What's In a Name?

Several people have asked me why I started this blog. The easy answer is that I've always had a lot to say, and this blog just gives me another way to say it. That is part of the reason, but another reason was born out of a Sunday School class that I was teaching. At the time I started the blog, I was teaching a class on discernment. As part of preparing for the class I was doing a lot of research on different movements and theologies. My idea was that I would come across information that I wanted to share with people through the blog - so I titled the blog "Truth Seekers".

What I didn't realize was that while teaching that class, God would begin to deal with me about "living the eternal life" (I blogged on that subject back on 12/11/08, so you can go back and read that if you want). For the first time in my life, I began to try and truly live the following scripture:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

I realized that even though I was a Christian and had been born again, I was not letting Christ completely run my life - in other words, I was still living my life and not letting Christ live in me. I wanted Him to change me - to make me into a better person - but in my inner being my personal happiness was still the driving force in my life. So I decided to yield to Him like never before - to truly let the 'eternal' life be the driving force behind my actions and decisions. As part of that, this blog took on a decidedly different flavor and began to be a way for me to exhort and encourage others to also take on the challenge of living the eternal life.

With that in mind, you may have noticed that I've changed the name of the blog. Don't get me wrong, I'm still seeking truth. But what I discovered is there is not much good in finding truth if you don't live it. And there are far too many of us out there who sit and learn truth but never get around to applying it the way we should to our lives. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't know how much time I have left here, but I want to spend it doing my best to yield my members to Him - to allow the Holy Spirit to make me into a Christian - a little Christ.

So let me encourage you - live the 'eternal life'. Take to heart our Savior's call to deny yourself and crucify the flesh. Only is this can we truly find our life.

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." - Jesus Christ

Where are the Christians?

Many of you may have heard about the Barna Research Group's survey. The survey was conducted just recently and then compared with the results of the same survey conducted in 1995, 2000 and then again in 2005. The purpose of the survey was to explore how many Americans have what might be considered a “biblical worldview.”

For the purposes of the survey, a "biblical worldview" was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

Now if you are like me, those items listed above aren't even controversial. Those statements are basic to Christian doctrine. In fact, let me just get this off my chest and go ahead and state here for the record that I believe the following:

1. Absolute moral truth DOES exist
2. The Bible IS totally accurate in everything it teaches
3. Satan IS a real being
4. A person CANNOT earn their way into Heaven
5. Jesus Christ DID live a sinless life
6. God IS the all-knowing and all-powerful creator and still rules today

Overall, the current research revealed that only 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview. Now that is bad enough, but it just gets worse from there. Out of the total group surveyed, a sub-group was defined by those who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. This sub-group was labeled “born again Christians". The study discovered that among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19%) had such an outlook on life.

So 19% of people who said they were born-again Christians believe those six statements? How can that be? Although the numbers for the overall group are disheartening, the numbers for those who say they are born-gain are downright staggering to me. Here are some more findings for those who said they are born-again:

46% of born again adults believe in absolute moral truth.

79% of born again adults believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches.

40% of born again adults are convinced that Satan is a real force.

47% of born again Christians strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds (this means that 53% believe you CAN earn salvation through your works!).

62% of born again adults believe that Jesus lived a sinless life.

93% of born again adults say that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today.

One other thing that is really frightening is what they found in young people. As I was writing this blog I texted my older son Joshua who is 21. I asked him if he believed in those six things. He said 'Yes'. I texted back that he could consider himself in the minority. The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent (1/2%!) of young adults (those aged 18 to 23) have a biblical worldview.

Why is this important? A person's worldview has a powerful impact on their life. A worldview serves as a filter through which a person makes decisions and choices with lasting impacts. By helping to clarify what a person believes to be important, a worldview has a dramatic influence on a person’s choices in any given situation. A person's worldview has a dramatic effect in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices. When your worldview is corrupt, the conscience is defiled.

Where are the Christians - the true Christians? How have we come to a point in this society where a person can call themselves 'born-again' and not believe that their Savior lived a sinless life? Can call themselves Christians and still believe that salvation can be earned through works?

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Jesus Christ

Informing the Conscience

Most airplanes have a radar system built into them. This radar system warns the pilot of danger. He could be flying too low or there could be another plane within range, but whatever the danger he relies upon the radar system to warn him. As humans, we have two types of radar systems, so to speak, built into us. One is for our body and the other for our spirit.

