6.  Notice that this passage does not speak of knowing ABOUT Christ, but of KNOWING Christ.  This kind of knowledge can only come from the experience of personal contact with Him. 

Christianity is the relationship which offers the greatest privilege and brings with it the greatest obligation.  Happy is he who has learned to make Christ his "all," both for salvation and example.  Much time would be saved, and much sin prevented, if men would oftener ask themselves the question, "What would Christ have said and done, if He were in my place?" John 14:15,21,23; John 15:14. 

Cold must our hearts be if we do not hate sin and labor to get rid of it, though we may have to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye in doing it.

Living as a Christian, is as much different from living as a person, as a wife is different from living as a woman.  To be sure every wife is a woman, but not every woman is a wife!  No woman can ever live as a wife in herself, by her own wisdom and ability.  By no means can a woman alone live as a wife.  There must be a husband.  She is a wife only if she has a husband. 

Just so NO human being alone CAN be a Christian or live as a Christian.  To be sure, every Christian is a human being, but not every human being is a Christian, Romans 8:9; 1st John 5:12. 

Becoming a Christian is much like getting married.  The basic issues of living do not change.  The married person must work for food, secure clothing and shelter, and must live as a neighbor in his society, just the same after his marriage as before.  The pattern does not actually change.  But now there is more power to do these things: additional power, that is, more than his own. 

The married person is not alone, even so with the Christian.  The believing person receives comfort and encouragement from the Lord, which provide strength and assurance, which in turn lead into victory and glory, Nehemiah 8:10.  Another way of describing the matter of becoming a Christian is to say that it is a "new birth."

We often behold Christians who were once strong believers, and many of them have gone back into the world.  What about them?  l am persuaded that such persons were never saved in the first place, never truly born again.  This is because many professed Christians do not take their surrender seriously.  If people would begin the Christian life right they would not be so likely to go back, and if they have begun it the wrong way, they had better begin it over again God’s way.

The right way to begin, as shown us by God's own Word is:  

First, to accept Jesus Christ as Savior; that is, to believe God's testimony concerning Him, that He bore all our sins in His own body on the Cross; and to trust God to forgive you, not because of anything that you have done, but because of what Christ did when He made full atonement for your sins in His own body on the Cross, 1st Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-6.

Paul wrote to the Galatians: "Now Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law's  condemnation, by Himself becoming a curse for us when He was crucified.  For the Scripture is plain:  Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree."

Second, to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and King.  This is where most professed Christians fail.  They think all that is necessary is to speak some few magic words and they are saved, born again.  But their surrender is not deep, it is not genuine, they have not truly repented and given up the past, the flesh, the world and Satan.  They have not given up the self life, but are still depending on works of the flesh, they have not put ALL on the altar. 

They are unwilling to do God's Will even if it means death, like Daniel and the three Hebrew children did.

To accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and King involves the utter surrender of YOUR thoughts to Him to teach and train you, it means turning your whole life over to Him to govern and control, it means the death of the SELF LIFE.

You must put yourself completely at His disposal, being WILLING to meet every circumstance of life as His Word directs, and asking forgiveness for your past failures.  You must not only sing with your lips but make it a fact in your life—“I SURRENDER ALL." 

This lack of ABSOLUTE surrender at the time of starting the Christian life is the cause of a large measure of backsliding, and results in a person only fooling themselves into THINKING they are saved!

Third, the thing one must do, is to accept Christ as the risen Son of God who has all power in Heaven and on earth, and to trust Him to keep you day by day from falling, and from all the power of sin and temptation. 

Jesus said, "Full authority in Heaven and on the earth has been given to me."  Hebrews 7:25 and Jude 24.

Having begun right most of the battle is won, but you must go right on in obedience to Christ.  Continuance in the Christian life is not at all a question of your strength, but of Christ's strength. 

If you have begun the Christian life once and failed, begin it again and succeed.  Many of the strongest Christians today are those who were once backsliders.  So let us be warned, WE MUST BE SINCERE.  It must be a once-and-for-all surrender; we cannot accept Christ and still try to hold on to the world!

But we must understand that many today believe they are saved, and on their way to Heaven, when they are not.  They profess great assurance, to think they are saved when they are not.  There are some who profess great assurance who ought not to have it---those whose lives do not correspond.

