I remember going to a "revival" meeting when I was a kid. I actually liked it. I remember hearing the evangelist give the gospel presentation, and after (as always), there was an invitation time.
Several people came forward to "accept Christ" (whatever that means) but that didn't seem to be enough for the evangelist. He kept the music going, making call after call after call for more people to come forward. A few more did each time he made the call, and each time, he made the call a little more dramatic, a little more intense, and even moved into the territory I would call begging.
That experience has stuck with me ever since. I remember walking away from that thinking that God Himself was begging people to believe in Him, to follow Him, to be baptized and give our lives to Him. From that standpoint, the next logical conclusion is that if God is begging, then we are doing God a huge favor by deciding to believe in Him and follow Him.
I think that is on the minds of many people today.
Many people, at least subconsciously, truly believe that they are doing God a favor by believing, being baptized, going to church, and calling themselves "Christian." It's almost identical to the way we feel about businesses here- they advertise, practically begging us to come to their stores and buy their products, promising how much better our lives will be if we buy their product, and us feeling like we are doing the merchant a huge favor by giving them business (not to mention the expectation that the product will be exactly what we want it to be).
I think there will be some very surprised and sad people come judgement day, when people find out that quite the opposite is true.
Jesus never begged anyone to follow Him. He challenged them. Jesus practically dared people to follow Him. He seemed to ask, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me?" How often do you hear that in a church today? When people walked away from Jesus, He never ran after them. He never allowed people to think that they were doing God a favor by following Him.
Quite the opposite- Jesus taught that it was the mercy of God, the undeserved mercy and grace of God, that was the favor.
People, you aren't doing God a favor by deciding to believe in Him. You aren't doing God a favor by showing up to church on Sunday. God isn't desperate; God isn't begging; God isn't needy. On the contrary, God is telling you, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me? If you don't, I'm not going to beg you. I'm not going to threaten or cajole or promise or bargain. You come to Me on My terms in My way in My time. You accept My grace and you do things My way. After all, I'm God. Now, if this sounds good to you, come follow Me. If not, you're free to go your own way."
Does God love us? Absolutely.
Does God forgive us? Yes.
Does God beg us? No.
Somewhere in American evangelicalism, we got it into our minds that God wants us in heaven so badly that He will do anything just to get us there. Therefore, God is okay with lukewarm commitment and half-hearted prayers, spotty church attendance and disregard of giving. He's perfectly okay with our disobedience of the Great Commission and the prevalence of gossip and factions in the church. He's perfectly okay when we accept what the world says about social issues instead of the Word of God (after all, He's just happy that we're going to heaven, right?).
These are the actions of a church that believes it is doing God a favor simply by believing in Him instead of a church that is in awe of His supreme character, mercy and power.
How many of us do this? How many of us truly believe that God is like a homely schoolgirl begging for some boy, any boy, to take her to the prom? And when some boy decides to lower himself to take her out, she is just so happy that someone pays attention to her that it doesn't matter who it is or how she is treated?
For Christians who act this way, there are dark days ahead for you. Don't make this mistake. God is the God of the universe, the Supreme Being in all creation, the one who holds this entire universe together. He created the world by the command of His mouth, His word is eternal and His will is supreme. His authority is unquestioned and His truth will prevail. He loves with a perfect love, forgives with a perfect forgiveness, and punishes with perfect power. His love, AND His wrath, are both things to be reckoned with.
God doesn't beg us. He challenges us. He isn't begging you to believe in Him. He's asking you, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me?"
Several people came forward to "accept Christ" (whatever that means) but that didn't seem to be enough for the evangelist. He kept the music going, making call after call after call for more people to come forward. A few more did each time he made the call, and each time, he made the call a little more dramatic, a little more intense, and even moved into the territory I would call begging.
That experience has stuck with me ever since. I remember walking away from that thinking that God Himself was begging people to believe in Him, to follow Him, to be baptized and give our lives to Him. From that standpoint, the next logical conclusion is that if God is begging, then we are doing God a huge favor by deciding to believe in Him and follow Him.
I think that is on the minds of many people today.
Many people, at least subconsciously, truly believe that they are doing God a favor by believing, being baptized, going to church, and calling themselves "Christian." It's almost identical to the way we feel about businesses here- they advertise, practically begging us to come to their stores and buy their products, promising how much better our lives will be if we buy their product, and us feeling like we are doing the merchant a huge favor by giving them business (not to mention the expectation that the product will be exactly what we want it to be).
I think there will be some very surprised and sad people come judgement day, when people find out that quite the opposite is true.
Jesus never begged anyone to follow Him. He challenged them. Jesus practically dared people to follow Him. He seemed to ask, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me?" How often do you hear that in a church today? When people walked away from Jesus, He never ran after them. He never allowed people to think that they were doing God a favor by following Him.
Quite the opposite- Jesus taught that it was the mercy of God, the undeserved mercy and grace of God, that was the favor.
People, you aren't doing God a favor by deciding to believe in Him. You aren't doing God a favor by showing up to church on Sunday. God isn't desperate; God isn't begging; God isn't needy. On the contrary, God is telling you, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me? If you don't, I'm not going to beg you. I'm not going to threaten or cajole or promise or bargain. You come to Me on My terms in My way in My time. You accept My grace and you do things My way. After all, I'm God. Now, if this sounds good to you, come follow Me. If not, you're free to go your own way."
Does God love us? Absolutely.
Does God forgive us? Yes.
Does God beg us? No.
Somewhere in American evangelicalism, we got it into our minds that God wants us in heaven so badly that He will do anything just to get us there. Therefore, God is okay with lukewarm commitment and half-hearted prayers, spotty church attendance and disregard of giving. He's perfectly okay with our disobedience of the Great Commission and the prevalence of gossip and factions in the church. He's perfectly okay when we accept what the world says about social issues instead of the Word of God (after all, He's just happy that we're going to heaven, right?).
These are the actions of a church that believes it is doing God a favor simply by believing in Him instead of a church that is in awe of His supreme character, mercy and power.
How many of us do this? How many of us truly believe that God is like a homely schoolgirl begging for some boy, any boy, to take her to the prom? And when some boy decides to lower himself to take her out, she is just so happy that someone pays attention to her that it doesn't matter who it is or how she is treated?
For Christians who act this way, there are dark days ahead for you. Don't make this mistake. God is the God of the universe, the Supreme Being in all creation, the one who holds this entire universe together. He created the world by the command of His mouth, His word is eternal and His will is supreme. His authority is unquestioned and His truth will prevail. He loves with a perfect love, forgives with a perfect forgiveness, and punishes with perfect power. His love, AND His wrath, are both things to be reckoned with.
God doesn't beg us. He challenges us. He isn't begging you to believe in Him. He's asking you, "Do you have what it takes to follow Me?"
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