The radar system for our body is called pain. Pain warns us that something is not right. For a young child, it serves as a great teacher. As parents we can warn them again and again, but they only have to touch a hot stove or a burning match one time and pain will teach them a lesson they won't soon forget. Now most people consider pain a bad thing, but it's really not. In fact, it's a wonderful gift from God. Just think for a moment what a life without pain would be like - not knowing when something is too hot, not knowing when something hurts. The results would be disastrous.

Just as pain functions as a warning system for our body, the conscience performs the same function for our our inner man. How does it work? First of all, it has an innate ability to sense between what is right and what is wrong. The conscience urges you to do what you believe is right and restrains you from doing what you believe is wrong. When you violate your conscience, it condemns you and triggers feelings of shame, regret and anxiety. Conversely, when you follow your conscience, it commends you and brings self-respect, well-being and gladness. Conscience is at the heart of what distinguishes a human being from other creatures. People, unlike animals, can contemplate their own actions and make moral self-evaluations. That is the very function of conscience.

But don't equate the conscience with the voice of God or the law of God. Everyone has a conscience, both Christians and non-believers. It is a human faculty that judges your actions and thoughts by the light of the highest standard you perceive. And herein lies the problem. Because it is only a human faculty it is not perfect. Teaching, tradition and truth all inform the conscience, so the standards it holds you to are not necessarily biblical ones. For example, since teaching informs the conscience, false or wrong teaching can "program" the conscience incorrectly and give the person invalid information regarding right and wrong. Other things that can cripple the conscience are human wisdom and wrong moral influences.

The Scriptures tell us clearly that the conscience can become defiled so that it can no longer distinguish between pure and impure.

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. - Titus 1:15

The Apostle Paul tells us that the conscience can be cauterized - seared with a hot iron.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. - 1 Timothy 4:2

Once a conscience is no longer working correctly so that it cannot tell right from wrong - or has been seared so that it is not working at all - at that point we are like an airplane flying in the dark with no radar and no instruments. We are flying blind.

As Christians, it is important to keep our conscience in good working order. Since it reacts to the convictions and beliefs of our mind, it can be sharpened so that it works in accordance with truth. We need to fill up our mind and our hearts with God's Word so that our conscience can be correctly informed and able to judge rightly.

A New Heart

I've been thinking about my skin. Now I'll admit I don't normally think about my skin that often - OK, never - but I've been thinking about how much our skin changes over our lifetime. A baby's skin is so soft and smooth and perfect. No scars or bumps or wrinkles or blemishes. It hasn't been affected by the wind and sun or the rough and tumble of life. And then I look at mine. Like most people over 40, our skin just isn't what it used to be. It's full of lines and scars and blemishes. And the thing is, there is nothing I can do to go back and restore it to the way it was. I can try different creams and lotions and even surgery if I get desperate, but it is what it is. Maybe I can make some minor improvements, but I can't change it. The skin I was born with started to decay and die the minute I came into the world.

Our life is a like that, too. The prophet Jeremiah put it this way:

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil." - Jeremiah 13:23

We've all sinned, and that sin has created scars and blemishes on the inside. And no matter what we do we can't change it. We can even want desperately to change. We can read all the self-help books we can find to try and improve ourselves. We can make lifestyle changes like going to church or quitting smoking. Maybe I can make some minor improvements, but I can't change who I am on the inside. The person I am was born dead in sin - accustomed to doing evil. As Jeremiah said, the same way a man can't change his skin, neither can he change his nature from evil to good.

But the good news is that God isn't interested in just changing or improving me. He wants something far different. He wants to create me again. He wants a new man.

Jesus tried to explain this to Nicodemus.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - John 3:3-6

With my new birth I get everything new, not just re-furbished. But greater than that is the fact that this new life isn't like my old one. Paul said it this way:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2Corinthians 5:17

I have a new mind. (1 Corinthians 2:16).

I have a new spirit. (Ezekiel 36:27)

I have a new life. (John 14:6)

I have a new heart. (Ezekiel 11:19)

The reality of this new heart really came home to me over the last few days. My father-in-law had open heart surgery. They did two bypasses and a valve replacement and he is doing great. But no matter how good a job they did - it is not a new heart. And eventually over time it will decay and run down just like all other human hearts always have. But with my new birth I've been given a different type of heart.

"Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." - Jeremiah 24:7

I have been given a new heart - but this new heart is not like my old one. It is not a heart that is born to sin. It is a heart that is set apart to God - a heart born to holiness.

