Consider the following statements as coming from a Christian and decide which statement is correct.
- Jesus (God) accepts me because I live a good life.
- Jesus (God) accepts me, therefore I will live a good life.
- Jesus (God) accepts me, therefore I can live my life my way.
This last weekend we had a speaker come to Ebenezer and give a number of messages on the theme of spiritual revival. Revival is one of the works of God that is very prominent in the bible because it is very necessary. In the statements above, statement #2 is the true biblical Gospel and Christianity. As a Christian, we are accepted and saved based entirely on what Jesus had done for us on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet, although we are saved by faith in Jesus alone, our faith is not alone. Genuine faith shows itself in living a good life (James 2:14-19). In other words, true Christianity is trusting our lives completely to Jesus who then graciously accepts us as His child. But with Jesus as our Savior, the result of our being accepted by Him is living our lives as best we can to His honor and glory (Statement #2).
Revival is necessary because although Christians may know statement #2 is true – living in this broken world and body draws us to both statements #1 and #3 in practice and life. One of our church father’s said, “Just as Jesus was crucified between two thieves. So the gospel is ever crucified between these two errors”. Statement #1 is about living a life of religion and statement #3 is living a life of irreligion. Religion and irreligion (sometimes called, ‘legalism and liberalism) are the two ‘errors’ we are drawn to. The first is going through certain motions such as church attendance, devotional reading, living with kindness, goodness, etc as a means to make ourselves good. The second is taking Jesus’ salvation offer and applying it as common grace to all. The idea being Jesus is all grace and offers no truth. Truth then is what I want it to be.
Both religion and irreligion make the Christian Church dead, cold, ineffective people and places keeping God’s Kingdom from advancing. This is why revival is necessary and needed within the Christian church. We need the Holy Spirit to be renewing us and reviving us to the truth of the true Gospel and alerting us to our religion and irreligion tendencies. Over the next months, the warning of religion and irreligion will often be shared with the hope that the Holy Spirit revive us to the truth and move us to live out the gospel in all fullness.
A the old song shares:
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
Pastor Mark
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