This class is represented by the man at the wedding feast who did not have on a wedding garment.  They are like some lilies, some flowers--fair to see, but foul of smell.  They are dry shells with no kernel inside.  The crusaders of old used to wear a painted cross upon their shoulders.  So there are a good many nowadays who take up crosses that sit just as lightly--mere things of ornament--passports to respectability, cheap make-believers, for a struggle that has never been made, and a crown that has never been striven.

You may very often see dead fish floating with the stream, but you never saw a dead fish swimming against it.  Well, that is your false believer; that is the hypocrite.  Profession is just floating down the stream, but CONFESSION is swimming against it, no matter how strong the tide.  The sanctified man and the unsanctified one look at Heaven very differently.  The unsanctified man simply chooses Heaven in preference to hell.  He thinks that if he must go to either one he would rather try Heaven.

The unregenerate man likes Heaven better than hell, but he likes this world the best of all.  When death stares him in the face, then he thinks he would like to get to Heaven.  Does that remind you of someone you know in this life that you have met?

The true believer prizes Heaven above everything else, and is always willing to give up the world. 

Salvation is indeed free, but God cannot give it to us apart from our acceptance of Christ by faith.  Salvation being free is not because it is cheap.  To provide it God had to give His Son to die for our sins.  It is free because it is paid for by the Precious Blood, the Atoning Blood of Christ.  Therefore, there is nothing for us to do to MERIT salvation; that would be impossible for us.  We receive it as a gift, but on the condition of faith, which implies repentance for sin and a willingness to submit our lives to Christ in the obedience of faith.

Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10; Isaiah 53:6; James 2:10,11.  All have sinned.  But God cannot overlook sin.  It violates His Holy nature.  It is an offense to His character.  God is not only Holy, He is just.  In Divine justice, He must judge all sin.  God, though, is also love and is filled with mercy and compassion.  Because He loved sinners and wanted to be merciful He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in the sinner's place, yours and mine.  All our guilt was placed on Him, and He took the judgment for our sins when He died for us, the just for the unjust.  On this basis, God can justly forgive our sins.  God is in the forgiving business.  He wants to forgive you of all your transgressions, but He will only do so if you receive by faith His Son as your substitute.  That is what it means to be saved, Acts 16:31.

In addition, the Risen Christ imparts to us His Holy Spirit.  What we cannot do in our own strength, namely, overcome sin, the Spirit of God whom the Risen Christ gives to dwell in us accomplishes it for us, Romans 8:1-4. 

The way to get victory day by day over sin is to come to God conscious of our own inability to solve our own problems, and to stop trying to fight sin in our own strength.  We look to the risen Christ, believing that He has all power in Heaven and on earth, and to trust Him to do it, Romans 5:10.

Furthermore, you must surrender your whole life to the control of the Holy Spirit.  Ask the Lord to come in and take possession of all your desires, all your purposes, all your plans, all your thoughts.  He will do it!  He will bear His own fruit in your life, Galatians 5:16,22,23. 

It is obvious that many Christians have not surrendered unconditionally to the mastery of the Lord Jesus Christ.  They have not crucified self, they have not exchanged their will for His Will, they have surrendered their sins to Christ, but not their wills!

Tell the Lord that you will now turn it over to Him for time and Eternity.  Tell the Lord who saved you that He may have all that you are for His complete mastery, to use for His Glory.  Every habit of your life, every ambition, every hope, every loved one, every possession, your entire "self"---all these He must have if He is to make Himself not only your Savior but the Lord of your life. 

If you have never made this kind of surrender then you are still a "natural man."  You need to be born again.  You need the life of God in your soul.  If you are still carnal, you are controlled by the self-life rather than by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Self is the greatest problem.  It is the constant enemy that never rests.  But there is victory over the self-life, 2nd Corinthians 5:15.  The Cross contradicts all fleshly doing and reveals a Divine dying.  Christ came not to put new wine into old skins.  He came not to put new cloth to an old garment, but to put off completely, the old man, Romans 6:4-10; Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:9,10.