Humility

In our class we are going through the book 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis. We were covering the chapter on Pride, and since Humility is the opposite of Pride I asked my class what they first thought of when they think of a 'humble' man. Some of the responses included 'meek', 'weak' and 'low self-esteem'. I must admit I think the same way. When I think of a humble man I think of a man with his head down, unwilling to accept praise or congratulations. It just goes to show what a distorted view of 'humility' we really have.

For us to understand what true Humility really is, we first have to understand Pride. Pride is all about self. I can do it, I'm better than you, I deserve it, I'm a good person. As C.S. Lewis says, it's the complete 'anti-God' state of mind. God absolutely hates and opposes Pride.

I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. - Proverbs 8:13

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. - James 4:6

Why does He hate it so? Because as long as 'self' is on the throne of our lives we cannot know Him. It is the greatest barrier to a relationship with Him. So how do we overcome Pride and find Humility within ourselves? Well, first we have to realize our own bankruptcy. We have to truly understand that I can't do it, I'm not better than you, I don't deserve it and I'm not a good person. The scriptures call this a "broken and contrite heart". We have to see ourselves for who we really are, which then allows us to see God for who He truly is. We have to depose 'self' as the ruler of our hearts and replace it with God. Then and only then can we practice true Humility.

What will that humility look like?

Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.” - C.S. Lewis

Do we know what true humility really is - or do we only know how to "act" humble? A truly humble person will not be thinking about acting humble - he will not be thinking about himself or humility at all. He will only be thinking about his Savior, and his glory will be in Him.

But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. - 2Corinthians 10:17-18

Embracing the Trial

Two houses. They both look alike. They both are built from the same materials. Which one is well built and which one is not? Which one has a good foundation and which one does not? Which builder was wise and which one was not? By just looking at them from the outside, there is no way to tell. Months and years go by and they both persist. As far as anyone from the outside can tell they are both the same.

But eventually the test comes in the form of a storm, and the test reveals the truth.

Two men. They both look alike. They are both built from the same materials. Which one is well built and which one is not? Which one has a good foundation and which one does not. Which builder was wise and which one was not? By just looking at them from the outside, there is no way to tell. Months and years go by and they both persist. As far as anyone from the outside can tell they are both the same.

But eventually the test comes in the form of a storm - a trial. And the test reveals the truth.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” - Matthew 7:24-27

How do we know our faith is real? Testing and trials prove our faith. Look at the following well known verse:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." - James 1:2-3

The word 'testing' used here is the Greek work 'dokimion', which means "a test by which anything is proven". This test James is talking about is specifically for the purpose of proving our faith is real and true.

So who does it prove it to? Not to God. He already knows whether our faith is true or not. It proves it to us - to ourselves. When we experience a test of our faith and come through to the other side with that faith intact, it is a proof to us that our faith is real. That is why James can say "consider it pure joy" - because pure joy can only come from 'knowing' that you are truly a child of God. In fact, the word 'knowing' used in that same verse is the Greek word 'ginosko', which carries the idea of having a full understanding of something beyond just having the facts, an understanding or knowledge which comes from experience.

It's in our nature to abhor suffering and trials. We want to be comfortable. If we have a headache, we take an aspirin. If we have a pain, we go to the doctor. If we experience a trial, we want to get out of it as quickly and as easily as we can. That's just who we are. But trials and tests also have another side. When we only look at testing from a worldly view, they are bad and to be avoided at all costs. But when we look at them from an eternal viewpoint, we can see them for what they are - a proof of true faith in Christ.

"That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." - 1Peter 1:7

A Martyr's Life

Most of us are very familiar with the Bible, its teachings and its stories. We know the great work that men like Peter, James, John and Paul did in starting the Church. But what happened after they died? We may forget that there were men that came "after", men who were taught and schooled by the Apostles and were left to carry on after their deaths. These were great men, men who protected the truths that had been passed on to them by the Apostles and fought heresy at every turn.

I want to introduce you to one of those men. If you are not a student of church history, you may have never heard of a man named Polycarp. He lived from approximately 70 A.D. to 155 A.D. and was a direct pupil of the Apostle John. Polycarp became bishop over the church at Smyrna. He lived during a time of intense persecution of the Christians by the Roman state. To give you an idea of what went on during that time, here is an excerpt from an actual letter written by a Roman governor to the Emperor Trajan circa A.D. 112.

