Christians Or Hypocrites?
Are you ready to explore this topic? Am I ready to write about this topic of being Christians or hypocrites? I believe I am. Before we go any further, I think you should read my personal testimony HERE.
Baby Christian
We are all considered to be baby Christians at the beginning of our walk with God. By spending time in daily devotions and prayer, we grow closer to the Lord and He draws closer to us. When we study His word on a consistent basis He opens the eyes and a greater understanding is achieved. We move from the milk, that is the very basic inclination of who Jesus is and why he came to earth to a deeper understanding of His plan for each of us and the world in its entirety.
Saved Or Lost
When I was officially baptized, the feeling of being saved had not come over me as I had imagined, and a year later realized how much of a hypocrite I was! The more studying I did on this subject the more convicted I became. How could I be a light to others when I was still living a sinful life?
What Is Conviction?
Do you feel guilty about something in your past or maybe a habit you have that you know isn’t good for your health or financial well being? Some people call this feeling having a conscience. A Christian knows this feeling to be under the Lord’s conviction. Jesus speaks to us in different ways and when He convicts us of sin in our lives, you can bet He will get our attention; unless one is so blind and deaf to His signals they have totally grieved the Holy Spirit away. Hebrews 10:26,27:26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
What Is sin?
You can read twenty (20) verses on sin by going to this website
We should all know about the Ten Commandments that God wrote in stone with His own finger. That is the best place to start when wanting to know about sin. From there we can expand upon the basics and gain a greater understanding of what our Lord desires from us and the more known about His character the more His followers desire to please Him. This comes naturally to most. Knowing how much He loves us, wouldn’t you want to please Him and make Him proud? After all, He truly is our divine Father!
Sin In His Eyes
To be righteous: To live a life that is pleasing to God is the ultimate desire for a Christian, yet so often I hear people accusing others of being self-righteous and I really don’t believe they understand the meaning of this phrase, because most often those who appear “self-righteous” are the worst sinners! These are true hypocrites, who claim to live righteous lives yet continue to live in sin by partaking in activities that are not clean at all: smoking, drinking alcohol, abusing drugs, and even being gluttonous with food, not to mention the unclean foods our Father made clear we are not to eat. His health message is clear and totally ignored. It was not nailed to the cross as so many believe. The ceremonial laws written by Moses that were placed beside the ark of the covenant were ended when Jesus was crucified. More on that later, or visit amazingfacts.org
False Doctrines
“Everything in moderation” seems to be a popular doctrine among many churches. One can drink alcohol in moderation and that is ok. Is it really? Did Jesus drink alcohol? No. Some may argue that He turned water into wine at a wedding party. He turned water into new wine, which was fresh, pure grape juice. It was not fermented. There are many verses that caution against drinking. One clear verse: Proverbs 20:1 says: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Visit your Bible and read the book of Proverbs to gain a greater understanding. Proverbs is a book of wisdom and speaks much on this subject.
What Is Repentance?
Repentance according to Wikipedia is the reviewing of one’s actions, having remorse for those actions, and the willingness to change. So, this means we turn away from the sin(s) that we are convicted of. It is not merely a confession and then a continuation of a sinful life. Once I understood what true repentance was, I focused my payers upon the sins in my life I knew Jesus was convicting me of: smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
From Conviction To Victory
Being a baby Christian, I was under the impression that as long as I believed in Jesus and that He died on the cross for me, my belief was all that was needed to be saved and to go to heaven. How very misleading this is! Even though the Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), this does not mean we can continue to knowingly live in sin. Jesus also claimed this when he said in Matthew 21-23:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
I started smoking at the age of 14 and drinking not long after that. These life-long “habits” are very hard to break! I had tried to quit smoking many times and failed. I cut my alcohol consumption down to “moderation” because the bible condemned drunkards. The more I studied God’s word the more convicted I became until I finally gave it all to God in prayer. I prayed each night and morning that I could not leave these things behind without the power of the Holy Spirit, praying that He remove these things from my life and He has! Once the desire to drink left me, I promised The Father to quit smoking.
His Promises He Keeps
For one month before my quit date, each day I would remind The Father of this promise (though He never forgets) and I would claim His promise to provide me with the way of escape: 1Corinthians 10:13 13″ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” I smoked my last cigarette on September 4th at 10:00 p.m. I woke the next morning and have not wanted a cigarette since. I give thanks and praise God each day for giving me this victory! He took this desire from me and I promise anyone who is reading this, He will do it for you!
Have The Cake And Eat It Too
Christians or hypocrites should be the main question these days because there seems to be more hypocrisy than the real desire to be a true follower of Christ. NO, there is no sitting on the fence. Jesus said if you are not with me you are against me!
Stay tuned for more on this subject, because this is just the beginning! Until next time, make each and every day count for something!
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