What happens when a Christian lives like the world?

You see, when questions like these are asked "What happens when a Christian lives like the world", it is necessary to go back to the basics. Who or what is a Christian? Well known people like Don Lemon who is homosexual and "married" claims to be a Christian. Others like Steve Harvey believes that Jesus is not the only way to salvation yet professes to be a Christian. Even the most venerated of all black people Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who was a Baptist preacher did not believe in the central and core doctrines of the Christian Faith like the resurrection of Jesus on which our faith rests. Long time word of faith teacher Kenneth Copeland said that when Jesus was dying on the cross He took on the nature of Satan, went to hell and was beat up by the devil and demons for three days.

Think about the implications of Kenneth's heterodoxy. He said Jesus was possessed by the devil while dying on the cross! Kenneth Copeland is and has been a false teacher for decades and must be marked and avoided (Romans 16:17-18).

Simply put a Christian is someone who has placed their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins to receive eternal life. Also, a Christian is a disciple of Christ. A real Christian realizes that Jesus is the only way to be saved. Jesus said of Himself, "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). Peter in Acts 4:12 said, "There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved"

The prophet Isaiah said regarding the Lord, "And understand that I AM HE. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior (emphasis added). I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there is no foreign god among you" (Isaiah 43:10b-12). You can read my article on what is a Christian by clicking here: 

https://gospelofrepentance.blogspot.com/2023/09/what-is-christian.html 

To be honest the word Christian and Christianity does not have a glowing reputation because of what has been done in the name of Christianity. Slavery has been justified in the name of Christianity. So were the Crusades from the 11th to 13th centuries. Those that fought in the crusades against Muslims to recover the Holy Land of Jerusalem were promised they would receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven if they did so by Pope Urban II.

So when people claim they are Christians and live like hell, the authentic gospel fades in the shadows so much so when those of us who declare the actual truth of the scriptures, it is rejected. The Bible way is the narrow way and for most who claim to be Christians feel that narrow way is suffocating and want nothing to do with it. For many the Word of God is legalistic. What has been the fall out of this? The social gospel has taken center stage sharing its deceptive shine with the prosperity and political (or what I call the grievance) gospel. Guess what, although the aforementioned are popular, they are fake gospels. Remember, gospel means good news. At the end of the day none of these are the good news - they cannot save the soul.

It is essential to carefully and Biblically analyze who a Christian is by the scriptures.

Is a person a Christian if they habitually sin and never repent yet they claim to still be a Christian?

The writer would argue that person does not know what a Christian is. We see this all the time with celebrities who will do the most heinous things on stage and screen. Yet when they win an award, they have the audacity to thank Jesus Christ with tears in their eyes. That is hypocrisy. Remember, we all can see the difference between a good tree and a bad one. Every tree bears fruit after its own kind. For those of us who are living faithfully by the Bible, how should we address this? Should we condemn them to hell? Absolutely not! Is that where they are going if they do not genuinely repent? Unfortunately and tragically yes. You see we all have short term memories. That is why we need to continually feed on God’s word so we can remain spirit filled. The Psalmist said it best, “Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you" (emphasis added, Psalm 119:11) . The power of God’s word convicts and compels us to successfully conquer sin in ours lives. Without it, we are sitting ducks for the devil’s attacks. That’s a shame, many are going to spiritual war naked - that person is defeated before the battle begins.

A real Christian is always thankful and remembers what Jesus has done for them. As a result, when they sin, they're devasted and will go to the Lord and humbly ask for forgiveness so their fellowship with the Father is not broken. A person who claims to be a Christian yet continues in sin without any godly repentance should be very careful. 1) They may be a fake Christian and that is why they live ungodly although they attend church and are in the choir so they "feel" saved. Its an emotional-gospel experience for the hour. Or 2) They may be a Christian, but their lives betray their profession of faith; they are in a pattern of sin which they know is wrong. If they are not careful, God may give them over to the devil (1 Corinthians 5:5). You see the difference between the two is the fake Christian does not feel bad about their sin, so they continue in it. The second person knows their sin is wrong, but has decided to give in to their sinful desires and fulfill their lustful flesh.