"In the meantime, the method I have observed towards those who have been denounced toward me as Christians is this: I interrogated them whether they were in fact Christians; if they confessed it, I repeated the question twice, adding the threat of capital punishment; if they still persevered, I ordered them to be executed. Those who denied they were, or ever had been, Christians, and who repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered formal worship with libation and frankincense before your statue, which I had ordered to be brought into Court for that purpose, and who finally cursed Christ - none of which acts, it is said, those who are really Christians can be forced into performing - these I thought it proper to discharge." - Pliny Secundus, A.D. 112

As you can see from the letter, Christians were given a chance to go free if they would worship the Roman Emperor and curse Christ. Note that during this time 'atheists' were those who did not believe in the Roman gods and in particular the deity of the current Roman emperor, so the Christians were considered 'atheists'. Untold multitudes refused to do this and were executed in the most heinous ways imaginable. Which brings us back to the story of Polycarp. We know his story because the church at Smyrna wrote a letter to the church at Philomelium detailing the circumstances of his death. We have this letter in its entirety and you can read it here.

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm

He was captured by the authorities and led into the stadium. The crowds were said to be in great tumult, hearing that is was "the atheist" Polycarp. Then, the proconsul urged him and said, "Swear by Caesar, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ."

Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

After further threats, Polycarp responded, "You threaten that fire which burns for a season and after a while is quenched: for you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgement and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you will." At that point Polycarp was burned at the stake and thrust through with the sword."

Our only surviving work of Polycarp is a letter. At one point in the letter he states:

"Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnestness of our righteousness., which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him. Let us therefore become imitators of His endurance; and if we should suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this." - Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians, A.D. 110.

When I read about men like Polycarp who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, I must admit that I have mixed feelings. One side of me is glad that we don't live in an age where we must suffer the persecutions and the threats of death that the early church had to deal with. On the other hand there is a feeling that I can't quite explain. I wonder within myself "what would I do?" if I were to be confronted with that choice. Would I suffer and die for my Lord and Savior with the same bravery shown by Polycarp?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I doubt that any of us will ever have to endure that situation. We'll never be asked to deny Christ - or be torn apart by wild beasts. To deny Christ - or be burned at the stake. To deny Christ - or be crucified. I may not be asked in this life to die a physical death, but I've been commanded by Christ to surrender to another type of death. We must daily to die to self.

Jesus said it this way, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

Paul expounded on that in his letter to the Galatians by stating, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:24

When I think about Polycarp, what I realized is that he had experienced death thousands of times over his eighty-six years. He had already killed the part of him that would seek his own comfort and his own gain. What was left in him was Christ. To die that physical death wasn't a great thing to him - just the final step - the final death. He had lived a martyr's life, so he was able to die a martyr's death.

For those of us that wonder "What would I do if I had face martyrdom?", let me ask this:

Are you dying daily now? Are you crucifying the flesh? Are you living a martyr's life?

If you are, then don't worry. I have the utmost confidence that if you or I were faced with that choice, we would gladly die for the Him that died for us. But if you are not dying daily, if you are not experiencing death now - how in the world could you die then?

A Blind Skier

My family and I went skiing this past weekend in North Carolina. It's a trip we take every year with our family and friends (I think this year we had about 24 people in 3 houses). Anyway, Friday night we were on the slopes and some of the kids said they had seen a blind skier on the slopes. Of course we all discussed the situation and how she was able to ski with no sight, but after awhile the subject turned to other matters and the blind skier was forgotten.

The next evening as I walked outside, I noticed 4 of the teenagers in our group were talking to this blind skier. Well, I should say the blind skier was talking to them. I wasn't sure what she was saying, but looking at those kids faces I could tell that they were listening intently to whatever it was she had to say. Afterward, I found one of the kids and asked them what they were talking about. I just assumed that she was explaining how she was able to ski even without sight - but that wasn't it at all.

She told them that she had lost her sight when her car was hit by a drunk driver. She then went on to explain how she had gotten angry with God, but over time God had changed her heart. She was now involved in full-time Christian ministry to other people with rehabilitation issues. God had taken a bad thing in her life and made it good.

You know, I wish I could tell you that bad things are not going to happen in your life and mine, but I can't. Life happens, and in that life sometimes we endure trials and suffer. Those trials may seem unfair, and in many cases by our own measuring standards they are. But God is always in control. If we'll just let him, he can take any situation - even a bad one - and turn it to His glory.When bad things happen to us, we can raise our fists to heaven and give Him a piece of our mind - or we can raise our hands to heaven and give him a piece of our heart, that same piece that's been hurt, abused and trampled on. When we do that, He can bind up the broken-hearted.

I wanted to find that lady and tell her how much I appreciated her sharing her testimony with those kids, but I was unable to find her the next day. Who knows what fruit one little testimony on a ski slope can bring forth.

