THE BIBLE TELLS US that all who call on Jesus’ name and believe He is the Christ will be saved from eternal damnation, but it also tells us to receive Him as our Lord. Many who identify as Christian have received Him as Savior, but is He also their Lord?
MESSAGE BY WARD PIMLEY
THE ‘ALTAR CALL’ — Inviting those in worship to make a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and trust Him for their salvation — is one of the more emotionally fulfilling moments in a Christian worship service.
The process rivals baptism — another public profession of faith — for its seriousness of purpose and determination of one’s eternal destination.
Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV) “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The Bible tells us that at the end of history, when God judges the world, all people, small and great, will recognize the Lordship of the Creator, even if they rejected that truth during their earthly lives.
Many people claim the mantel of “Christian.” Self-reporting data show some 2.2 billion individuals in the world declare themselves to be Christian, making it the world’s largest religious group, In addition, surveys show some 65-70 percent of Americans claim the mantel of “Christian.”
Watching new hearts walk down the aisles toward the receiving pastors and kneeling before the Cross to confess their need for Jesus as Savior is riveting and a cause for celebration.
Despite those staggering numbers, does anyone seriously see evidence, in either North America or the world at large, that Christianity is dominant in its influence?
If not, then what’s going on here?
‘NARROW’ PATH v. ‘BROAD’ PATH
ONE POSSIBILITY is that many people who claim to be “Christian” do not understand that it is more than a “cultural” designation, much like one is of English or German or Italian descent (or Nigerian or Japanese or Bolivian), or a host of other nationalities and ethnic groups.
To be a Christian is a conscious decision to receive the Holy Spirit into one’s heart by declaring the sin in their hearts, the truth of Jesus’ divinity and sacrifice on the Cross, and their need for His healing touch.
That process is called “justification,” or the cancellation of a debt paid in full.
Next, comes the process of “sanctification,” in which the saved individual grows in his or her walk with Jesus. This is the life-changing process by which the person becomes more like the Savior in word and deed.
It may well be, as Jesus points out, that too many people fail to take that second step.
In Matthew 7:13-14, He tells us there are two gates and two pathways in life: one is narrow, that leads to life; the other is broad, that leads to destruction. He warns us that only a few enter the narrow gate and live for Jesus, while most people enter the broad gate and live life on their own terms.
Most likely, our churches are filled with cultural Christians — those who identify as “Christian” because of the culture — and immature Christians — those who have been ‘justified’ but stopped short of “sanctification.”
JESUS IS BOTH LORD AND SAVIOR
JESUS WANTS TO BE both our SAVIOR and LORD.
In Luke 6:46, He laments that we call Him “Lord, Lord,” but fail to obey His commandments. In casual parlance, “we talk the talk, but we don’t walk the walk.”
Can you imagine how dynamic and vital the Christian-claiming world would be if we actually believed what we claim we believe and lived out the Gospel in our daily lives.
Romans 10:9 (GNT) “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:10 (ESV) “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Even with the modicum of faith that many Christians display, Christian influence has been significant: from the elevation of women’s status to equality with men, to building of hospitals and medical research, to the proliferation of science and systematic knowledge, to moral teachings to be in kind to others and lend help when others are hurting.
That’s with just the modicum of faith most Christians display. What could be earth-shattering if every Christian actually held Jesus not just as their Savior, and so will avoid eternal destruction, but also as Lord, and lived according to His commandments.
The altar call, wherever it is practiced, is a beautiful reminder of God’s promise of what He can do when His creation, who are called by His name, humble themselves, seek His face, pray, and repent of their sin. (2 Chronicles 7:14).
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PRAYER
FATHER GOD, We confess we have drifted so far from You we don’t always take our faith walk as seriously as we ought to. Within our midst, O Lord, are fellow Christians who have not turned their lives over to Jesus as Lord but are content with calling Him their Savior. Help us to reach out to them in love with the truth and guide them toward maturity in their faith; and as we do so, O Lord, keep us from falling into the same trap. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 