There is a lack of understanding by many Christians about what it means to make a commitment to Christ as outlined in the Bible. So many of our church leaders today only teach what Christ can do for us and leaves out what God asks of us, it is a two way street. It is easy for us to go to church and feel good about being a Christian; in fact it is an accepted practice in today’s society. However making a commitment is different than just going to church and proclaiming our Christianity. Making a commitment to the Lord takes understanding of what He expects and then following through on what it says. Christ teaches us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul, but what does that mean? One of the clearest ways to show love for the Lord is through our service to those in need. So doing for those in need should be a primary focus of those who say they love the Lord and that is just not being taught by many of our church leaders. It is not possible for a Christian to say they love the Lord without actually doing as He commands? In 1John 2:3-6 it says, “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

So often our church leaders will pick and choose scripture they think people want to hear and are not challenging the Christian of the importance of service as a way of showing love to the Lord. Our church leaders do not want to upset the body by challenging them to do too much and there by make them uncomfortable in church, but they have an obligation to preach the full truth from our Lord.

I have heard it quoted that 70% of our country proclaims to be a Christian. Let’s assume half of them are not practicing or even care about a close relationship with Christ. So if we are told the greatest commandment is to love the Lord and we do this through taking care of the less fortunate, then there should be 35% of the country taking care of the poorest 10%. That means there would be more than 3 people taking care of each of the poorest people in the US. This is not happening for 2 reasons. First many of our church leaders are not teaching what I believe is a primary focus of Christ’s gospel, or in other words, putting forth false teachings. Then secondly, the Christian is not making the effort to know and understand what the Bible teaches.

Another verse that applies is Ephesians 2:10 that says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” In order for us to do the works God has prepared for us, we must make a commitment to pray and understand what God has for us to do and then do it. We must know what God commands of us, follow those commandments and produce fruit. In turn we will be blessed beyond our greatest imagination. Then as you study God’s Word, challenge your church leaders as well. What they say may sound biblical and holy, but read between the lines to see if they are only saying what everyone wants to hear in an effort to maximize the Sunday collection.

In previous articles we discussed being born again, becoming a new creation with Christ in our life. For some of us, we grew up in church and have heard about the saving grace of our Lord since birth and others have only recently come to believe in Jesus Christ. Regardless of where you are on the path of maturing faith, you have not only received salvation but also the power over sin. Having said this, it is so much easier said than done to live a righteous life, following in the footsteps of Christ. Especially since we live in a world that tempts us to live other wise.

As part of our commitment to Christ, we must make a conscious effort to set our minds on the ways of the Lord and our actions will naturally follow. When our minds are tuned into the teachings of Christ and we have a true desire to live as a Christian, it is much easier when faced with the many choices we face each day to make decisions according to God’s will. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 we are told “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Your actions and words are a result of what is in you heart and mind. This is why it is so important to pray regularly and read your Bible or some type of devotional everyday. At times I am critical of our churches not teaching the full Word of God, but being in church is also very important, being around like minded people.

We are constantly hit with things that are contrary to the will of God and people who do not share this same desire to live as Christ taught. At work, at school and then on television we see all kinds of situations that challenge our sense of right and wrong. That is why it is important to understand what the Bible calls sin so we can make a conscious effort to turn from it. One of my favorite verses says, “Listen much, speak little and be slow to anger” and if we could only do this, you can imagine how much easier it would be to love our fellow human being. Remember the parable Christ told about the seed that fell on various types of soil? Some of it fell on rocky soil and others among the thorns (the seed being the Word of God), both of which were initially accepted, but when the pressures of life got to them, they died.

As Christians, we have the power over sin to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, but it is not automatic. Christ is looking for a commitment from us and through our action and words; God will know what is in our hearts. Here is a great verse that sums up this concept. 1 Peter 1:13 “…prepare your minds for action: be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed…do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” Notice in this passage, there are great rewards for you in the form of grace, but it is full of action the Christian needs to take. “Prepare your minds, be self-controlled, set your hope and do not conform” are all actions we are told to perform in our journey of maturing faith.

