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Some people are not Christians because they’re not willing to count the cost and pay the price. Some have too much pride to humbly obey the Word of Christ. Some are so steeped in prejudice that they will never give the Gospel a fair hearing. Some are agnostics and others atheists who will never overcome their unbelief. It could be that some have not become Christians because they have never been made to really understand why they should. Many who have become Christians have drifted into unfaithfulness, perhaps for the same reason.
Deep down in everyone’s personality there is a yearning for spiritual qualities. Man was not meant to live by bread alone (Mat. 4:4). All men must sooner or later deal with Jesus Christ, accepting or rejecting Him (John 1:11–12; 6:66–68). All men must accept the eternal consequences of rejecting Him (John 12:48). In view of the importance of these matters we will all do well to review some reasons why one should become and remain a faithful Christian.
- You will be lost forever if you are not a faithful Christian. Sin, disobedience to God, whether deliberate or accidental, separates us from God and causes Him to turn from us (Isa. 59:1–2). The result of sin is death, eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23). This “second death” is the eternal Hell (Mat. 25:41; Rev. 20:14; 21:8),). Jesus came to save us from this awful place, but faithful Christians, cleansed by the blood of Christ, are the only ones who will be saved (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor. 15:1–2, 58). One does not really understand what he is saying when he says it will be worth the price of Hell to continue in his sins. No one in his right mind will talk of intentionally planning to endure the horrors of Hell.
- You will be in Heaven forever if you are a faithful Christian. Heaven is a place of joy and happiness—a perfect place. Heaven is perfect in purity—no sin or sinners are there. It is perfect peace—no temptations, no trials, tears, terrors, turmoil, or trauma are allowed. It is perfect in provisions—the tree of life and the river of life sustain its residents. It has perfect people— Besides God and His Son and their Heavenly servants, only the redeemed, those washed in the blood of the Lamb and written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, will be there. Perfection is perpetuated there eternally. Even the best things on earth must come to an end, but in Heaven the perfect things are everlasting. Human language cannot fully describe its beauty and wonders (Rev. 21–22). It is a prepared place only for a prepared people—those who are faithful Christians (John 14:1–6).
- You will be a better person if you are a faithful Christian. However good you may be now, you are not what God wants you to be and what Christ died that you might become, if you are not a faithful Christian. Faithful obedience to Christ will make one a better husband or father, wife or mother, son or brother, daughter or sister, friend, employer, employee, or citizen. It is sad that some outwardly become Christians, but never truly yield themselves to the transforming power of the Gospel. There were such in the days of the apostles and there will always be such, but they must never be used as an excuse for ones own disobedience to Christ. Rather, let us think of the sinful, wasted, and wicked lives that have been rescued and reclaimed because they fully yielded themselves to Christ. One cannot sincerely live the Christian life without becoming the best person he or she is capable of being. Those around you over whom you exert a powerful influence (your child, your mate, other family members, and friends) may be lost forever if you do not become a faithful Christian.
- You will receive many personal blessings as a faithful Christian. Freedom from the guilt and shame of sin by forgiveness through the blood of Christ is the greatest of all blessings (Acts 22:16; Rom. 8:1). This allows one to have an inner peace that is beyond understanding (Phi. 4:7). God’s constant providential care becomes ours (Mat. 6:33; Rom. 8:31). We learn the key to true happiness—putting God first and serving others (Mat. 22:37–39). We gain a wonderful new family of brothers and sisters all over the world, who with all their faults, are still the finest people on earth. These are but a few of the compelling reasons why you should be a faithful Christian.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in the March 21, 1980 edition of Light of Life, of which I was editor. This monthly paper was published and mailed to every address county-wide by Granbury Church of Christ, Granbury, TX.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
