B-A-C
Loyal
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
- 12,067
I was watching a commercial today about dish soap. It was truly an amazing work of art.
The woman is in a dirty house, the kids are fighting, lasagna stains are all over the kitchen, the dog is barking, there is a pile of bills on the table, her hair is mussed up, and her clothes are dirty, and to top it all off her dishes are dirty. She is really scrubbing these dishes, I think if she scrubs any harder she will scrub the color off of them.
Then... tah-da!!! She gets rid of her boring old Brand A dish soap and buys new and improved Brand X dish soap!! Wow!!! Her hair is perfect, she loses 20 pounds, her house is clean, the bills are paid, the stains in the kitchen are gone, and washing dishes is now so easy she can wash them in an evening gown with jewelry on. Those dirty dishes now come clean with a mere wipe of a cloth, no scrubbing required, the dishes are so happy they are singing with the contentment of life and they even have golden glow around them.
Wow, that Brand X is some amazing dish soap. So my wife and I went out and bought some of that dish soap, and guess what....
I think most people in the world (even some Christians) are looking a quick fix. A way to change instantly, but this isn't usually how God works.
You might think wow, some people are really naive.
But I wonder about people who buy Brand X Jesus.
Some churches preach once you get saved, that's it. No more trials, no more temptations, no more struggles, no more sins, everyone will love you, God will bless you, you will be rich and life will be perfect. God instantly made you perfect in every way. Maybe there are some naive Christians out there too. Some churches seem to preach that Jesus promised these things. But I see the opposite, the Bible is full of verses that say we will be tested, there will be trials, there will be temptations, there will be struggles. There are many verses that talk about growing and maturing as a Christian. I don't really see any place in the Bible that Jesus promises all you problems will go away if you become a Christian. I think a good many Christians lose hope and give up because they were promised "everything would be perfect" if they got saved.
He did say his yoke was easy, and he told us to take his yoke upon ourselves. He didn't say there was no yoke at all. (Matt 11:28-30)
He didn't say there were no rules at all. If you believe this, imagine a world with no stop lights or stop signs. The Bible has many verses about things Christians should no longer do. The Bible teaches that freedom without boundaries always leads back to bondage.
Some people over complicate the Gospel and say you must do this, this and that, in this order on that day of the of the week in order to truly be saved.
Other people over simplify the Gospel and say once you're saved, that's it. You don't have any thing to worry about. I think all of us who have been Christians for any length of time know that isn't true. We still have struggles, we still have temptations, we still have trials, we are still tested from time to time. Tested for what? If I'm already saved, why do I need to be tested?
Being a Christian is about a change of heart. It's about forgiveness and grace certainly.
But have you had a change of heart? Have you really experienced Jesus? Are you still the same old dish soap with a different label on the bottle?
Are you living any differently than you did before? Are you still doing everything exactly the way you did before? Did you really repent of your old life style? (do a 180 degree turn from it) When Jesus came into your heart, did you really take off the old man and the old ways, or are you still doing the same things and living the same way you did before? When you are tested, do you notice any change in your heart? Yes, there is grace.. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. But just because there is a grace should we keep sinning more, just so there will be more grace?
The woman is in a dirty house, the kids are fighting, lasagna stains are all over the kitchen, the dog is barking, there is a pile of bills on the table, her hair is mussed up, and her clothes are dirty, and to top it all off her dishes are dirty. She is really scrubbing these dishes, I think if she scrubs any harder she will scrub the color off of them.
Then... tah-da!!! She gets rid of her boring old Brand A dish soap and buys new and improved Brand X dish soap!! Wow!!! Her hair is perfect, she loses 20 pounds, her house is clean, the bills are paid, the stains in the kitchen are gone, and washing dishes is now so easy she can wash them in an evening gown with jewelry on. Those dirty dishes now come clean with a mere wipe of a cloth, no scrubbing required, the dishes are so happy they are singing with the contentment of life and they even have golden glow around them.
Wow, that Brand X is some amazing dish soap. So my wife and I went out and bought some of that dish soap, and guess what....
I think most people in the world (even some Christians) are looking a quick fix. A way to change instantly, but this isn't usually how God works.
You might think wow, some people are really naive.
But I wonder about people who buy Brand X Jesus.
Some churches preach once you get saved, that's it. No more trials, no more temptations, no more struggles, no more sins, everyone will love you, God will bless you, you will be rich and life will be perfect. God instantly made you perfect in every way. Maybe there are some naive Christians out there too. Some churches seem to preach that Jesus promised these things. But I see the opposite, the Bible is full of verses that say we will be tested, there will be trials, there will be temptations, there will be struggles. There are many verses that talk about growing and maturing as a Christian. I don't really see any place in the Bible that Jesus promises all you problems will go away if you become a Christian. I think a good many Christians lose hope and give up because they were promised "everything would be perfect" if they got saved.
He did say his yoke was easy, and he told us to take his yoke upon ourselves. He didn't say there was no yoke at all. (Matt 11:28-30)
He didn't say there were no rules at all. If you believe this, imagine a world with no stop lights or stop signs. The Bible has many verses about things Christians should no longer do. The Bible teaches that freedom without boundaries always leads back to bondage.
Some people over complicate the Gospel and say you must do this, this and that, in this order on that day of the of the week in order to truly be saved.
Other people over simplify the Gospel and say once you're saved, that's it. You don't have any thing to worry about. I think all of us who have been Christians for any length of time know that isn't true. We still have struggles, we still have temptations, we still have trials, we are still tested from time to time. Tested for what? If I'm already saved, why do I need to be tested?
Being a Christian is about a change of heart. It's about forgiveness and grace certainly.
But have you had a change of heart? Have you really experienced Jesus? Are you still the same old dish soap with a different label on the bottle?
Are you living any differently than you did before? Are you still doing everything exactly the way you did before? Did you really repent of your old life style? (do a 180 degree turn from it) When Jesus came into your heart, did you really take off the old man and the old ways, or are you still doing the same things and living the same way you did before? When you are tested, do you notice any change in your heart? Yes, there is grace.. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. But just because there is a grace should we keep sinning more, just so there will be more grace?
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