Following Christ

"¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." Romans 6:11-14

When I think about Jesus, do you know what amazes me about His life? It is that He never sinned. Now, I know that if you are a mature believer you probably will scoff a little at my statement because you may say, "Of course He didn't! He was the Son of God incarnate!" However, bear with me for a moment and read on.

The Bible teaches us that, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15

Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God, was tempted in every way, just as we are. The devil didn't care who Jesus was. Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:13, and Luke 4:2 states that Satan tried in every way to lure Jesus away from the Father and follow him. Jesus felt the pain of hunger, thirst, poverty, physical hurt, prostitutes placed before Him, death of loved ones, etc. Yet, He NEVER deviated from the path of righteousness. He was without sin!

As we strive in this world, that is not our own, we need to reflect on this aspect of Jesus. It is one part of His calling to us as Christians to "Take up your cross and follow me."

As we are a part of the culture American Christianity, we lose sight of this task. Do we really count ourselves "dead to sin"? I believe with all my heart that we have to answer with an emphatic, NO!! Oh we count ourselves as under grace. We believe in Jesus and call ourselves "Christians," but just as a part of all the other "stuff" we have in our lives. We tack on Christianity to everything else. We are not true followers of the One True God.

It breaks my heart to witness first hand the culture we live in. Mega-churches abound with the feel-good praise music and watered down preaching that is ruining the Church. Who does it feel good to? Not to God. It feels good to the people who are singing. Does most of the preaching today bring one to a sense of understanding the wretchedness they truly are? No, it is geared towards inspiring one to be better, live better, or gain some principle that will make them a better "Christian." Now don't get me wrong. I'm not against mega-churches. Most Contemporay Christian music isn't bad. I listen to and sing along with the best it has to offer. And principles in the Bible to live better are foundational for a true witness. The problem arises when one leaves this atmosphere, thinks they are right with a Holy and Just God and go back living the way they were without any sense of the sin in their lives. That my friends is the downfall of the 21st American Christian.

We don't realize that as His children we are in the presence of a Holy God. We don't revere in awe of His majesty. We hold on to His grace, but His grace does not master us. We only go to the early service so we can get on the golf course. We skip church on Sundays because our son or daughter has a travel baseball or softball game. We hunt on Sunday mornings and skip the morning services and only go to the evening service. We use our money for an expensive vacation, cable television, a new vehicle instead of helping the poor or going on a mission trip. We put everything else before "living to God..using  the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." Oh how we sin to the utmost!

Do you recognize the sin in your life? Are you continuously repenting so you can be a true follower? Is His grace ruling your life or are you just banking that His grace makes you o.k.? If not, look up to the One to show you your transgressions and repent! Remember, Jesus spoke more harshly to the ones who thought they were righteous than to the sinners and tax collectors.