“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15)
How many of the unrepentant, the wicked of this world that the wrath of God abides on do you see living in some form of constant pain and sorrow, how many of them have continuous needs, are always suffering in some form, are rarely if ever happy and are known as the destitute of this world?
Very, very few.
In fact, most are quite content and basically satisfied with their lives, they rarely do without those basic necessities of life and even many of their wants they are able to obtain, living for the most part full and happy lives, many of them surrounded by family and friends that love them.
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17)
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:” (1st Cor. 1:26)
We preach eternity, we preach the truth of eternal suffering, of eternal separation from the love and mercy of the Almighty, and few will listen because they are not suffering, they have no real needs, they will not listen for the most part they are content. The great mistake of the Evangelical community is to offer love, not suffering, to speak of temporal contentment, not grief and sorrow, to offer happiness, not joy unspeakable in pain and loneliness.
We offer hope, not faith, we speak of His sacrifice, but not of the need for them to sacrifice everything for Him who gave all. We offer a Christ who gives to all that asks, freely of the water of life, and tell them that all they must do is accept Him, but we do not inform them that He will require all they are, that they must die to every desire they have that in some way does not glorify Him. They do not need to be born-again, to die to self, to be completely transformed by the renewing of their mind, they do not need to crucify the flesh and all its desires.
All they need to do is add Jesus to their life.
Show up to church on a regular basis, read the Bible occasionally, think and perform good deeds, continue on in your life in and for the world, but now you can tell people you are a Christian, because you now have added not only all these things to your life, but you repeated the words you were told to say and on top of all that, you were baptized.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22)
Many are called, and many believe they have answered that call, their lives are changed, but all they have done is add Christ to their lives, they have not died to self. They repented only in their minds because of an emotionally charged moment, and in that moment they believed they could get more. More happiness, more contentment, more of those peaceful moments that would make them feel better about themselves.
And if they try very hard to stay in that moment, if they live their lives as good people, they will get to go to heaven.
We preach death to self, completely and without reservations of any form, we speak of complete and absolute obedience in love, not for what we can get from the Almighty, but because He is the Almighty. We do not tell them that they will be happy and healthy, but that they will suffer for Him.
And why would anyone listen to us when they are relatively content in this life?
Churches are full of the people this short letter speaks about, happy “Christians” who see suffering as a punishment from the Most High.
They love Him for what He can give them, not for who He is.
