Bad Company
I am going to be blunt. You can
know about Christ, you can even believe He is God and died for your sins. But if you don’t act on that information, you
are not a Christian.
So why do I say this?
The Bible is very clear; Satan and his demons know that Christ is
God. Yet they rebelled against Him and
are condemned to an eternity in Hell.
James 2:19-20 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well:
the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that
faith without works is dead?
Mark 5:6-8 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And
cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son
of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he
said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
To read about Lucifer’s (Satan’s) fall, read Revelation 12:7-10 and Isaiah
14:12-15.
Here is a straightforward analogy to clarify this point. Do you know what a parachute is? Do you believe that if properly designed,
manufactured, maintained and packed a parachute will work? OK then, let’s go jump out of a plane
together! Do you see the difference between
knowing, believing and acting?
Secondly, the parable of the four soils (see Mark Chapter 4) teaches us
that you can:
- Have no response to the Word of God (seed that fell by the wayside);
- Have an emotional response to the Word of God (seed that fell on rocky ground);
- Have an intellectual response to the Word of God (seed that fell among the thorns);
and still not become a Christian (not transformed and bearing fruit). Per James 2:20 above, ‘faith without works is
dead’. Only the seed that fell among the
good ground bore fruit (indicating genuine conversion and the good works that
followed).
And finally, a Christian puts Christ first in their life.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Honestly, it is a gross oversimplification to take these and related verses out of
context and conclude that Christ was saying that in order to be His disciple,
everyone must sell everything they own, give it all away, have no joy in life, literally
carry around a big wooden cross, etc., etc.
These verses are teaching us we must be obedient to Christ and His
commandments. We must be willing and
ready to give up anything He tells us to (some may be called to sell their possessions;
others may called to use the wealth God has blessed them with to honor Him and
care for others; and everything in between).
The message here is very simple:
as a Christian, put nothing above Christ and lay aside anything in your life
that does not honor and glorify His name!
So why is the title to this devotion, ‘Bad Company’? If you know about Christ, understand what He
did for you, and you haven’t acted on that information (respond to the prompting
of the Holy Spirit and ask Christ to forgive your sins and be the Lord of your
life), you are in with some very bad company – Satan and his demons).
If you have any doubts as to your standing before God, please seek out
a Bible believing church and/or a Christian friend and ask them to tell you
about the love of Christ and what is means to be born again.
Prayer
Dear Father, my prayer is that you will reach someone through your Holy
Word as presented in this devotion. Only
You know the heart of a man. Only You
can save the lost through Your grace and the faith You give us to truly believe
and accept salvation in Christ. All
praise to You. In the name of Jesus
Christ I pray, Amen.
