1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
A couple of weeks ago this column printed a poem by David Sakawski he is 15 years old. In his poem he said this, “The swords have been drawn, There's a line in the sand, Now is the time to decide. For which side do I stand?” David only 15 years old, yet he sees that he must make a choice. There is an old preacher’s saying that say’s, Sitting on the fence isn’t an option because Satan owns the fence. Charles Spurgeon said this, “There is a man who was almost saved in a fire, but he was burned. There was another who was almost healed of a disease, but he died. There was one who was almost reprieved, but he was hanged. And there are many in hell who were almost saved.”
Spurgeon also challenged his congregation to get alone that evening and think upon their relationship with the Lord. He challenged them to write down one of two words, if they thought they were not right with the Lord to write down Condemned. If they thought they did believe in Jesus and had put their trust in Him, to write down Forgiven. He then goes on to tell the story of a young man who took up this challenge and upon looking at his life he had written down the word Condemned. He said, “There it was. I had written it myself; Condemned. As he looked, the tears began to flow and the heart began to break. And before long he fled to Christ, put the paper in the fire, and wrote down Forgiven.”
As David asked in his poem, “For which side do I stand?” I challenge you today to take up the challenge offered by Spurgeon over 100 years ago, to think upon your relationship with the Lord. To take a piece of paper and write down one of the two words, Condemned or Forgiven. David finished his poem with these words, “I cried, "Who am I to stand before you?" I fell to my knees and wept with remorse. But the being said, "Rise, I mean you no harm, I sent my Son to die for the worst of the worst. I stood up and looked into his eyes. I did not gaze in fear nor did I flee. He looked down with a smile on his face. I lifted my hands and said, "Please, help me." So he took me with his hand, His strong and mighty hand. And on that fateful day, I crossed the line in the sand.” Condemned or Forgiven on which side do you stand?
How can I have a relationship with God if I'm condemned? Are we not redeemed by Christ if we are saved? We stand before God clothed in Christ's righteousness, not our own.
ReplyDeleteIf we are saved and Are we clothed in Christ's Righteousness? That is Spurgeon's challenge for there is no relationship with Christ while we stand condemned and many will stand before God without the robe of righteousness. And they will be condemned. Spurgeon's challenge is to take a look at our lives, and ask who is our master. Romans 8 says it like this, Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. and verses 12-14 go on to say, Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
ReplyDeleteJust this week I had lunch with a friend who shared a testimony regarding her struggle with the assurance of her salvation. Having grown up in the church and even after years of believing, she continued to wrestle with all of the ungodly things she did while professing to be a 'Christian'. Recently, the Almighty, in His grace and in His mercy, brought her to that place of knowing that she knows that she knows that she knows that she is saved and forgiven and Oh! What joy (and tears of repentance) it brings! In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are exhorted to examine ourselves and, it would behoove us to do so, as some of the most frightening words in Scripture are found in Matthew 7:20-23 where Yeshua (Jesus) speaks of the casting away of many who claim to know Him and do things in His name saying, 'Depart from Me, I never knew you!' My heart breaks in great sadness and fear for the multitudes of people who have been deceived by tradition and/or the 'cotton-candy gospel' so popular in America today. May it spur us on to proclaim the Truth with an even greater urgency and frequency than ever before. Thanks for posting this Dave!
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