CONFUSED CHRISTIANS The 21st century church going Christians are confused , because he or she doesn't know what to believe. The modern preachers are preaching more about grace, love and mercy. The Christians are confused whether to believe grace message and tolerate anything or the message of sin, repentance, and a living that will glorifying to the name of Jesus Christ. The modern Christian's life is no different from the a non believer's life. The Christians are confused because they do not read the word of God and meditate upon the word. They are dependent upon pastors or preachers and start to follow certain kind of preachers, who preach soothing messages, positive messages, prosperity messages and not the whole gospel. Every one may have some good words but we need to study God's word and should be able to discern what others are saying and take the good from their message and discard the wrong messages. We should be like Bereans , Acts 17 :11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures everyday to see if what Paul said was true. The Bereans checked even Paul, who was an apostle, how much more we need to examine the messages we hear in this time. So do not believe what the preachers say , but examine them by reading , meditating and studying the word of God. We cannot call ourselves Christians and live like pagans. There should be a difference between the believers and non believers. We need to obey the word of God, the word says 2 Corinthians 5:17 therefore , if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. There is a standard of living expected from a Christian believer, we cannot have one foot in the world and another foot in our faith in God. John 14:15 " If you love Me , keep My Commandments". John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him." if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him , and We will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words: Matthew 6:24 " no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. you cannot serve God and mammon. Hebrews 12:28 Therefore , since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. The scriptures say that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If that is the case how can we habitually sin ? The modern churches are filled with unwed mothers, who claim to be followers of Christ but live with some one mostly an unbeliever or live with many and have kids through different men, which the bible calls as fornication, filled with unrepentant people committing adultery, homosexuality, liars, proud and arrogant. The Church and the pastors are OK with it. I tried hard to find justification to condone these actions in the new testament but could not find it. It is true that salvation is by grace alone through faith. But no freedom is given to live a reckless habitual sin life. Paul says in Romans 3:31 do we then, nullify the law by faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 6:1 what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Roman 6:4 We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans : 6: 11-14 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as a instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6: 15-16 What then? shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness.
Do not be confused, study the word to be approved and discern everything by the word of God's standard. Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived , God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will reap.
COMFORTABLE CHRISTIANS some of the confused Christians become comfortable with the grace only message and get comfortable in their Luke warm status. They don't give a second thought to sin . The modern western society says the bible should not be taken literally and some of the moral laws are not applicable to the present age and are only applicable to time when it was written. Those days there was no scientific development and so they didn't know any better. Present age the science discovered that the homosexuality is not a sin but a genetic condition , The abortion is done to protect the mother's health from physical, emotional, and psychological trauma and actually the fetus is not human until it comes out of the womb, so abortion is OK. They do not hide their sin and boldly proclaim their sin and even have special days to celebrate it and have parades to announce it to the world. The comfortable Christians see them and they are not bothered by it , they even welcome such practices into the church. The church also in a way condone the practice of celebrating the unwed mothers. They say that the church has to practice unconditional love as Jesus preached. It is good to help unwed mothers and their babies in their need but their action cannot be celebrated if they are believers and they practice this kind of actions habitually, and continue to live with someone they are not married to. Paul in Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 1 Thessalonians 4:7 for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. 1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone names a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person. COMPROMISING CHRISTIANS Comfortable Christians may slowly become compromising Christians . They separate their religious life from their social life. They begin to think that their christian belief and their interaction with the world are different entities. Their faith is not to be mingled with their daily life. They live their life like the world but they call themselves Christians, because they grew up in a Christian home. They got married in a church, their children are baptized in a church, they occasionally go to church, they may be paying subscription to a particular denomination, so that their children can get married in that church, or they can be buried in the church cemetery after death. They treat the church like a social club. It can be said that they are casual Christians. There will be a big celebration, decorations and feast during Christmas or Easter . The rest of the year their life will be like that of an unbeliever or sometimes worse. They don't even believe in the word of God. They do not believe the virgin birth of Jesus, Death and resurrection of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. They are what the word of God says in 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Acts 28:25-27 " The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying ' Go to this people and say " Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; Ans seeing you will see, and will not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." REVELATION: 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22, 13:9 all wars us " He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."