Artificial Christian
1 Peter 1:18-25
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
Can you tell if this is real one or artificial? (showing a real or artificial flower) Why is it so hard to distinguish real one from one artificial? You can¡¯t tell the difference. They look alike and same. Just by looking at it, you won¡¯t be able to tell the difference.
But, I am not here to talk about flowers, but, like flowers, I believe there is such a thing as artificial Christian. Actually it is more difficult to see the difference when it comes to the matter of faith than that of flowerers. It won¡¯t take that long before you can tell if it is real flower or not. You can touch it or smell it, then you will know almost right away if it is real one. But that is not the case for the matter of faith. Why is it?
Because, we can easily act and talk as if we are Christians when we are not. We can pray, read bible, praise, help people, and even worship as if we are Christians. I don¡¯t mean to say, some of us pretend to act out like Christians intentionally. Rather, we actually mean to do what we are supposed to do as Christian.
This is what makes the problem more serious and complicated. If we realize ourselves that we are not Christians in spite of our Christian-like activities, then we might have a chance to repent and change ourselves. But, more than often, not knowing our true identity, we assume ourselves to be Christians since we are doing Christian things. Never questioning whether we are truly Christians, and never realizing our true identity, we may live and die thinking we are Christians when we are not.
That¡¯s why Jesus said this is what is going to happen in the judgment day, (listen what Jesus said)
¡°Many will say to me on that day, ¡°Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?¡± Then I will tell them plainly, ¡®I never knew you. Away from me , you evildoers¡¯ Matthew 7:22-23
¡°I never knew you¡± Jesus will say to them. There wasn¡¯t even a moment when Jesus knew them, yet they lived and died believing that they were known to Jesus.
I pray that this may not be the case for any of us. But, at the same time, we have to take extra measure to make sure that it wouldn¡¯t be the case for you and I. With this in my mind, I would like to share with you how can one become a real Christian though I am sure many of us here are already Christians.
But before I do that, may I see you hand up if you think you are already Christians?
May I ask why you are Christian and why not? Can some of you tell me?
Let¡¯s go back to the scripture verses that we have read: 1st Peter verse 23.
23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
What does it tell us by ¡°You have been born again¡±? It tells us, becoming a Christian is like a birth. Thus, becoming a Christian is not a process but a momentary event, which means it either happened or not. Growing as Christian is process, but becoming a Christian is an event. That means you are either born or not. You are either Christian or not. There is no between.
By the way, how many of you think that all human beings are children of God.
All human beings are so precious before God, but not all human beings are children of God.
That is why Jesus said unless you are born again, you can not see the Kingdom of God. Unless you are born of God as children of God, you can¡¯t enter the heaven.
To become a Christian is not simply being born, but being born again.
We all were born as child of our parents. But unless we are born again of God, we are not children of God, thus not Christians.
Then how are we born again? Let¡¯s go back to I Peter 1:23
23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
You are born again of imperishable seed, the word of God.
The word of God is imperishable seed. Just as what makes natural and real flower is Seed, what make real Christian is seed. Without it, you can water it and cultivate it, but it won¡¯t change a thing. No growth and no change, because there is no life without seed. But, seed only can gives a life. Same is true in our spiritual life. You can give thanks, read scripture, offer and praise, yet without this seed, it won¡¯t change a thing as far as your spiritual life. Only the word of God, imperishable seed, can give you the life. Again only this imperishable seed can give imperishable life, the eternal life.
You are born again through the word of God. And what is the word of God specifically?
Let¡¯s go back to the same chapter where the passage is located. And read verse 10 through 13.
1 Peter 1:10-13 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Notice verse 25 again and then verse 12 for the answer.
Verse 25 says, ¡°And this is the word that was preached to you.¡± Then verse 12 identifies what was preached. The answer is of course the gospel, the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
You are born again by the word of truth, the gospel
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Ephes. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
Col. 1: 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God¡¯s grace in all its truth.
This gospel reveals who God is as loving God who forgives our sins. If you accept this gospel, acknowledging that you haven¡¯t lived God centered life and acknowledging God as He is as loving God and righteous God, then you will have a personal relationship with God. In other words if you accept Jesus Christ who died on the cross as your savior and if you accept Jesus Christ who was resurrected as your Lord who will control your life, then you begin to have a new life: the life with God.
What God wants is not simply your Christian activities such as praising, Praying, reading the bible, and all that. No matter how important these might be, what He really wants is you yourself, not simply what you do, because what He wants most is to have personal relationship with you.
You may do all kinds of Christian activities to make you grow spiritually, yet it wouldn¡¯t change a thing unless you have the word of God, the gospel, in your heart. Just like a flower that grew out of seed is a real one, only a person that grew out of the word of God, which is imperishable seed is of real faith. Would you be willing to accept this imperishable seed in your heart today?
