JOHN 10:10, MATTHEW 7:21, I JOHN 2:3
Years ago when I was taking a psychology course in college, we were studying mental illnesses. We took a field trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where Bryce Hospital, the state mental institution, was located. It was an interesting and informative tour but the same day we also toured Partlow which was a hospital for severely mentally retarded children. Although it has been many years, I still remember vividly seeing a child in a crib. The child appeared to be only a few months old but the nurse told us he was thirteen years old. That bothered me and still does to this day. The child was born and never grew. This was a classic case of arrested development. How sad! Doesn’t it pull at your hear strings to think of such a thing. Just being born is not enough to have a viable life.
There are so many people who join a church and get baptized and never grow beyond that point. Some have been church members for decades and have grown very little since they were first baptized. This too is a classic case of arrested development. How sad! We have church members who still live in this area and are perfectly healthy yet they haven’t been here in years. We also have active members who still need someone to teach them over and over the fundamentals of the faith. HEBREWS 5:12.
I fully realize that many of you here are genuinely mature Christians yet you realize that we are never perfectly mature in Christ. Being a Christian is not a once and for all act. It is a lifelong growth process.. Christ never intends for the growth to end. In PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14, Paul speaks about continually moving forward. We never arrive in this life.
Paul spoke of salvation as a process. We were saved. We are being saved. We will be saved. If it is only past tense in one’s life, it probably isn’t even that.
Jesus never intended for one to make an initial profession of Him as Lord and then return to the former life. He came that we might have life more abundantly. He Wants us to enjoy life and to live it to it’s fullest. There was a book written years ago entitled, “Being Saved is Fun”. The Christian life is supposed to be one filled with satisfaction and enjoyment.
There are many who hear the message that if they get saved that everything will be wonderful. Whether they actually hear this or they are merely hearing what they want to hear I can’t say. If this is what they expect, they will quickly become disillusioned. Jesus never said that all of our problems will be solved once we decide to follow Him. If anything, He taught the opposite. Satan doesn’t bother us as long as we are walking with him(Satan). It is when we try to walk with Jesus that Satan mounts his attacks on us and makes life a struggle.
What Jesus did promise was strength to endure any kind of trial or tribulation. Our faith can enable us to experience the abundant life in the midst of our struggles. When we know beyond a doubt that we are walking with Christ and are being obedient, there is a reassuring peace that comes. The abundant life is found as a result of our relationship to Him and never in material abundance.
Jesus said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter heaven but only those who are obedient to the will of the Father. Joining a church and getting baptized are both important. In no way do I want to minimize their importance, but they are not enough. If one is saved, obedience is not optional. It is absolutely mandatory.
How then can one know for sure that he is saved? I John 2:3 says, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments”. I am not a judge so I will not question your salvation, but you should. Are you being obedient? Are you walking with the Lord? Does your faith make a difference in your life each day? Are you serving Christ and His church by doing more than just attending? Do you live an abundant life? Never make the mistake of judging yourself by what others may or may not be doing. The life of another is not an acceptable standard.
No, being saved is not enough. God has so much more for us that we will miss if we remain babes. You must take the responsibility for your own growth. No matter how good your pastor preaches or your Bible study teacher teaches, they can never feed you enough to guarantee that you will have the abundant life. It will only come with obedience and obedience will come as you seriously study the Word and apply it to your life.
