The Way...

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him....Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did...1 John 3:3-6.

When did it become OK to say we believed in God and not obey him?? If I believe in the Law of Gravity then jump out of a plane without a parachute...either I'm a liar and I don't really believe or I am in blatant rebellion of the law.

Whenever Christianity first came upon the scene ,not long after Christ died and ascended into heaven, His followers weren't called Christians, but rather followers of the Way. There wasn't any mistaking these Christ followers...before there was any tag given to them they could still be picked out of a crowd. Why??? Because they couldn't help but be identified because of their actions. It was just the way they lived their lives. They were constantly meeting, pooling resources, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, spreading the Gospel...if you were an outsider looking in, you noticed something different about these people. The Gospel had penetrated their hearts and minds so much so that it transformed the way they lived.

Today, however, look around...do you notice anything different about the church??? Or do you just hear them talk about how Jesus has changed their lives??? Besides getting together at church on Sundays (which often times looks more like a social event where we can see who's got the sharpest suits than anything else) what's going on??? How are we being obedient to Christ's commands and how are we conveying the message of the Gospel???

Are we lying in saying that Jesus is Lord??? If the truth is in us...you should be able to tell by some other means than just our words alone.

We as believers used to be marked as Christ followers not by what we said, but rather by the way we lived our lives.