In the book of Matthew 13:44-46, we are told the kingdom of heaven is like a hidden treasure buried in a field or a fine pearl. It says, based on human standards, if either of these were found it is only natural we would go sell everything we owned to obtain them. The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure or fine pearl, but it is offered to everyone for the taking. However, how many of us are ready to give of ourselves fully to obtain the kingdom of heaven? How many of us want to keep our lives the way they are, attending church and say we are Christians?

When we turn our lives over to Christ, it cannot be a halfhearted effort. It is a full commitment to Him, a decision we should not make out of emotion or without understanding what we are doing. The rewards and benefits are far greater than anything we could possibly imagine, but it is not something we can obtain by casually walking into it or by giving it a test drive. God is offering us eternal life, but we have to make the decision to jump in with both feet.

The analysis of maturing in faith is so much like that of a child maturing to become an adult. A child will act like a child, but it is their parents that teaches and molds them as they learn to make good choices. The Holy Spirit is there to guide the Christian as they learn to become a mature person of faith. The difference though is as a new Christian, our experiences up until we accepted Christ was completely dependent on the ways of the world. This is especially true for new adult believers because they have years of learning how to be successful in today’s society, how important it is to follow the American dream of having the largest house and nicest car in the neighborhood. As a newborn Christian, our sins are wiped clean. The choices we make on a daily basis after this point will be governed by either the love of the Lord in our hearts or our old worldly wisdom that we thought was so important.

Following the right path or in other words, the ways of the Lord is not automatic once we decide to follow Christ. We are called to be obedient, serve the less fortunate, and love our neighbors, but it does not just happen. It takes time and a desire to unlearn the ways of the world and live by faith to trust the ways of the Lord. Once our sins are forgiven, we are given power over sin and we have the ability to do the right thing. But as creatures of free will, we still have to choose to make the right choices on a daily basis.

I do not believe God expects us to sell everything we have to find the hidden treasure or the fine pearl, but as we strive to become like Christ, we are to give ourselves fully to Him. God is looking for a full commitment to His plan for our lives.

The Bible is full of scripture that tell us our salvation is a free gift of God and our actions cannot get us to heaven because of our sinful nature.  One example is Romans 10:9-10 where we are told if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart, we will be saved.  Another tells us if we knock, the door to salvation will be opened for us. It is wonderful to know the Lord is waiting on us to ask Him to be apart of our lives.  Then because Christ died on the cross, our sins are wiped clean. 

However, what happens next is all up to us.  In Matthew 13:3-9 Jesus tells us the parable of the farmer sowing seed.  Parables are used through out the New Testament and the meanings can sometimes be interpreted differently, but in this case Christ explains the parable so there can be no misunderstanding.  If you remember, the seed is the Word of God and some falls on the path, some on rocky places, and some among the thorns and of course some fell on the good soil, growing to produce fruit.  The seed that fell on the path was immediately eaten by the birds or rejected by those that heard it.  However, the seed that fell on the rocky ground and among the thorns was received and sprouted.  But like the people hearing His Word who initially get excited about it will often fall away because of pressures of this world and were really not that serious.  God did His part by forgiving our sins and the plants grew to a point, but because there was no commitment, they withered and died.  God did not just allow those plants to be small and unfruitful, but they died.

The seed that fell on the good soil is like someone who makes a full commitment to follow and obey God’s commandments.  Our salvation is so much more than perfect attendance at our CCD classes or an emotional night at a revival.  It may very well start there, but the Lord is looking for a commitment when we invite Him into our life.  We are given power over sin, but we have to make a conscious effort to turn from sin in order to experience the fruits of the Spirit.

This parable may sound like we must earn our way into heaven, but it is not so.  The Bible may sound like it contradicts itself and we may not understand all God wishes us to know.  However, this is the Word of God and Luke tells us heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s words never will.  Then in 2 Timothy we are told “All scripture is God-breathed…”, so we have to be very careful not to pick and choose which scriptures we quote.  So often our churches are guilty of not telling the whole story, but this came directly from the mouth of our Lord and Savior.  We worship a loving Lord, but just like our earthly parents who will often ask up to behave in a certain way, so does our heavenly Father, expecting us to turn from sin.