Christian Life
Some have tried to avoid the concept of “Christ’s life for me and my life for Christ” depicted in the gospel exchange (cf. 2Cor.5:15; Mt.13:44-46; Lk.14:28-33; Mt.10:37-39; et al.) by imagining a dichotomy in the Christian life. They suggest that there are two alternatives when signing up for eternal life. They claim that you can choose to be “an average Christian” (i.e., someone with a “simple trust” in Christ which delivers them from the penalty of hell) or you can choose to be “a sold-out disciple” (i.e., someone who is committed to following Christ on a day-to-day basis).
This supposed dichotomy does not exist in the pages of the New Testament. It is a creation of modern churchgoers to explain away the “all in” call of the gospel. Some say it is necessary to avoid the addition of “works” to the gospel equation.
But clearly the Bible is not contradicting itself when it tells us that eternal life is a “gift of God” (Rom.6:23) and that the impact of the gospel will necessarily result in us becoming “slaves of God” who pursue “holiness” (Rom.6:22). The biblical gospel freely offers Christ’s life for us and demands my life for his.
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I was a carrier of that mindset for 10-12 years, until the Holy Spirit got a hold of me and showed me through plenty of scripture that a nominal Christian is in fact a sold out disciple of Christ. Thanks for sharing PM!
I appreciate this perspective. Kind of contradicts Spurgeon “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” doesn’t it? What happens to the seeds that sprout but are not in good soil? Are they cast into the fire in the end?
WHAT DOES HAPPEN?
It wasn’t until I started daily bible reading did the Spirit reveal to me that there is only one way for me to live. I have regular conversations with people who are deceived by the mindset stated in this blog and it saddens me that these are church going participants. That’s where I’m most concerned is what is being taught from the pulpits in our country. Thank you PM for not willing to compromise the truth to fill stadiums or even own our own building.