CONVICTED OF BEING A CHRISTIAN

GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS:


 Some years ago I heard the question asked: "IF YOU WERE ACCUSED OF BEING A CHRISTIAN COULD YOU BE CONVICTED?"  Today I feel that is a question well worth being asked of many of my church-going friends.  The disturbing truth is that for many who profess to be a Christian it would not be too easy to get enough proof in their daily lives to convict anyone of really believing and giving their lives to God.

  In truth when we really do come to Christ and make Him our Lord and Savior there are dramatic changes that begin to be made in our lives through the possession of God's Holy Spirit with us in our everyday lives.  The Holy Spirit within us will start to change our way of thought and our actions toward the things of this world sometimes so dramatically that we may not recognize our lives after a very short time frame.  I have seen other people react to a changed life so much as to go from a best friend status to that that not wanting anything to do with the person because of the Spiritual change within them.  When I start to look at ROMANS 8: and the writings from Paul on the life lived in the Holy Spirit I can see both the change and the reasons for change once we begin to understand the truth about who we are and who it is we were meant to be.

  Paul starts this chapter out by saying "God has declared us not guilty"  IF we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives.  We have to, first of all, realize we have been sitting on death row without Jesus Christ because we have been shackled and chained to this world by sin without Christ and His act of compassion and love for us even before we knew anything about Him.  Without Jesus Christ, we would have no hope at all.  The Holy Spirit gives us life as He continues to dwell within us as the comforter that Jesus has sent to be with us as a teacher and as a companion as we live out this first stage of eternal life.  Paul, in his writings in Romans 8: 5-8 tends to divide people into two different groups; those who are dominated by their sinful nature and those who are controlled by the nature of the Holy Spirit. What we are busy trying to teach people is that we would all be in that first category if it was not for the love of God to send Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin.

A true Christian is anyone who has the Holy Spirit living inside of them, and it makes me wonder why someone can wonder if they are a Christian or not because of the continuous gift that we should be able to feel of God being with us?   When it comes down to it we should know without any doubt that we are saved just by having His presence with us.  What I fear is that many may have been fooled by the cunningness of what men have preached about what Salvation really is.  There are many who feel that it is done by simply saying a word without any real commitment to that word.  There are many who may have come right up to the door and even knocked but refused to listen to the whole message. While I am not the judge of anyone who claims Christ as Savior I also know that unless we have real change in our lives because of the life of God's Spirit within us we are no better off than we were...it means that we need to go back and seek God further to find that commitment and to change our lives for the cause of Jesus Christ.  Jesus has promised those who truly believe in Him will receive the gift of God's Holy  Spirit 1 John  5:5 and you will begin to find help with your daily problems Galatians 5:22-23 and Romans 8:26-27 we have been promised that we will be empowered to do His will in our lives  Acts 1:8 and  Romans 12:6.  It is then that we will become a part of God's plan to build up the church Ephesians 4:12-13.  None of that happens until we really make Christ Lord of our lives in true repentance.  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.


THE UNWORTHY SERVANT