Both of these types of people are hypocrites and makes Jesus and His church look bad to the world. All the more reason for those that are faithful to teaching and preaching and living the truth have to always do damage control. Its not pleasurable but it is crucial to correct those in the Church that are wrong. This always causes dissension between mature and immature Christians.

How should Christians live in this world of sin?

The Bible commands us that although we are in the world we are not be of it (John 17:14-16). Believers are members of the ekklesia which means called out ones. We morally must practice separatism - obey God's commands and disobey the world's commands that contradict the Lord's. This makes us hated and a target of all who oppose the truth. Jesus warned His disciples of this reality ahead of time (John 15:19). Living counter culture takes courage and strength. Declaring the gospel will guarantee you enemies. Why? Because men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). We are commanded not to love the world - that is the evil godless system. If we do, the love the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15).

To put it simply and bluntly, love what God loves and hate what God hates.

God, Jesus, and the Bible are under constant attack. We must defend them all. It is our charge and one we must be honored to be enlisted in the war for truth. The writer describes it as a glorious burden because it honors God (Matthew 11:28-30). The more vigorous the devil is with his lies, the even more determined we must be in declaring the truth to quench his fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).

The faithful Christian will be one where we always speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). What does that mean? It means we imitate our Lord Jesus. We never deviate from the truth of those who need to hear it, at the same time have a burden for the souls of all. It is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance of sin and salvation (Romans 2:4). The most important thing of all is for someone to repent of their sins and receive salvation. Everything else is secondary - social justice, taking care of material needs and political correctness. Nothing else matters if the person dies and loses their soul in a eternal hell.

How Does Jesus Treat Sinners?

The first question we need to answer is this: Why did Jesus come to the earth in the first place? Jesus answered that question when He was talking to the tax collector Zacchaeus in Luke 19:10, "to seek and save those who are lost." Jesus also told Nicodemus that the Father so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but will have eternal life (John 3:16).  

So for the love of God toward His creation is why Jesus was sent. Jesus was sent by God to rescue us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). To this very minute that message is lost to most of the world. In other words, they may be hearing the message, but they are not listening to it and allowing it to transform their lives - it's mental assent[i] at best, and downright rejection of gospel truth at the worst.

The first thing Jesus did was He identified with sinners. How? He was baptized by John. When John was baptizing in the Jordan River, people were publicly confessing their sins. John explains the reason for this: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).

To baptize means to dip or immerse. Water baptism is symbolic. When one is placed under water that signifies death and burial. When one is taken out of the water that signifies resurrection life. Today when a person is baptized, it is not nor has it ever been for the purpose of salvation, but one is declaring publicly that they are identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some have called water baptism an outward sign of an inward grace. We get baptized because we are saved, not to get saved. It is a sacrament of the Church along with communion.

For another insight on baptism, click on the link below.[ii]

After Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness by the devil, He immediately begins to preach the gospel of repentance in Galilee. In Matthew 4:17 He commands everyone to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus is fulfilling the mission of why He was sent by the Father.

Jesus goes deeper into how we are to conduct ourselves toward God and one another when He preaches in depth on the sermon on the mountain in Matthew chapters 5-7. 

Jesus had compassion on all sinners

A major element of Jesus’ ministry was healing and performing miraculous signs. This was so he could prove He was sent from the Father God. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. He raised the dead. He fed the multitudes with a few loaves and fish. He walked on water. He commanded the stormy seas to be quiet and be at peace and they obeyed. He escaped death numerous times. The one thing that people did not see but heard was that He forgave their sins. This caused great controversy with the religious leaders because they knew only God could forgive sins (Mark 2:5-6). They were never going to believe and accept that Jesus was God in the flesh. He didn’t come from a noble birth. As far as they were concerned, He was the son of Joseph a carpenter from Nazareth (Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3).

You see Jesus never avoided talking about our sins, but at the same time because of His unfailing love, He forgives all who genuinely repents of them. In John 6:37 Jesus says, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one that comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” The clear implication here is those that come to Christ have acknowledged their unworthiness and are placing their lives at the throne of His mercy. In Hebrews 4:16 we read these powerful words, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

There is NOT a moment in our lives where we do not need the Lord’s mercy and grace.

