What is the purpose of you being a Christian? If you said it is that you will get to go to Heaven, then I am afraid that you have missed the mark. Our end result, our heavenly home is only one of the rewards that the believer in Christ can expect, it is the icing on the cake if you will, Christ Himself is our greatest reward. The purpose for a Christian is quite simple, to serve here on earth and for all of eternity in the presence of the Lamb, there is no other reason for our existence.
We were, as all of creation was, made for the pleasure of God, and as all His creation does, it serves His will, His will then should be our pleasure. All things are under Gods control, the waves of the sea were commanded this far, no further (Job 38:11), He calls all the stars by their name (Psalm 147:4), and He knows not only the number of hairs on your head (John 12:7), but the exact moment that you will leave this earth to either enter into His Eternal Glory or the never-ending punishment of torment, “ All things are open to Him with whom we have to do” (Heb.4:13). If we look only at the end result of all men, every soul that has been and will ever be created by Almighty God, we will see two truths, one we rejoice in, the other has been questioned since Adam was told that If he ate of the fruit he would die.
The first is this, one that we have already stated as truth in His Word, all things were created for His pleasure, on this we would all agree, but the second has been debated for the entirety of man since His Word was first revealed to us, that some, in fact most, for the gate is narrow, and few find it (Matt. 7:14) are you going to spend eternity in the lake of fire with no reprieve, and that also is His pleasure. God does not do what He does not want to do, and He never forces Himself to do anything that is against His character, what He has said, He will do.
One of the most difficult verses for many to read in the Scriptures is Isaiah 53:10 “It pleased God to bruise Him.” I know that some have tried to interpret this verse into saying that God was pleased that His Son did what He did for us on the cross, that He was pleased when Christ took the punishment for us that we all should have received, which He was, but even when this verse is taken out of context, that just doesn’t work. You might as well try to explain away “Those He loves He chastens” (Heb. 12:6) by saying that our Lord only chastises those of His children who have committed a sin against Him, would be incorrect. He disciplines those He loves whether they have done something wrong against Him or not, how else would you interpret this verse when it is placed alongside 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Our Lord is the only one who is allowed to discipline His children. Did you think He gives His children just so much time and no more to remember this verse and repent of their sin before He begins to send that promised chastisement upon us? It pleased God to bruise Him, all things were created for His pleasure, He knew before the foundation of the world those who would be His children and those who would not, and it is His pleasure to cast them into eternal darkness. We don’t need to understand it, we only need to accept the fact that God is sovereign.
Which leads us back to the opening statement of this letter to you, what is the purpose of you being a Christian, why are you here? Is it so that you can be a one hour a week follower, showing up to the weekend service, sing some songs, put some money in the plate, listen to the message and then head off to spend the rest of the week in the world? While it is true in the world that those who stand and wait also serve, this is not the path that the Lord has for any of His followers, that is why it is called a path, it is meant to produce forward movement, not standing stagnation. Think of the examples that we are given in the Book of Malachi (1:14), would you dare to bring a defective animal to your governor, of course not, why do you think that it would be a good idea to bring one to the Lord. What good is a servant who will not serve?
There are far too many who are calling themselves Christians today that will be in for a very rude and eternal awakening when they open their eyes a few moments after they die. Works seem to be the common answer anymore, and as a few of them as is required of us, just enough to make sure that they get in the door. We will be rewarded for the works that we did that were for the Glory of Christ, but you will be judged on your faith, faith is trust, trust is obeying, and servants are to obey. “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matt. 7:20) If you are not seeing any of the Fruits of the Spirit in a person, then you are more than likely not looking at a Christian, if you have been speaking to someone over a long period of time and rarely if ever hear the Truths of the Scriptures coming from them, then you have not been speaking to a Christian. Servants do, a Christian does, believers in Christ serve and obey Christ.
I have met a lot of people who call themselves Christians, but you would never know they are one outside of the church building. It is all but impossible to tell the difference between them and those in the world. Far too many believe they have a golden ticket, a magic key that will allow them entrance into the Kingdom of God, and many times when subjects such as this one are brought to their attention, they site the thief on the cross. These that I meet do not really care for my response to them that the man on that cross next to our Lord, the one that asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom (Luke 23:42), didn’t really have a lot of plans for that night or the next day, did he? You do though, don’t you. Probably going to get up early, get to your job, come back home, take care of a few things, maybe watch a little television, might go to church this weekend, might not, depends on what else is going on. Long range plans? Save money, enjoy those retirement years, happily watch as the family grows up and goes their own way. Fall asleep one night and be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven by happy, smiling faces so glad to see you. Oh, I forgot to put that service to Christ thing in there, don’t worry about that, He knows you love Him, and that’s all that matters, right? Just keep showing up to church, glance at your Bible every once in a while, throw a little extra in the plate occasionally, maybe help set up the chairs or even mow the church yard once in a while, get up every morning and work hard at your job, provide for your family, be a nice guy, and hey, you’re in the front door of Heaven. No problem.
Perhaps I should have opened this letter with “what is the purpose of you continuing to pretend to be a Christian,” but that would have seemed rude, wouldn’t it. Those who are willingly serving know they are serving, and desire nothing more than to serve more. Those who think they are serving are hoping that they are serving enough. “When ye have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants.” (Luke 17:10)
The Sovereign Lord of all creation has commanded me to obey His commandments, then He asked me if I would like to come out of the sheepfold and begin on a path to serve Him a little more. It is a very difficult path at times, but oh, it is worth it, better yet, Christ is worth it. What is it going to gain any that choose this path? Let me answer that with a question, when you see Christ, Moses, and Paul strolling along and having a conversation together in Heaven, will you feel as if you have the right to just walk right over there and join in the conversation with them? The purpose of a Christian is to serve, not in the least way that he can, but in all that is asked of him by His Lord, it is our rightful duty.
