In our busy lives, discussions between friends rarely dive deeply into existential topics and precious little time is spent contemplating God. Many people that do attend church, either do so irregularly or their thoughts don’t include their faith until they re-enter the church doorway on their next visit. As far as outward appearances go, you cannot tell the difference between non-believers and many professing Christians. They lead the same lifestyles, have the same values and share the same characteristics and behaviors, and all too often engage in activities that make you question the sincerity of their belief. The Bible says true believers do not belong to this world, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20. King David recognized the importance of choosing God over the world. He knew that God would have mercy upon him and that men would not. “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” 2 Samuel 24:14.
When James wrote, “Faith without works is dead,” the context lends itself to saying faith without service is dead. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14-17.
It is mercy that we are called to exhibit in the world we live in. Christ commanded us to love God and each other. He said all of the Law and the Prophets were accomplished in this. As the scripture about the sheep and the goats emphasizes, what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for him. When we pray that God’s will be done on earth as in heaven, we are committing to treating each other with mercy just as God has given mercy to us. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3.
In serving God we are called to emulate God. The human expression of Godliness is the life of Jesus. He is the epitome we are to follow. The attributes of Christ are emphasized by Paul in his letter to the Philippians in chapter 2 as the example of how to live our lives. “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who being in very nature God,
Did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
Rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
Being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
By becoming obedient to death –
Even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:1-8
The gospel is exclusive of all other religions and of religion itself. It is unique in so far as it carries the only message of salvation through grace. Additionally, it is the power of God. It is alive. It has the power to change people’s hearts and change people’s lives. Rationalism limits religious vibrance by eradicating the power of God through the absence of meaningful prayer. A church without prayer is a church without a relationship with Jesus. Only prayer can bridge the gap between religious distance and God. With the declaration that there is no name greater than the name of Jesus, true believers experience God in ways that every other religion in the world fails to. By inviting Christ into their hearts, true Christians enter into a relationship with the Almighty Creator that is both personal and intimate.
In a relationship both parties are active. When you invite Christ into your life you will experience variance and dynamics and more love than you’ve ever known. His Spirit will awaken your spirit and bring it to life. The abundant life God wants us to have is not necessarily material abundance but spiritual abundance. Spiritual abundance is lasting. Spiritual abundance is eternal. Spiritual abundance is permanent. This is the living water that Jesus told the Samaritan woman about, when he said, “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” One cannot maintain a relationship with God at arms-length as “religion” attempts to do and fails.
Without the burning of the Holy Spirit within you, your Christian experience will be lack luster, bland, half-hearted and complacent. You will not produce fruit, bring glory to God, nor please him. The Lord spoke to John regarding the church of Laodicea in the third chapter of Revelation and described a church much like many western churches of today. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘ I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17.
Complacency is the enemy of growth. It results in stagnation, suffocation and weakness that allows misinformation and deception to take root. Jesus likened this to seed that is sown (Mathew 13). Without a deep knowledge and understanding of scripture, Christians are at risk of falling away or following corrupted teachings. Without the Holy Spirit inside of you, you will lack discernment and remain incomplete in your faith. The Holy Spirit honors Christ and Christ honors God. No one can come to the Father except through the Son. (John 14:6) and no one can come to Christ unless they are called by God through his Spirit (John 6:44).
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines complacency as self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. When we become comfortable in our faith, or in our ministry, we stop pursuing God and searching for more of him. Complacency makes it ideal for Satan to lure us into a false sense of security. We become like sitting ducks, easy targets for those who would lead us astray. We are spiritually asleep at the wheel. Complacency is honoring God with our lips, but our hearts are far from him.
When we are complacent, we are imprisoned within the walls of our comfort zone. We lack the thought-provoking expectation that comes from a deep understanding of scripture and the desire to know the mind and the heart of God. We lack the spiritual cognizance that we are surrounded by signs that time is running out not only on our own lives but the world itself. When we are complacent, we don’t feel the need to repent of sin and that is perhaps the most dangerous attribute of all.
Christians are called to action. Let us not conform to secular ideologies but rather live our lives as ambassadors of Christ. We must not settle for blending into the crowd and think that Jesus will one day tell us that even though we never acknowledged him by the way we lived, repentance is unnecessary to receive salvation. We are expected to honor God with our lives! John wrote, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:6.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Mathew 7:13-14.