Well Done

I went to a funeral the other day and as we gathered in the fellowship hall prior to the service a woman came up to me. "You probably don't remember me", she said, "but my mother was Mrs. Causey". To be honest I didn't really remember her, but her mother I could not forget.

When I was a kid, we were at church every time the doors were opened - or so it seemed to me. We attended a Baptist church, so that meant Sunday School on Sunday mornings and "Training Union" (whatever that is) on Sunday nights. And there was a little red-haired lady that taught kid's classes at that church - her name was Mrs. Causey.

My memory tends to be sketchy sometime about things that happened in my childhood, so I don't remember how long she taught the class or even how old I was at the time. I can tell you with pretty good certainty that I did not appreciate at the time what she was doing. I'm sure we came week after week, a bunch of brats who were just tolerating her and the class because our parents made us come.

Today? I'm a Sunday School teacher. I appreciate so much what she did. Week after week studying and preparing and never knowing if the time and effort that you are putting in will really pay off in the lives of those you teach. But it paid off in my life and I'm sure it did as well in the lives of others. Because I can tell you that when I left that church I knew the Bible. And those verses and the lessons I learned stayed with me through the years - even when I did not stay with Him.

If you are serving the Lord in any capacity, let me encourage you to remain steadfast in your work and in your efforts. Just like Mrs. Causey, your investment in other's lives will bring forth fruit. You may never see it or even know about it - but do it for the Glory of God. Whatever talent or service the Lord has given you, cherish and guard it and be faithful to it.

She died last year one month short of 88 years. Her daughter told me that she had taught an adult Sunday School class for 47 years - let me repeat that - 47 years.

Well done, Mrs. Causey. Well done.

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ " - Jesus Christ

Fight

A few weeks ago I was reading in 1 John and ran across this familiar scripture:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:3-5

I can truly say at this point in my life that I really want to walk just as He walked - but that means keeping His commandments. So what are His commandments? If you are like me and someone asked me that question, I could probably name seven or eight things He wants me to do. But I realized I had never really looked at a comprehensive list. So the next thing I know I'm going through the book of Matthew with a sheet of notebook paper and writing down every command that I could find.

- Repent

- Let your light shine

- Be reconciled with your brother

- Agree with your adversary

- Do not lust

- Do not divorce

- Do not swear

- Do not resist an evil person

- Turn the other cheek

- Give extra

- Go the extra mile

- Give and do not turn away

- Love your enemies

- Bless those who curse you

- Do good to those who hate you

- Pray for those who use you

- Be perfect

- Do your charity in secret

- Pray in secret

- Do not pray with vain repetitions

- Forgive

- Lay up treasures in Heaven

- Do not worry

- Seek first the Kingdom of God

- Don't judge improperly

- Judge yourself

- Do unto others as you would have them do to you

- Do the will of God

- Keep His commandments

- Pray

- Confess Christ before men

- Love Jesus more than family

- Take up your cross

- Follow Him

- Take on His yoke

- Deny yourself

- Lose your life

- Humble yourself

- Serve

- Be ready for His coming

- Feed the hungry

- Take in the stranger

- Clothe the naked

- Visit the sick

- Visit the prisoners

- Make disciples

- Teach others

That is not even a comprehensive list - it's just from the Gospel of Matthew. That doesn't take into account commands given in the other Gospels as well as the rest of the New Testament. But still, you have to admit - that is a daunting list. When you look at it and think about trying to follow them, you realize how difficult the task really is.

Now around the same time I was studying on this we had a guest speaker at church. In his sermon, he brought up the following scripture

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. - Matthew 11:12

Now it may seem that I've veered off the subject of obedience and started discussing another scripture, but in my mind that day these two subjects really came together. I don't confess to understand that scripture fully, but what I do understand from it is this: You can't just back into the kingdom or ease into the kingdom by accident. It's a purposeful decision and purposeful walk. When I look at that list of commandments I realize how difficult a walk it is. Did you notice how many of those commands force me to put someone else (even my enemies and those I may not like) ahead of myself? My flesh doesn't like it and doesn't want to live that way. But yet I'm commanded to walk as He walked. When I understand this conflict between spirit and flesh, between new creation and old nature, I can understand better when Jesus says the following:

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” - Jesus Christ

That word "strive" means "to struggle, to make a great effort, to fight", and I think we can all attest to the fact that trying to keep His commandments on a daily basis is a constant battle between flesh and spirit - between the new man and the old man. That's why it is so important to keep our eyes on the prize. So that we can say as the Apostle Paul did:

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."