Only Believe
Jesus did not suffer so people could own guns, or vote, or go to war, or experience economic growth, or even promote different kinds of morality. Jesus suffered and died for our vile sins and so that we could have everlasting life. Any steps away from that message are to different degrees a compromise of the gospel. Any moral changes in a believer after he has been saved are residual and must serve to draw attention to Christ Himself.
Moral changes in a believer, however positive and dramatic, are not germane to the gospel itself and reveal the power of Christ rather than the path to Christ. When believers champion moral causes they do a disservice to the gospel and misrepresent the gospel message entirely. Moral change without Christ, personally or legislatively, may be desirable in the natural, but in the spirit it presents a works based religion that cannot save and is in fact in conflict with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The path and payment to everlasting life was completed in full upon the cross and authenticated by the resurrection. There is only one way to appropriate Christ’s completed work to a sinner’s own personal life.
Believe. Only believe.
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:18
ReplyDeleteOne of the most abused scriptures in all of the bible.
We are not to be imitators of Jesus we are to participators in Him.
Indeed. If one has no observable change in his post salavtion experience then his experience can be suspect. However, even if a believer never sinned again that would not add to the redemption he was given completely in Christ.
ReplyDeleteThe sinner needs Christ, not some moral overhaul.