One day, an
early Christian was arrested, and brought before the king for telling his own
people they must repent, turn to God, and live a repentant life. After
explaining that the prophets and Moses actually spoke of Christ’s suffering and
resurrection, the Christian asked him, “Do you believe the prophets? I know
that you believe.”
The king
replied, “Almost you persuade me to
be a Christian”.
Then, with great
eloquence, the apostle Paul said to King Agrippa, “I would to God, that not
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such
as I am, except these bonds” (Acts 26:29).
This passage helps
us realize that we can’t just be almost Christians;
almost persuaded, almost converted. We must be altogether Christians. Christ Himself said, “Strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”
(Matthew 7:14). A chick half-way out the egg is not a fully-born chick;
likewise, a person half-way through the Door is not a born-again Christian.
Good intentions
are a good start, but are not enough to bring freedom from sin. Sadly, many in
this world follow their own religion with good intentions, but unless they pass
through the Strait Gate, and walk the Narrow Road, they will not get to Heaven
(John 14:6). You may dress modestly; you may be honest in your business; you
may be a good son, daughter, husband, or wife; you may even obey most New
Testament commands, but if you have not
repented of all your sins, and asked Christ to cleanse and change you, none of
your good deeds, though a necessary part of the Christian life, will buy you a
ticket to Heaven. “Ye must be born again”, said Jesus. The sinful nature
with which we were all born must be rooted out by Christ, and replaced by His
new nature: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians
5:17).
A good Christian
heritage is a wonderful thing to have, but is not enough to justify us before a
holy God. A good heritage is an introduction to the Christian life, but if we
do not have a change of heart, the outward appearance only makes us “almost
Christians”. We cannot be saved by the faith of our fathers and mothers. Biblical
faith must become our own personal faith.
Baptism, though
an integral part of the beginning Christian, has no virtue of its own to a
person that comes with good intentions only, with a faith other than his own,
just because all the friends his age are getting baptized; unchanged,
unrepentant, unconverted. Baptism in itself does not make a person an
altogether Christian. It is only for those who have sold themselves out to
Christ in true repentance, and desire to live a life of obedience to Him.
However, make no mistake, Jesus Christ Himself
said that baptism is the fulfillment of all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). While
a person who gets baptized without conversion is an “almost Christian”, the
same may apply to those who refuse to be baptized after confessing and
repenting from their sins.
The Bible prescribes some general
principles concerning our dress. The Christian should be dressed like a
Christian, not like the world. However, dressing right does not make you a
Christian any more than putting on wings makes you an angel. Dressing right is
an expression of a right heart, but does not make your heart right. Scripture
doesn’t lay down a certain pattern or style of clothing for the Christian, but
has principles for us to follow. But don’t ever think that your outward
appearance will clean up the mess you have inside. “Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the
outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26).
Our heart is like the
source of a fountain. When our mouth has said something nasty, we already know
that something went nasty in our hearts. For example, James 3:10 says that it
is not fitting for our mouths to give forth both blessing and cursing at the
same time, because “doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water
and bitter?” When our lives are showing rebellion to God through our practices,
our dress, our music, etc., the Bible says that something went wrong in our
hearts before. “An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth
forth that which is evil” (Luke 6:45). Don’t believe the lies that you can be
an “altogether Christian,” claiming that your heart is right while doing wrong.
How to become an
“altogether Christian”
The Bible says that God
loved the world so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to save whoever
believes on Him (John 3:16). This means that God “first loved us” (1 John
4:19), and “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He
made the first move. How about you now?
Ephesians 2 says that we are
“by nature the children of wrath”. We are born with a sinful nature because the
first man took on a sinful nature through disobedience, and that makes us
enemies of God, who is holy. Furthermore, because we are born with a sinful
nature we are bent on committing sinful acts against God’s laws, no matter if
we were born into a Christian family, and were “good” children. Although
children are safe from God’s wrath, they do begin to sin very young, and
express the impulses of a sinful nature even before the age of accountability.
When we arrive at an age where we begin to understand our fearful sinful condition
before a holy God, we begin to be accountable, and are not safe from God’s
wrath anymore. The time has come to confess that we are natural sinners, and
that we have committed sins against God. We need a change of heart, a change of
nature. We don’t want to experience God’s wrath in the Lake of Fire some day.
When we come to this understanding
we have two choices: reject it, or repent. We may excuse ourselves saying we
have good intentions, or that we have been born in a godly home. But we know
that this only makes us “almost Christians”. To be “altogether Christians” we
must repent “and be converted, that [our] sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).
We must enter the Kingdom of God through the Door, lest we are condemned for trying
to break and enter some other way. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other
way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). Repent and accept Jesus as
your Lord and Savior.
Good works before
conversion do not save us; good works after conversion are our duty. The
sinner’s prayer, as some call it, is important, but it doesn’t end there. The
Bible says that we are saved “not of works”, but “unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:9, 10). First we
need to “put off concerning the former conversation (way of life) the old man,
which is corrupt”. We are told to be “renewed in the spirit of [our] mind, and
that [we must] put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). Good works for the born-again believer
are a natural expression of their new life in Jesus Christ. They are an
expression of obedience to our Lord and Savior, for He has commanded us to live
holy lives (1 Peter 1:15), to depart from sin (2 Timothy 2:19), to help those
in need (Galatians 6:10), to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together
(Hebrews 10:25), to cover our heads (for the women; 1 Corinthians 11:6), to not
cover our heads (for the men; 1 Corinthians 11:7), to be chaste (Titus 2:5), to
use our gifts for the edifying of the church (Ephesians 4:12), and many other
things. When we do good works while we are not born again, we do it on our own
power, but when we are saved, we do it through the great power of the Holy
Spirit.
Being saved is not an end
in itself either. God saves us so that He can have a relationship with us, and
walk with us, as it were, “in the cool of the day”, as in the Garden of Eden.
Take time each day to speak to God in prayer, and to read His Word. An
“altogether Christian” develops His relationship with His Saviour, and loves to
spend time with Him.
And finally, it is very
important for us to find other Christians that share similar convictions to
ours, for encouragement and guidance. Look for a church that teaches and lives out
the Bible.
When I open a door, and
take one step into a house, remaining with one foot outside and one inside, am
I in or am I out? I could say I am almost
in. But I am also almost out too! The
Bible teaches that if you are “almost” a Christian, you are still outside the
Door. “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24).
-E.S. Gutwein
