What Does it Really Mean to ‘Accept Christ’?
You are standing in church and you hear the words of the preacher in a way that you have never heard them before. You are then presented with a choice to change you ways of living and ‘walk with the Lord’. In a moment of clarity, you choose to accept Christ in your heart, and, according to scripture, confess this acceptance with your spoken words.
Let’s take a little time to discuss what this decision really means!
Because Jesus says that if a man takes your coat, offer your shirt also. If a man strikes you on the left cheek, offer him the right cheek also. Many people think that these words make Jesus and all Christians a pacifist. Don’t be fooled!
Matthew 5: 39-41
But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
The truth of accepting Christ is found in the 10th chapter of Matthew. Although Christianity is based on lack of physical violence, God does not want His followers to bend to the practices of the unbelievers. Refusal to follow the accepted customs of the world can, and will, be far more devastating than a simple argument, a fist-fight, or even a war. God demands followers to be loyal to his Word!
Matthew 10: 34-37 (read these words very carefully)
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household’. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Continuing on in this same passage of Matthew is the key to becoming a true Christian. This passage speaks of a ‘change’. This change must be of both mental thought and physical actions. Some professed Christians seem to feel that ‘knowing Jesus’ is a secret. A secret practiced on Sundays when no one else is looking. Some sort of idealism in the brain that makes one man better than another. A secretive idealism that this person may share only with other Christians or those who he thinks will not insult his/her beliefs. Nothing is further from the truth!
A true believer practices his/her beliefs every moment of every day. Every breath, every step, every thought, every decision is based on God’s Word! This is a practice that must be practiced openly. One must not carefully hide beliefs, but shout them from the top of a mountain.
The only part of Christianity that should be done in a private place is praying, (both in spirit and in your native language), worship, and praising of God. This can also be done in public gatherings, among other true believers.
Matthew 10: 38-39 Is this what you are doing, or did you modify this for your personal fit and comfort? (read below)
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
These words are very clear. There is no such thing as a part-time Christian. If you are not full time, I would very carefully assess exactly what it is you are doing.
Do you think that you are doing enough Christian practice to keep God happy and still keep hold of your old life? Matthew 10: 39 says that you must lose your old life, not share it with your Christian life.
A clear choice must be made…..and honored!
