Do you love your friends? Well, do ya?

Something I've been thinking about a lot recently is do we, as Christians, really love our friends, and if we do, how do we show it? For example, the world shows friendship by loving each other, sharing, caring for one another, etc. But shouldn't we as Christians be doing more than that? Let me ask you a question: if you are a Christian, and your friend is not, what is the single most important thing you can possibly share with them? The saving knowledge of Christ, of course! And, if you don't, what does that say about you? It says that you are more concerned with yourself and what the world thinks of you than you are the fact that your friend might spend an eternity in hell, which basically means you don't care at all about them. Now, I'm not saying you should constantly keep bringing it up, or if they tell you they're not interested that you should try to force them to believe, because you shouldn't. However, not mentioning it at all is definitely not what you should be doing. Let me put it another way: If someone is your friend, and they share something with you (an opinion, belief, life style, etc), and you disagree with it, would you stop being their friend? Do friends stop being friends simply because they disagree about something? Of course not! So, if you share Christ with them, and they choose to stop being your friend because they believe differently, guess what? Chances are, they weren't your friend in the first place. So, if that is what you are worried about, you shouldn't be, because friends can still be friends regardless of different opinions, beliefs, cultures, lifestyles, and yes, even religions. Case in point: I have a few friends who fall into many categories I disagree with, such as one who is a Wiccan, another who is bisexual, another who believes in Darwinism, another who believes that global warming is caused by people, etc. I disagree with all of those, but yet I am still their friends. You know why? 2 reasons: 1. That's what friends do 2. That's the example that Christ set. How can I expect to influence others for Christ if I don't associate with them? I can't! So, the overall point is what I'm trying to say is, if you as a Christian truly love your friends, you WILL tell them about Christ, because you're not guaranteed tomorrow, they might die in the next 10 seconds, and it will be to late. So, let me raise this question: Do you love your friends? Well, do ya?

Transparency and being a Christian, not a hypocrite

OK, now another difficult topic, about being a hypocrite. Being a hypocrite, and making mistakes, specifically. What is the difference between the 2, you might ask? Well, for one thing, I far too often am a hypocrite. And, just because I make mistakes, does not necessarily make me one. No, being a hypocrite is about making mistakes, all the while pretending like you are faultless. It is about being concerned with image above all else. In particular, being a hypocrite means that you keep your sins in the dark, and don't try to make amends, or in some cases, even repent of them. The Pharisees and the Sadducees in the bible were classic examples of hypocrites. They upheld all the laws to the letter, and they looked good and clean on the outside, but they didn't uphold the PRINCIPLE of the laws. They admitted that they never murdered, but they had hate towards people, which Jesus said is the same thing. They never committed adultery, but Jesus said that looking at a woman lustfully is the same thing. Jesus called them a brood of vipers, and whitewashed tombs. Sure, Christians make mistakes. However, we should not, under any circumstances, be willing to stoop to the level of hypocrisy. Instead, we need to set a new trend: That we, as Christians, often act before we think, but that we are transparent, even vulnerable, about our flaws. After all, how can we expect ourselves to be able to bring others to Christ if we are peddling the same "image is everything" mentality that the world is? If we behave no differently than the world, then how can we expect the world to want anything to do with us? I think it is time you and I take a stand, and take a chance, and let people see the REAL us, the broken, messed up, humble us, and let them see that Christ loves us, despite of our flaws, and that you and I aren't afraid to stand up and be open and honest, and make amends wherever possible.

So, Christians go to church...okay, where's the fruit?

Okay, I'm going to address a tricky topic. It is a topic that even some churches don't address. It is the difference between those who claim to be and look like Christians, and those who actually are. It is the topic of sanctification and justification.Basically, it is the topic of faith vs. works.

Now, I want to make it clear at the outset, I am not saying that doing works will EVER be enough to get one into heaven. We can never, as sinful human beings, be "good enough" or "perfect enough" for heaven. However, that does not mean we shouldn't try.

James 2:14-26 says: ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^a]">[a]? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"^b]">[b] and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Not only that, but Jesus said something similar, and he said it many times:

Matthew 25:31-46:

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Matthew 7:15-23:

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

So, you may be thinking, "What does all of this mean? Does it mean we are saved by works?" By all means, no. We are not saved through works, but a truly saving faith will produce works. We are saved because of Christ's love for us, and if we truly are saved, we will show it, because God will be transforming, slowly but surely, into his likenss. Works do not save one, but faith doesn't, etiher. Recieving salvation means confessing faithe in God, and repenting. And Repenting means that you will show works, because repentance does not mean simply to "stop doing what you shouldn't," but also to "start doing the things we should," because not doing what we should is just as much a sin as doing what we shouldn't.

Now, finally, I want to say that if someone is offended by any of this, because they think they can be a "fire insurance Christian," or basically just be a Christian so they don't go to hell, and keep on living the way they did before they accepted Christ, I want to say, don't be mad at me, because I am simply stating what the Bible already says. If you've though that you're a Christian, only to find out you aren't, I'm sorry, the only thing I can say, is reconsider whether you are a Christian or not. If your life has changed for the better, and you've become more Christlike since you became a Christian, then, no worries. However, if there is no fruit in your life, you should seriously evaluate whether or not you are a Christian, because, simply put:

"FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD."