Happy vs Holy

I read a statistic lately that said that ¼ of the people who come to the Lord through a given ministry go on to develop their walk with God. We, in this current age, consider that to be a success. Why does this happen? Why do 75% of people who make a profession to Christ today not go on to grow in their faith? Why do people give up on their relationship with Christ? Why do they settle for so much less in their spiritual life --- less power, less love, less fruit…?

I think one reason is that we make the salvation message too easy. We have neglected to talk about repentance. It has become an option not a requirement for salvation. This is simply not Biblical. Jesus said in Luke 3, “I tell you … unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Peter spoke on Pentecost, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38)

A lot of preachers today sound a lot different than this. Their sermons sound more like, “Do you want to be free of all your worries? Do you want to have joy? Do you want to get rid of all your problems? Then come on and receive Jesus. He’ll take care of everything.” For the sinner who is listening, he thinks, “Yeah, I want all of that. I want to “win” the trip – to heaven. All I have to do is say yes. It’s the deal of the century.”

So people answer alter calls. Someone leads them in a sinner’s prayer, they are handed a Bible, and they get a pat on the back. Congratulations. You are now a Christian. Did they ever once hear about repentance? Are we more interested in decisions for Christ than we are disciples for Christ? Have we made sure that the person understands the conditions for receiving forgiveness?

What happens to these people? They go home feeling great. For a day or so, they are happy. They may even read the Bible we gave them. Then things start coming apart. They have a fight with a co-worker. Their child gets hurt. Their dog dies. Their 401K drops in value. Pretty soon they are back where they started. They wonder where the joy is they were promised. Where are the blessings? God isn’t real. They may even turn their backs and walk away because they didn’t find that easy, happy life they were looking for. Why? It’s our fault. We didn’t tell them that the ultimate goal of accepting Christ has nothing to do with being happy every day. The Bible isn’t filled with stories of God making people happy. It is filled with stories of God making people holy. Holiness is a process. It takes time and it sometimes isn’t fun. We have to be patient and trust God. If we are, we will reap the benefits of His working in our lives. We may not always be happy but we will experience His love and peace.

This is a lot to think on. I want to give it some more thought before I go on. More on repentance tomorrow…….