Man, oh man, sometimes being a Christian SUCKS…. It’s not because of Jesus our His AMAZING Gospel… The greatest love story EVER where God loves us so much that He left His throne and became one of us to take our punishment and be slain thus creating a bridge that gets us out of here to take us home to be with Him after we draw our final breath...
No, it sucks to be a Christian a lot of the times because Christians will suck the joy right out of you… All the debating and bickering must STOP… No wonder many churches are dwindling away...
I say all of this because every morning I sit down at my desk and the very first thing I do is check the church Facebook page and then start doing the daily’s and KABLAM the very first thing I see are Christians going at it over if baptism saves you or not… (Hey Gracie you kicked ass by the way! You go gurl!)
Then there is the debate that if you get baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit you were baptized wrong and are still going to Hell because Peter said in Acts that one must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ alone…
Then you have the Church of Christ that believes you must be baptized through them or you’re not saved… Then the Apostolic Pentecostals believe that if you don’t immediately speak in tongues at the moment, you accept Christ, you didn’t truly get saved because tongues are proof that the Holy Spirit entered your heart…
I could keep on going but I think I have made my point…
I want you all to imaging being lost and stumbling across the thousands of threads and comment sections out there where Christians are going at it… See my point? I would stay clear of Church and Christianity too had I not met Jesus and fell in love with Him at such a young age and it was BEFORE I knew that legalism and a bunch of different denominations existed.. Nope it was just Jesus and me..
With all of that being said I am going to give my 2 cents..
1. The Gospel is a cut and dry simple message with BASIC instructions on how to get to Heaven so that the lower IQ folk can understand it too but the brainiacs and over thinkers have been over complicating since it was written..
2. The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ! All denominations believe in and agree with hell without dispute. My point is if baptism was required for salvation, it would have been mentioned waaaaaaaaaay more than it is AND it would be neon sign and dummy proof with NO room for debate just like Hell is… See my point?
3. The fact that the thief on the cross didn’t have to be baptized is proof all within itself that if once saved and you get hit by a Mack truck driving to the river to be baptized, you will still make it to Heaven because it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
4. Should we be baptized? Of course! We were instructed to by Jesus himself and someone that is truly saved WANTS TO OBEY AND PLEASE HIM…
5. Paul said be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and Jesus said be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit… Paul is great and all but JESUS IS GOD so if it were that important you would think the frigging CREATOR OF ALL THINGS would have got it right… Bottom line is BOTH WAYS ARE RIGHT because they are all 3 in one and 1 in three…
6. Getting saved is your private declaration of your love and acceptance of Jesus and baptism is your PUBLIC DECLARATION OF FAITH symbolizing that you die and were buried with Christ and then you come out of the water BORN AGAIN and a NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST…
Now the funniest thing just hit me… By writing this, I just included myself into the exact thing I hate but it is needed because again, I want the LOST PEOPLE TO KNOW that the plan of salvation is a SIMPLE plan with NO catch and NO prerequisites!
Are you TRULY saved and a Christ Follower? Meaning that you have confessed out loud that Jesus is Lord, you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you have repented and asked forgiveness of all your sin?
It’s sad, but I have met COUNTLESS people that will say that they are a Christian but have NEVER prayed and asked Christ into their hearts… Satan almost had them fooled!
I will also hear the following answers when asked, “ARE YOU SAVED” ?
“Well I think so”----“I was baptized as a kid”----"Well I went to church all of the time when I was younger”-----"I think so”------ “What does saved mean” ?
These are only a few I have received throughout the years…
Listen people, the enemy is a Military Genius and deceiver…
If I ask you a question that pertains to your ETERNAL HOME, don’t you think you should know this answer with 100% Accuracy?
Let’s try this again. Are you 100% without a shadow of a doubt saved? If you cannot honestly answer yes, answer these simple questions:
Do you believe Jesus walked the Earth? Do you believe He was tortured and then murdered on a Cross for your sins? Do you believe that God raised Him from the dead 3 days later?
This is ALL YOU MUST CONFESS AND BELIEVE to have your name written I the Lambs Book of Life but MANY think they are good with it all and really they are not..
If you truly believe everything I just mentioned, please stop what you are doing, turn off the TV/Radio and say this simple prayer out loud:
Dear God
I confess now that Jesus Christ is Lord
I believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead
Father, please forgive me for all of my sins
Please cover my sins with the Blood of Jesus
Please guide my steps from this day forward and help me lead a life that is pleasing to you
I give my heart and life to you
I say this all in Jesus Name…. AMEN
If you just prayed that and meant it YOU ARE SAVED…
Start actively seeking God and He will actively seek you! You can do this by prayer and start reading the Bible… Start in the NEW TESTAMENT and stay outta the old for now.. Start in Matthew and then skip over to Acts and then keep going to the end…
Buy a used copy of the book Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge on Amazon for @ $7.00 total… This will show you the human side of Jesus and make Him more relatable to you…
Then find a good group of peeps that teach the truth in love without adding or taking anything away from God’s Word… Basically go “church shopping” and don’t get discouraged because you will find a lot of mean, prude, uppity, self-righteous, legalistic ass holes out there!!! If you find these types, LEAVE and keep shopping until God places you in one..
Church doesn’t get you to Heaven. What you just prayed gets you to Heaven but now you are a BABY IN CHRIST and you need to learn and grow. If you cannot find one, join us every Sunday on Facebook Live at NOON until you do!
And lastly, if you just received Christ for the very first time would you please private message us and let us know? We want to celebrate with you and send you a FREE gift…
Take care and we will see you in Heaven someday!
~Brian Smith~
Commenti