Sink your life into His, and let Him be your life, your light, your victory, your all!   Remember, your living, crucified HEAD is in Heaven. Head and members are one.  That is a fact of life.  You and I are "bone of His Bone."  Let the glory of this vital union with Christ grip you, and you will never be the same again.  When Christ comes into our life, He must "take over" entirely; and He is on a sit-down strike until He starves the "ME" out of self.  The Cross must bring me to an exciting "yet not I," Galatians 2:20.  Love for Christ makes self-surrender easy.  Love for self makes it impossible!

We must all choose between God and satan, good or evil, right or wrong, God or mammon, Heaven and hell.  People today, even Christians, have idols.  Not gods like long ago, but they worship money, wealth, pleasure, fashion, worldly honor and prosperity, material comforts, and a lot of other things.  Some idols people worship are their work or business.  These idols are given more importance in a man's life, than are righteousness, honesty, truth, and any of the fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5;16,24. 

The worship of money, sports, material possessions, even the worship of other human beings is idolatry, and in time, they will ruin any individual or nation.  The only way to escape this danger is to worship the true God, and to "seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness," Matthew 6:33.

It is not enough to say, "I accept Jesus Christ into my heart, as my Lord and Savior," you have to be willing to do His Will in all things as taught in the Scriptures. 

Have you really and truly committed everything to God?  Is everything really in His hands?  Are you fully trusting in Him, and Him alone? Jeremiah 17:7,8; Psalm 50:15.  Have you turned everything over to Him? Are you willing for God to have His way in your life?  Have you so yielded to God that you will accept His Way as the BEST Way, even though it goes against your own will, and what you consider best for yourself? 

Is your greatest desire and delight to be forever set free from the cravings of earthly desires?  Do you have such a longing to be pure in your every thought, in your every word, and in your every deed, that you feel that perfection in holiness would be to you the perfection of happiness?

The Bible teaches that all, every single one must come, repent, receive Christ, believe and be baptized.  Receiving Christ is letting Him into my consciousness to influence and affect me.  Believing in Him is a matter of accepting what He has done.  His suffering and death on the Cross, His shedding His Blood for me.  Receiving Him is a matter of accepting Him and trusting Him to come into my soul, Revelation 3:20.

From these words it should be understood that God actually comes to my heart when I am a believer.  There is no way of opening the heart of man from the outside, you can beat and pound on that door; you can plead and hammer all you like.  There is no way of opening the heart of a man from the outside.  God knocks at the door, but the man himself must be the one to open it.

Perhaps we should also remember that I do not have to clean up inside before I open the door.  If I wait until I get things clean, I will never open it!  Christ is the only One who can clean you up.  When the Lord Jesus comes in, the Grace of God, the Kindness of God, the Love of God, the Power of God becomes active in that human soul.  God lifts, carries, and keeps those who let Him have His way, those who surrender fully to His Will.

Receiving Christ is not something that man needs to learn to do or something he must strive to do.  Man needs only to open his heart, surrender to His Will, let Christ come in, and receive Him, Philippians 2:13.  There is no such thing as right living without faith and believing.  A special faith in our Lord Jesus Christ's work and office, are the life, heart and mainspring of the Christian soldier's character.

A Christian sees by faith an unseen Savior, who loved him, gave Himself for him, paid his debts for him, bore his sins, carried his transgressions, rose again for him, and appears in Heaven for him as his Advocate at the Right Hand of God, 1st John 2:1.

The believer sees Jesus, and clings to Him.  Seeing this Savior and trusting in Him, he feels peace and hope, and willingly does battle against the foes of his soul.  He sees his own many sins--his weak heart, a tempting world, a busy devil.

If we were to look at these enemies in our own strength, we would despair of ever being victorious on our own.  We must see where our power to overcome comes from, see our mighty Savior, an interceding Savior, a sympathizing Savior--His Blood, His Righteousness, His Everlasting Priesthood, and we believe that all of this is our own.

We must see Jesus and cast our whole weight on Him.  Seeing Him we cheerfully fight on, with a full confidence that we will come out victorious, because of our union with Christ, Romans 8:37.

Get those words!  "More than conquerors!"  Who can be "More" than a conqueror?  The person who CANNOT be conquered!  A little waste will soon exhaust a cistern, but a living fountain with sources deep under the hills, cannot be dried up, though it may for a time be choked up, John 4:14.  In all these adverse things Christ's true followers "are more than conquerors," not in their own strength, but "through Him that loved” them.

