What kind of life are you living? Most would answer “a good one”. So what does that mean, a good life? Does it mean that you have a good family, job? You do good things for man kind, keep out of trouble, and only commit the little sins in life.
A more important question, where are you going to be after this good life is over?
Woody Allan said, I don’t believe in an after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear.
So do you believe what Mr. Allan has to say or do you think there is something more out there?
A lot of people think that there is a heaven, and they believe that as long as they live a good life and don’t commit any of those big sins then they will end up on the streets of gold in heaven. So we have heard what a comedian has to say on the subject, now lets see what Jesus has to say.
John 14:6
6Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
So if you are one of those people who think as long as you live a good life and have the belief that everyone’s faith is correct, well then you are wrong. Jesus tells us that we can only get to Heaven through Him, and no other way. So why do people think that as long as they live a good life they will end up in Heaven?
So how do you live a life that will get you into heaven?
1 John 2:3-6
3And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. 4If someone says, "I belong to God," but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. 5But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. 6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.
So if we obey the Bible then we will get into heaven right? Wrong. We can not just talk the talk; we have to walk the walk as well. It is one thing to say you know the bible and to try and obey all the commandments in the bible, you have to live as Christ lived and that means believing that we have to be born again to reach heaven.
So does this mean we have to obey every single commandment in the bible? Once again the answer is no.
Matthew 5:17-18
17"Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. 18I assure you, until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God’s law will remain until its purpose is achieved.
What Jesus is saying is that once one of the commandments that is talked about in the old testament has been achieved then it is no longer needed. Most of the rules that Moses handed down from generation to generation was to keep the Israelites safe from disease and war. In the Old Testament the people were not allowed to eat pigs because they could not cook the animal at the right temperature to kill all the infections in the pig. Later on however cooking was improved and people were able to cook meat at higher temperatures
Acts 10:9-16
9The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat them."
14"Never, Lord," Peter declared. "I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws."
15The voice spoke again, "If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t." 16The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
Here we see that God has changed the law. When you read your bible you are able to figure out if a law has been accomplished by what the New Testament says about it.
So once we have come to a place in our lives where we can call ourselves Christians what is the next step?
Mark 16:15
15And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.
So we now know that once we have made the commitment to Christ and are living our lives for Him we must go into all the world and tell everyone about what He has done for us.
It is hard to go up to friends and family and tell them that they are sinners. First off because most people do not like hearing their faults and what they are doing wrong in life, and second because we do not want our friends to hate us. So what can you do to show people Christ’s love? Well I have found that if you live your life as Christ would live His life then people ask you why your life is so different then their own. This can open up an amazing window of opportunity to share your faith with them. Even if you have to start off small by just telling them what you believe and why you believe it then they might want to ask more questions.
We need to learn how to love and not to condemn, just like Jesus did.
John 3:17
17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
So we need to love people and not judge people. We have to show people that we love them, but we do not love their sin. It is up to God to judge people outside the church.
James 4:12
12God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor?
So God will judge those who do not live their lives for Him. But it is up to us to judge those inside the church so they do not corrupt the church.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
12It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. 13God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you."
When someone says they are a Christ follower and disobey God’s book purposely then they need to be spoken to and their actions need to be rectified. This needs to be done so people outside the church do not call us hypocrites. As Christians we need to be aware of the fact that it is not only leaders in the church that people are constantly watching. If you are a true Christian then everyone around you should know that, and if they all know that then they will probably be watching for you to mess up. I am not going to say that you will never sin again, but I am saying that you have to watch what you say and what you do all the time because you never know who is watching. And even when you are alone God is watching.
Ecclesiastes 12:14
14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
So if you think you can hide from God then you are wrong and will be very disappointed when you get to those shiny pearl gates and find out that all your little secrets are known.
So if people in our church are all living in Christ ways then we can get a vision started. I have a friend named Barry who is always saying that one person with a vision is better than a million without one. So if there are 50 people in our church with a vision than that means it is better than 50 million without one. I know that I have a vision for this church. This vision is to see people who are unchurched or have been hurt by the church come to Cornerstone and realize that we are a church of love. We need to have this church overflowing with people, filled to such a capacity that the fire marshal has to come in and yell at us. People if we do not bring our attendance up then our new church building will look mighty empty with only 50 people in it.
I am only here for 5 more months and I want to see this church grow so much. But you are all going to be here after I go off to college and when I come home during vacations I want to come into the building and wonder how we are going to fit everyone in. I challenge every single one of you, I do not care how old you are, I want each of you to first assess your life and make sure that you are living a holy life and a Christ like life. Then you need to ask God to give you a vision for your family your church and your friends. Tell God that you want to do this and you will do whatever it takes to advance His Kingdom. You must act on these plans He has for you.
Acts 26:18
18to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
This is our goal we all have different routes to accomplish it, but they all come from the same God.
