OceanSide church of Christ

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ARE YOU TAKING YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE SERIOUSLY?

Victor M. Eskew

 

            There are some things in life that need to be taken seriously.  If we do not, we may wake up one day and wish we had.  Our Christian life is certainly something that needs to be taken seriously.  How we choose to live it has eternal ramifications.  We see this in a verse that is familiar to every faithful Christian.  In the Revelation, John writes:  “…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).  Faithful Christian living and a crown of life are closely tied together. 

            There are several elements that we need to consider as we examine our Christian lives.  First, are we growing?  When we were baptized into Christ, we came forth from the waters as new born babes in the family of God.  We were spiritual infants.  God wants all of His children to grow into spiritual maturity.  Peter notes this in II Peter 3:18.  He writes:  “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and for ever.  Amen.”  To grow in Christ takes intentional effort.  A person must drink the milk of God’s word when he begins (I Pet. 2:2).  Eventually, he graduates to the meat (Heb. 5:12-14).  All of us need to remember that God knows our spiritual maturity.  He knows if we are still children or if we have become “grown ups” in Christ.  We cannot fool God.

            Second, as we examine our Christian life, we need to consider how we use the talents that we have been given.  Jesus’ Parable of the Talents teaches us that all have been given talents.  “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.  And unto the one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability and took his journey” (Matt. 25:14-15).  The parable also stresses the need to use our talents.  The five talent man and the two talent man doubled their talents.  The master commended both of them.  “His lord said unto him, Well done thou good and faithful servant:  thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:  enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21, 23).  The one talent man hid his talent.  The words of the master toward this servant were stern and condemning.  “His lord answered and said unto him. Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed…Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents….and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:  there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:26, 28, 30).  Which of these servants represents you and your present efforts in the kingdom of God?  Again, God knows whether we are multiplying our talents or not.  We need to be aware of this.  We all should keep Matthew 25:19 in mind.  “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.”

            Third, when we take inventory of our spiritual lives we must consider sin.  Simply put, sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4).  Our sins put us at odds with God (Isa. 55:8-9).  Our sins darken our spiritual lights.  Our sins often keep us from growing.  They are like weeds that choke the plant hindering its growth.  Paul’s instructions are clear in Romans 6:12-13.  “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:  but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  To the saints at Colossae, Paul wrote:  “Mortify your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5).  Peter’s words to his readers were as follows:  “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (I Pet. 2:11).  Sin is a toxin.  It makes us sick.  It weakens our spiritual man.  It often brings our Christian grow to a halt.  If not severed from our mind and body, it will bring spiritual death.

            Fourth, as we examine our spiritual loves, we need to be honest about how well we are serving in the local congregation.  Paul told the saints in Corinth:  “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (I Cor. 12:18).  When we obeyed the gospel, God added us to the church.  He, then, expects everyone to fulfill his/her role in within the local congregation.  Paul reminds us that all of us are necessary even the members which are feeble.  “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary” (I Cor. 12:22).  God wants ALL members working in unison with one another so the body will increase and be edified.  “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16).  Dear reader, are you fulfilling your role in the body?  Are you supplying the local church with all of the functions God has placed upon you?  Once again, God knows.  He knows exactly how each of the members of His body is functioning. 

            As we close, we want to repeat the thought that titles this article.  We must be taking our Christian life seriously.  We only have one Christian life to live.  We are not promised another day in which to life it.  One day, we will stand before God and give an account of every aspect of our Christian life.  Are you ready to do this?  If not, get serious!  Let John’s words sink deeply into your heart as you examine your spiritual condition.  “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:  and another book was opened, which is the book of life:  and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev. 20:12).