A New “Christianity”

            Most modern churches have invented a new Christianity. Many will say that all paths lead to heaven; many will say that all are children of God; and many will say that it is simple to become a Christian. 

            Today’s “Christian” churches and literature abound with invitations for sinners to merely “believe” in Jesus and thus have eternal life. Some will invite them to “Ask Jesus into your heart,” “Receive Christ, or “Make a decision for Christ.” 

           Some invitations will go beyond this and ask the candidate for salvation to raise his or her hand during a preaching service, walk an aisle, sign a card, say a prayer, or participate in a sacrament.  One well-known Christian author, after asking his readers to "quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: 'Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you," goes on to say, "If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations!  Welcome to the family of God!”

           After this is done, their experience is repeatedly reinforced by asking them to recall the time, date, and circumstances of their “conversion,” perhaps bolstered with the added confidence of a Bible verse.  Yet the essence of true saving faith is not simply a moment-in-time emotional experience, not a few words prayed during an invitation, not a head knowledge of a Bible verse, not baptism or taking communion, and not simply a belief in the facts of the Bible.  Rather, true saving faith results in a new creation, echoing the words of Paul: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold , all things have become new”  (II Corinthians 5:17).

The Faith . . . Once Delivered

           The message Jesus preached is the exact same message preached by John the Baptist and all the Apostles:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2,17).  Nowhere, in fact, does Jesus preach an easy-believe message. 

           To the contrary, Jesus’ message is, “if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).  The cross, in fact, was a symbol of death in Jesus’ day and becomes a symbol of death to self and sin for the believer.

            When asked by a rich young lawyer, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?," Jesus, knowing his heart, asked him to give up what was most dear to him, and thus sent the man away “sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:22).  Jesus’ dealing with this man shows the truth of His words in Mark 8:35:  "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

            In Luke 14, as Jesus stood before the multitudes who were following Him, rather than eagerly embracing the thousands of new “converts,” He said, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33).  He preached this not simply to those desiring “a closer walk” with God, but to all who would call themselves Christians. 

           At a Passover feast in Jerusalem, Jesus even rejected a crowd that “believed” in Him:  “Many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,  and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man”  (John 2:23-25).  Knowing that these shallow “believers” were not willing to take up their cross and follow Him, He would not entrust to them salvation and the precious promises of God.

           Today, Jesus still calls on people to repent, to deny themselves, to forsake all, to take up their cross, and follow Him.  Furthermore, though the New Birth occurs in a moment of time, those who experience only a short term effect on their lives have reason to doubt the reality of their conversion:  “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:14). 

            With this truth in mind, many modern day “Christians” would be wise to question their “salvation experience,” for their eternal destiny is at stake.  Paul’s challenge to the Corinthians to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the