We must consider that our old self was crucified with Christ and that in the Cross we have passed into the glorious liberty of His resurrection. The death that Jesus died was a death to sin once for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to God.  So we must regard ourselves as dead to sin and self, but as living to God through our union with our Savior. The glorious fact to remember is this:  THE SELF-LIFE MAY NOT BE DEAD, BUT WE ARE DEAD TO IT!

If you are trusting Jesus Christ, you are born from above.  If you are born from above, you will be trusting Jesus Christ, John 1:12,13.  The born-again believer has a burning compulsion to follow Christ and to do His Will.  Do you really know the Lord?  Have you met Him?  He is ready to receive you, 1st Kings 18:21.  Come the Lord's way:  Turn to Christ!  Maybe you are going thru a hard time or battle, due to unbelief or sin.  It is possible that the Devil has blinded you to the fact that Jesus Christ suffered and died as your substitute, and in His sufferings and death on the Cross, purchased freedom from all these works of Satan, Isaiah 53:4-6.  Christ died for me; that is my hope of Eternal Life.  The Bible states, “There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”

When should we seek the Lord?  Now—today!  Will there ever be a better time?  Will there ever be a better opportunity?  The Bible says, "Seek the Lord WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND."  Will Christ ever be more willing to save than now?  Jesus says, "Come, for ALL things are now ready."

I speak especially to the young men and women, and ask, "My friend, is it not the best time for you to seek the Kingdom of God?"  Seek the Lord, you can find Him now.  Can you say that you will find Him tomorrow?  You do not know what tomorrow may bring forth, Christ could come tonight and you would be lost for eternity.  Don't let that happen, please!  Do you know that every time the clock ticks, a soul passes away?  Is this not the best time for you to seek the Kingdom of God?  I say to each one of you this day, "The Lord wants YOU."  He wants all of us.  Seek first the Kingdom of God, and seek Him while He may be found.  Don't put it off.  Call upon Him while He is near.  And if you call upon Him in real earnestness, He will hear that call.

I warn you; you may call too late.  I have no doubt that those who would not pray when Noah was building the Ark prayed when the flood came, but their prayer was not answered.  I have no doubt that when Lot went out of Sodom, the people of Sodom cried to God, but it was too late, and God's judgment swept them from the earth.  Beloved, it is not too late now, but it may be at twelve o'clock tonight.  I cannot find any place in the whole Holy Bible where I can say you may call tomorrow.  I am not justified in saying that.

The Bible does state, "Behold NOW is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation."  Those men of Jerusalem, what a golden opportunity they had, with Christ in their midst!  We see the Son of God weeping over Jerusalem, His heart bursting with grief for the city as He cried, "0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

Jesus could look down 40 years, and see Titus coming with his army, and besieging that city.  They called upon God then, but it was too late, and eleven hundred thousand people perished!   Now is a time of mercy.

There may be someone reading this right now, whose days of grace may be few, to someone who may be snatched away very soon, who may never hear another Gospel sermon, who may be hearing the "LAST CALL."  My friend, be wise!  Make up your mind that you will seek the Kingdom of God now.  The Bible says, "Behold, now is the accepted time: behold NOW is the day of Salvation."  (2nd Corinthians 6:2)

Christ is inviting you to come.  "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."  Oh, may we all find rest in Christ now!  Do not let anything divert your mind, but make up your mind this very hour that you will settle this great question of eternity.  Have you accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as your only Savior?  Then claim your Eternal Salvation!

We pray that these Holy Words from God will change your life and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your daily walk with the LORD so that you can begin to receive the abundant blessings and protections that  are ours through the Precious Blood that our Lord Jesus Christ shed for you and me at Calvary!  Amen.

To learn more on what our LORD Jesus Christ has done for you, click here

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We are always glad to give Scriptural advice and counsel to those who desire to write us about their problems, and to remember their requests for prayer in our services.

In addition, we publish sermons on other subjects, which take up in detail teaching on how to deal with God successfully and be delivered out of all our troubles.  We will gladly send them to those who desire them for their own use or for others.

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Produced by God’s Grace:

FIRST CENTURY GOSPEL CHURCH

Box 99, Pottersville, NJ  07979  USA

e-mail: FCGCUSA@yahoo.com

 July 4, 1999; Rvsd: 6/25/04