The idea that God incarnate would dwell with sinful mankind for any length of time is mind boggling to the writer; and He did it for three years! This speaks to the transcendent love of our Lord for His creation who is hopelessly lost without Him. Our sin state is so depraved, that God the Father punished His Son instead of us. Why (Isaiah 53:5;2 Cor 5:21)?

That was the predetermined plan before the beginning of time. The Bible says that Jesus is the lamb slain before the world began (Revelation 13:8). That is predestination language, God’s love language. It was always in the plan of God to save those who would repent and believe in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.  In order for man to inherit eternal life, Jesus had to die. 

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Romans 5:20-21 says where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God’s grace is infinitely greater than man’s sin. But this grace is only available to those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ, alone. 

Jesus loves sinners

Many have asked the question why would God create man if He knew we would fall into sin? This is a valid question. The easy answer is to say that "we do not know" why God created us since He knew in advance it man would sin. The more complex answer that I believe is Biblically supported is that God ordained all things ultimately for His own glory - even the moral fall of mankind. Think about it, if man never fell into sin, we never know and experience the love and grace of God the Father in Christ Jesus to forgive sins when one repents. When anyone stops being a slave to sin and becomes a slave to righteousness, that gives glory to God. There are many things about God we do not understand; we are finite. God is infinite. God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. God's ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).  So it seemed to serve God’s glory best to allow man the choice to choose good or evil, to obey or disobey. Adam and Eve chose to disobey and plunge the human race into ruin.

We cannot lay the blame of man's sin at God's doorstep because He made us. God made mankind perfect (Genesis 1:26-31). We all are free moral agents and we know right from wrong even at a very young age. The person that crashes their car into a light pole because they were driving to fast and drunk cannot rightfully blame the manufacturer or the dealership for their accident. They have to take responsibility for their actions. Can the person who dies of lung cancer after smoking cigarettes for 50 years family members blame and sue the tobacco company when the smoker knew the risks? Can the murderer who kills an old lady with a gun blame and take the gun manufacturer to court although he pulled the trigger of his own free will?

We all know the answers to these questions.

So by allowing sin to exist, God demonstrated the wonders of His grace in a way He never would have been able to had man never sinned. Please understand me, that does not mean God wanted sin to occur; He commands us not to sin. But the Lord knowing our evil nature provided the only way for us to conquer our sins. through the shed blood of Christ. This way, God glorifies Himself in His love toward us. Jesus said to His disciples, “No greater love is there than this, that one would lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13).  

The lengths the Lord has gone through to secure our salvation should humble any heart and cause us to lift our hands and praise God in private and public. To reject His love is the ultimate blasphemy against the Lord. When one rejects God’s love, the only thing left for that person is God’s just wrath.

The Lord Jesus’ arms are still stretched out wide to receive all who genuinely come to Him. Think about it? With all the rising evil in our world today, why would anyone refuse to come to Jesus? If your life is a mess, repent of your sins today, trust in what He did for your sins on the cross, so that your soul is saved. Receiving Jesus does not necessarily mean your life here on earth will get better, it may get worse naturally speaking. So now one may be asking, “Then why trust in Christ if my life will not improve?” The fact that you are saved and your sins and are forgiven is ultimate victory. We do not have long to be here. This world is passing away so don’t focus on the here and now to the point that it paralyses you with fear. If you become very wealthy, to do not let that lull you to sleep that you are ineffective for the kingdom. We as believers are looking toward a new heavens and earth where righteousness dwells forever (2 Peter 3:13). We must focus on the eternal, not the temporal (2 Corinthians 4:18). 

Stay vigilant! You're an ambassador for Christ now. Run your race with joy.

You must be willing to lose this world and have your soul saved rather than gain this world and lose your soul (Matthew 16:26).

Faith, forgiveness of sins, salvation, peace, the afterlife and so much more are the blessings children of God enjoy now and forever.

This is all because of the love of God in Christ Jesus. Everyone wants peace in their lives. Jesus Christ is the only way to that peace (John 14:27).

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden  your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:15). 

 

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[i] Mental assent refers to the intellectual agreement with or acceptance of certain beliefs or truths, particularly in a religious context, without allowing those beliefs to impact one's heart or actions. It is often seen as a superficial understanding of faith, lacking the transformative power that genuine faith can bring.

[ii] https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/things-unseen-with-sinclair-ferguson/why-was-jesus-baptized